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232 results for “Predator Response”
Data from: Site-level field of view is associated with altered anti-predator responses in farming damselfish
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Data from: Developmental behavioural plasticity and DNA methylation patterns in response to predation stress in Trinidadian guppies
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Data for: Bi-modal response strategy in Daphnia to ambush predation risk
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Data from: Predator response to the coloured eyespots and defensive posture of Colombian four-eyed frogs
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Ungulate spatiotemporal responses to contrasting predation risk from wolves and snow leopards
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Data from: Interplay of trophic relaxation and directional selection shapes eco-evolutionary responses to selective harvest in predator-prey systems
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Sex differences in alternative reproductive tactics in response to predation risk in tree crickets
<p>1. Alternative reproductive tactics (ARTs) are variable, often discontinuous, behaviours that allow a particular sex to achieve enhanced mating success. Predation risk has been hypothesised to drive the evolution of ARTs, but few empirical studies have examined this. It is unclear whether predators affect fitness of the two sexes directly, by reducing survival, or indirectly, by altering mate-searching.</p> <p>2. In crickets, mate-search typically involves acoustic signalling by males and acoustic-mediated movement towards males by silent females. Males and females may however employ ARTs, which includes silent searching by males, and mating without performing phonotaxis in females.</p> <p>3. We empirically examined effects of increased predation risk on mate-searching behaviour and survival of male and female tree crickets, and their effects on mating success, using field-enclosure experiments with tree crickets <i>Oecanthus henryi</i> and their primary predator, green lynx spiders, <i>Peucetia viridans</i>. Crickets were allocated into three treatments with different levels of predation risk.</p> <p>4. Increased predation risk strongly reduced survival, and thereby mating success, for both sexes. With increasing predation risk, males reduced calling and increased movement towards neighbouring callers, with negative effects on mating success. By comparing with simulated random movement, we found that male movement was significantly directed towards other calling males, implying a switch to satellite strategies. Female movement behaviour, however, remained unaltered.</p> <p>5. Males and females thus differed in their response to comparable levels of predation risk, implying that the role of predation as a driver of alternative mate search strategies is sex-specific.</p>
Insights into the genetic basis of predator-induced response in Daphnia galeata
<p>Phenotypic plastic responses allow organisms to rapidly adjust when facing environmental challenges - these responses comprise morphological, behavioral but also life-history changes. Alteration of life-history traits when exposed to predation risk have been reported often in the ecological and genomic model organism <i>Daphnia</i>. However, the molecular basis of this response is not well understood, especially in the context of fish predation. Here, we characterized the transcriptional profiles of two <i>Daphnia galeata</i> clonal lines with opposed life histories when exposed to fish kairomones. First, we conducted a differential gene expression, identifying a total of 125 candidate transcripts involved in the predator-induced response, uncovering substantial intra-specific variation. Second, we applied a gene co-expression network analysis to find clusters of tightly linked transcripts revealing the functional relations of transcripts underlying the predator-induced response. Our results showed that transcripts involved in remodeling of the cuticle, growth and digestion correlated with the response to environmental change in <i>D. galeata</i>. Furthermore, we used an orthology-based approach to gain functional information for transcripts lacking gene ontology (GO) information, as well as insights into the evolutionary conservation of transcripts. We could show that our candidate transcripts have orthologs in other <i>Daphnia</i> species but almost none in other arthropods. The unique combination of methods allowed us to identify candidate transcripts, their putative functions and evolutionary history associated with predator-induced responses in <i>Daphnia</i>. Our study opens up to the question as to whether the same molecular signature is associated with fish kairomones-mediated life-history changes in other <i>Daphnia</i> species.</p>
Numerical response of predators to large variations of grassland vole abundance and long-term community change
<p>Voles can reach high densities with multi-annual population fluctuations of large amplitude, and they are at the base of predator communities in Northern Eurasia and Northern America. This status places them at the heart of management conflicts wherein crop protection and health concerns are often raised against conservation issues.<strong> Here, a 20-year survey describes the effects of large variations in grassland vole populations on the densities and the daily theoretical food intakes (TFI) of vole predators based on roadside counts.</strong> Our results show how the predator community responded to prey variations of large amplitude and how it reorganized with the increase in a dominant predator, here the red fox, which likely negatively impacted hare, European wildcat and domestic cat populations. This population increase did not lead to an increase in the average number of predators present in the study area, suggesting compensations among resident species due to intra-guild predation or competition. Large variations in vole predator number could be clearly attributed to the temporary increase in the populations of mobile birds of prey in response to grassland vole outbreaks. Our study provides empirical support for more timely and better focused actions in wildlife management and vole population control, and it supports an evidence-based and constructive dialogue about management targets and options between all stakeholders of such socio-ecosystems.</p> <p>The data set includes:</p> <p><b>S1 kml file</b>. Location of the study area (can be dropped in a Google Earth window or read from a GIS)</p> <p><b>S2 Excel file.</b> Road-side counts (sheet 1) and list of species observed (sheet 2)</p> <p><b>S3 Excel file.</b> Small mammal data</p> <p><b>S4 Excel file.</b> Data for computing theoretical daily food intakes</p> <p> </p>
