Find research datasets worth reusing

Search datasets from major research repositories and use ShareScore to quickly assess how well each record supports discovery, access, and reuse.

256

datasets available to search

ShareScore release 0.7.1

Dataset results

256 results for “Interactions: predation”

Learn how ShareScore rates datasets ↗

dryad36/100

Conspicuous coloration of toxin-resistant predators implicates additional trophic interactions in a predator-prey arms race

Antagonistic coevolution between natural enemies can produce highly exaggerated traits, such as prey toxins and predator resistance. This reciprocal process of adaptation and counter-adaptation may also open doors to other evolutionary novelties not directly involved in the phenotypic interface of coevolution. We tested the hypothesis that predator-prey coevolution coincided with the evolution of conspicuous coloration on resistant predators that retain prey toxins. In western North America, common garter snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis) have evolved extreme resistance to tetrodotoxin (TTX) in the coevolutionary arms race with their deadly prey, Pacific newts (Taricha spp.). TTX-resistant snakes can retain large amounts of ingested TTX, which could serve as a deterrent against the snakes' own predators if TTX toxicity and resistance are coupled with a conspicuous warning signal. We evaluated whether arms race escalation co-varies with bright red coloration in snake populations across the geographic mosaic of coevolution. Snake color variation departs from the neutral expectations of population genetic structure and co-varies with escalating clines of newt TTX and snake resistance at two coevolutionary hotspots. In the Pacific Northwest, bright red coloration fits an expected pattern of an aposematic warning to avian predators: TTX-resistant snakes that consume highly toxic newts also have relatively large, reddish-orange dorsal blotches. Snake coloration also seems to have evolved with the arms race in California, but overall patterns are less intuitively consistent with aposematism. These results suggest that interactions with additional trophic levels can generate novel traits as a cascading consequence of arms race coevolution across the geographic mosaic.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Predator-prey interactions in the Arctic: DNA-metabarcoding reveals that nestling diet of snow buntings reflects arthropod seasonality

Tundra arthropods are of considerable ecological importance as a seasonal food source for many arctic-breeding birds. Dietary composition and food preferences are rarely known, complicating assessments of ecological interactions in a changing environment. In our field study, we investigated nestling diet of snow buntings (Plectrophenax nivalis (L., 1758)) breeding in Svalbard. We collected faecal samples from 8-day-old nestlings and assessed dietary composition by DNA-metabarcoding. Simultaneously, the availability of potential prey arthropods was measured by pitfall-trapping. Molecular analyses of nestling faeces identified 31 arthropod taxa in the diet, whose proportions changed throughout the brood-rearing period. Changes in nestling diet matched varying abundances and emergence patterns of the tundra arthropod community. Snow buntings provisioned their offspring mainly with Diptera (true flies) based on both presence/absence and relative read abundance of diet items. At the beginning of the season in June, Chironomidae (non-biting midges) and the scathophagid fly Scathophaga furcata (Say, 1823) dominated the diet, whereas the muscid fly Spilogona dorsata (Zetterstedt, 1845) dominated the diet later in July. When accounted for availability, muscid flies were selected positively amongst the most often provisioned food taxa. Our study demonstrates the ecological role of the snow bunting as a generalist arthropod predator and highlights DNA-metabarcoding as a non-invasive technique for diet analyses with high taxonomical precision if sufficient DNA-sequence libraries are available.

opencc-zeroJun 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data from: Behavioral diversity and biomechanical determinants of the outcome of a fish predator-prey interaction

Predator-prey interactions are ubiquitous and under strong selection because of the consequences experienced by both predator and prey if they lose the interaction. Biomechanics and behavior play important roles in the outcome of these interactions, but many studies focus on the prey, restrict the range of behaviors considered, and the role of prey boldness in the outcome is not understood. We used high-speed video to test for effects of multiple measures of performance and kinematics of both the predator and prey, and boldness of prey on the outcome of interactions between Pike Cichlids (Crenicichla) and Guppies (Poecilia reticulata). We found high variation in the behaviors employed during the predator-prey interactions, including in suction versus raptorial feeding, strike accuracy, and guppy responsiveness. We also found that predators moving relatively slower and prey moving relatively faster were more successful at consuming the prey and evading the predator, respectively. Prey that reacted farther from the predator were more likely to escape predation, but boldness of the prey did not affect the interaction. Our work suggests that a high level of variation in predator-prey interactions is widespread, even when strike and escape behaviors are stereotyped. We also showed that what both the predator and the prey do during an interaction are important in determining the outcome.

opencc-zeroJul 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Data and R code for: Handling- or digestion-limited predator: the role of body masses and habitat complexity in predator-prey feeding interaction

Predator functional response is a key element of feeding interactions that quantify the per capita feeding rates of predators depending on prey density, and variation in its parameters is strongly associated with interaction strength and population dynamics. We studied 18 functional responses of the marine whelk-bivalve systems across three levels of predator body size and three prey species at two habitat structures. We found that the marine whelk can be a handling-limited predator which received less attention so far. We propose that the handling-limited predator can further be categorized into two types: pursuing-limited (where maximum feeding rate could be influenced by habitat complexity) and ingesting-limited (where maximum feeding rate is impacted not by habitat complexity, but predator-prey body mass ratios and prey defense strategy). Our results show that handling time scales negatively with predator-prey body mass ratios, but there are layers of complexity nested within this trend. We first provide an underlying mechanism of this trend is the transition from handling to digestion limitation with increasing predator-prey body mass ratios. In addition to confirming known body mass ratios and habitat structure effects, our study confirms the importance of prey types. Our study reveals that simple assumptions about body masses and prey defense strategy may usefully refine estimates of feeding interactions in complex food webs.

opencc-zeroSep 2023View details →

dryad36/100

Individual survival is dictated by group personality in a marsh ecosystem predator-prey interaction

Predator–prey interactions structure ecological communities, and personality can significantly mediate these interactions. Personality expression is often contingent on social context, suggesting that group personality may be key in determining the outcomes of predator encounters. Here we test the influence of individual personality and group composition on survival of the marsh periwinkle, Littoraria irrorata, when exposed to its main predator, the blue crab, Callinectes sapidus, both integral players in mediating the productivity and health of salt marsh ecosystems. Personality varied along a bold-shy continuum and was unrelated to shell length, though neither trait influenced survival when individual snails were exposed to a predator. However, when snails were partitioned into groups differing in personality composition, snails in groups with bold individuals had higher survival than those in groups with none. While group type did not influence the survival of bold snails, shy snails performed significantly better in mixed groups: the presence of a few bold individuals emerged as especially effective in decreasing mortality of shy snails. The effect of personality on predator escape is thus conditional on group personality composition, indicating that social context can directly impact the survival and success of its individual members, with broad implications for community dynamics.

opencc-zeroOct 2023View details