Data from: The importance of functional responses among competing predators for avian nesting success
1. The relationship between the rate of predation and prey abundance is an important component of predator-prey dynamics. However, functional responses are less straightforward when multiple predators compete for shared prey. Interactions among competing predators can reduce or enhance effects of predation on prey populations. Because many avian populations experience high rates of nest predation, understanding the role of specific predators on nest mortality will lead to more informed conservation and management strategies which attempt to increase productivity by removing certain predators or managing habitat to limit their impact. 2. Our goal was to evaluate effects of specific predators and the influence of nest abundance on nest mortality. 3. We monitored snowy plover Charadrius nivosus nests across 7 years at two study areas in Utah, USA with remote cameras. We modeled predator-specific hazard rates for nest mortality in a Bayesian framework to assess relationships between competing predators and the role of nest abundance on predator-specific hazard rates. 4. We found that hazard rates for nest mortality by gulls Larus spp. decreased with increasing nest abundance, whereas nest mortality by foxes Vulpes spp. and ravens Corvus corax initially increased, indicating that dietary switching may occur when nests become more abundant. Nest mortalities of specific predators were often not independent and ranged between compensatory (e.g., mammalian mesopredators), and superadditive (e.g., avian predators) across the breeding season. 5. The non-independence between nest mortalities suggests that reductions in some predators may not translate to additive increases in overall nest success. Analyses of cause-specific mortality are rarely applied to avian nests, but examination of interacting impacts among competing predators on nest survival may provide insight into specific drivers of avian population dynamics.
Data from: Quantifying predator dependence in the functional response of generalist predators
A long-standing debate concerns how functional responses are best described. Theory suggests that ratio dependence is consistent with many food web patterns left unexplained by the simplest prey-dependent models. However, for logistical reasons, ratio dependence and predator dependence more generally have seen infrequent empirical evaluation and then only so in specialist predators, which are rare in nature. Here we develop an approach to simultaneously estimate the prey-specific attack rates and predator-specific interference (facilitation) rates of predators interacting with arbitrary numbers of prey and predator species in the field. We apply the approach to surveys and experiments involving two intertidal whelks and their full suite of potential prey. Our study provides strong evidence for predator dependence that is poorly described by the ratio dependent model over manipulated and natural ranges of species abundances. It also indicates how, for generalist predators, even the qualitative nature of predator dependence can be prey-specific.
Data from: Predator foraging response to a resurgent dangerous prey
Prey switching occurs when a generalist predator kills disproportionately more of an abundant prey species and correspondingly spares a rarer species. Although this behaviour is a classic stabilizing mechanism in food web models, little is known about its operation in free-living systems which often include dangerous prey species that resist predation. We used long-term (1995–2015) data from a large mammal system in northern Yellowstone National Park, USA, to understand how prey preference of a wild, generalist predator (Canis lupus) responds to a shift in prey species evenness involving rising numbers of dangerous prey (Bison bison) and dropping numbers of relatively safer prey (Cervus elaphus). Contrary to the prey switching hypothesis, wolves attacked and killed disproportionately more of the rarer, but safer, species. Wolves maintained a strong preference against bison even when this species was more than twice as abundant as elk. There was also evidence that wolves were increasingly averse to hunting bison as relative bison abundance increased. Wolves seldom hunted bison because capture success was limited to a narrow set of conditions: larger packs (>11 wolves) chasing smaller herds (10–20 bison) with calves. Wolves scavenged bison carrion instead and did so more frequently as bison abundance increased. Our study demonstrates the overarching importance of prey vulnerability to understanding the prey preferences of generalist predators in ecological communities with dangerous prey. The formidable defences of such prey diminish the potential for switching and its stabilizing influence on population dynamics. In these communities, shifts from hunting to scavenging are perhaps more likely than shifts in prey preference. The assumption of switching may therefore overestimate the stability of multi-prey systems that include dangerous prey species.
Responses of avian predators to polymorphic harlequin ladybird (Harmonia axyridis)
<p><span>Harlequin ladybird (<em>Harmonia axyridis</em>) shows high level of colour polymorphism. Particular forms differ in their colour combination, pattern and abundance.</span></p> <p><span>We tested the willingness of native, wild-caught passerines to attack and eat particular forms. We predicted that those forms that are more abundant in the wild are better protected, as they are more familiar to the predators. We compared the forms <em>novemdecimsignata</em> and <em>spectabilis</em>, which represent 97 % of individuals in the wild population, but importantly differ in their visual appearance (mostly orange vs. mostly black). Further, we examined three intermediate forms: <em>axyridis</em>, which is very scarce in the wild, and two forms not occurring in the wild – originating from laboratory breedings: <em>suturalis</em> and <em>aninkae</em>. As predators, we used great tit (<em>Parus major</em>), which is very aversive towards ladybirds, and tree sparrow (<em>Passer montanus</em>), which is quite willing to attack and even eat ladybirds. We compared their responses to particular ladybird forms, with artificially brown-painted ladybird to test for the effect of visual signal.</span></p> <p><span>We showed that both bird species attacked all forms of ladybird equally and usually very scarcely. The brown-painted <em>novemdecimsignata</em> form was attacked more often, showing that the visual appearance prevents birds from attacking any conspicuous colour combination. Sparrows tended to eat the attacked ladybirds of forms <em>novemdecimsignata</em>,<em> spectabilis </em>and brown painted. Scarce <em>axyridis</em> form and laboratory forms were very well protected from the attack, very likely due to neophobia.</span></p>
Urban and rural chickadee response to novel object and simulated predator
<p>Urbanization is changing natural landscapes worldwide, pushing species to quickly acclimate or adapt if they are to survive in urban environments. Mountain chickadees (<em>Poecile gambeli</em>) readily nest in both urban and rural environments without suffering apparent reproductive costs. However, whether urban-nesting chickadees are successful in these environments due to differences in behaviour between urban and rural birds remains untested. We examined the behavioural responses of urban and rural nesting mountain chickadee females when presented with a novel object (red plastic cup) or simulated predator (imitation squirrel model) at the nest. Behavioural responses depended on both the type of model and the habitat. As expected, mountain chickadees responded more strongly to squirrel models than novel objects; however, the magnitude of the difference in response depended on habitat. Urban birds seemingly ignored the novel object, spending little time investigating, and re-entering the nest box quickly. In contrast, rural birds spent more time reacting to the novel object and alarm calling within 5 m of the nest. When presented with a predator model, the urban birds reacted relatively more strongly (compared to the novel stimulus) than rural birds, spending more time within 5 m of the nest and alarm calling. These results suggest that either mountain chickadees in urban environments quickly acclimatize to the presence of novel objects or, potentially, that less neophobic birds disproportionately settle in urban environments or experience positive selection in urban areas. Either way, reduced neophobia may aid in mountain chickadees' ability to readily and successfully nest in such habitats.</p>
One of these things is not like the other: mixed predator cues result in lopsided phenotypic responses in a Neotropical tadpole
<p>Many organisms have evolved to produce different phenotypes in response to environmental variation. <em>Dendropsophus</em> <em>ebraccatus</em> tadpoles develop opposing shifts in morphology and coloration when they are exposed to invertebrate vs vertebrate predators. Each of these alternate phenotypes is adaptive, conferring a survival advantage against the predator with which tadpoles were reared but imposing a survival cost with the mismatched predator. Here, we measured the phenotypic response of tadpoles to graded cues and mixed cues of both fish and dragonfly nymphs. Prey species like <em>D. ebraccatus</em> commonly co-occur with both of these types of predators, amongst many others as well. In our first experiment, tadpoles increased investment in defensive phenotypes in response to increasing concentrations of predator cues. Whereas morphology only differed in the strongest cue predator, tail spot coloration differed even at the lowest cue concentration. In our second experiment, tadpoles reared with cues from both predators developed an intermediate yet skewed phenotype that was most similar to the fish-induced phenotype. Fish are more lethal than dragonfly larvae and thus tadpoles responded most strongly to the more dangerous predator, even though cues of each predator were evenly mixed. We demonstrate that not only do tadpoles assess predation risk via the concentration of predation cues in the water, but they also produce a stronger response to a more lethal predator even when the strength of cues is identical.</p>
Fig. 2 in Behavioral Responses Of Salmonid Fingerlings To New Invasive Fish Predator Perccottus Glenii
Fig. 2. Large adult Perccottus glenii male used in the experiment.
Fig. 4 in Predation functional response and life table parameters of Orius sauteri (Hemiptera: Anthocoridae) feeding on Megalurothrips usitatus (Thysanoptera: Thripidae)
Fig. 4. Age-stage survival rate (sxj) of Orius sauteri on Megalurothrips usitatus at 26 °C.
Predation, functional response and demographic parameters of Orius albidipennis (Hemiptera:Anthocoridae) on Schizaphis graminum (Hemiptera:Aphididae): effect of host plant morphological attributes
<p>Plant attributes like leaf hairiness and trichome compactness diversely affect the biocontrol agents of phytophagous insect pests. In the current study, effect of physical plant features on life table characteristics and functional response of <em>Orius albidipennis </em>(Rueter) females feeding on <em>Schizaphis graminum </em>(Rondani) was investigated on two common wheat cultivars (Falat and Pishtaz) differing in leaf morphological features. The trichome density of wheat cultivars considerably influenced a broad spectrum of attributes related to the performance of <em>O. albidipennis</em>. The intrinsic rate of increase (<em>rm</em>) was significantly greater on Falat (0.09±0.006) than on Pishtaz (0.06±0.008) cultivar. Similarly, the net reproductive rate and finite rate of increase were greater on Falat (16.72±3.38 and 1.083±7.54) than on Pishtaz (8.08±2.04 and 1.067±9.49). Although <em>Orius </em>predators exhibited type III of functional response on both wheat cultivars, they had lesser searching efficiencies and higher handling times on Pishtaz than those on Falat cultivar. Moreover, the maximum attack rate (<em>T</em>/<em>Th</em>) was greater on Falat than on Pishtaz. Lesser maximum predation and greater handling time of the <em>Orius </em>predators on Pishtaz cultivar might be imputed to the significantly more condensed surface trichomes of its leaves than that of Falat leaves, which physically prevented movement of the <em>Orius </em>bugs and decreased prey encounter rate. Moreover, increase of trichome density negatively influenced on foraging behavior of the predatory bug. Females were also found to prefer wheat leaves with fewer trichomes as oviposition hosts. It seems that trichomes provided hinderance to the <em>orius </em>bug. To recapitulate, it could be stated that the efficiency of <em>O. albidipennis </em>in controlling <em>S. graminum </em>on wheat may be more beneficial in cultivars with lower trichome density.</p>
Microgeographic divergence of functional responses among salamanders under antagonistic selection from apex predators
A predator's functional response determines predator–prey interactions by describing the relationship between the number of prey available and the number eaten. Its shape and parameters fundamentally govern the dynamic equilibrium of predator–prey interactions and their joint abundances. Yet, estimates of these key parameters generally assume stasis in space and time and ignore the potential for local adaptation to alter feeding responses and the stability of trophic dynamics. Here, we evaluate if functional responses diverge among populations of spotted salamander ( Ambystoma maculatum ) larvae that face antagonistic selection on feeding strategies based on their own risk of predation. Common garden experiments revealed that spotted salamander from ponds with varying predation risks differed in their functional responses, suggesting an evolutionary response. Applying mechanistic equations, we discovered that the combined changes in attack rates, handling times and shape of the functional response enhanced feeding rate in environments with high densities of gape-limited predators. We suggest how these parameter changes could alter community equilibria and other emergent properties of food webs. Community ecologists might often need to consider how local evolution at fine scales alters key relationships in ways that alter local diversity patterns, food web dynamics, resource gradients and community responses to disturbance.
Higher predation rate need not and did not lead to higher risk-induced trait responses in related zooplankton species
<p>Predators can directly affect prey populations both through predation (consumption of prey) and risk-induced trait responses (RITRs) that reduce predation risk but are often associated with a fitness cost. Thousands of studies make clear that RITRs (also termed anti-predator or defensive traits) including changes in behavior, morphology, and life history, are employed by numerous taxa across diverse ecological systems, and there is large variation in their magnitude. A natural goal is to elucidate the species and circumstances for which and to what magnitude RITRs are expected. A candidate hypothesis is that prey species that experience higher mortality from a predator will exhibit a higher RITR. This hypothesis is an intuitive extension of the fact that invulnerable animals are not expected to exhibit an RITR, while vulnerable species are. We present an example that clarifies why this relationship is not always expected and when it is expected. Other factors may influence the level of the RITR leading to the possibility that a positive relationship is not expected. We elucidate this problem using a mesocosm experiment with a fish-cladoceran system in which there is large variability in the predation rate on different cladoceran species. Results not only did not show a positive relationship but rather a negative trend between predation rate and the RITR. In fact, highly-preyed-upon taxa did not respond, while the least-preyed-upon taxa had the largest responses. These results clarify how the level of predation risk interacts with many factors to determine the RITR of prey.</p>
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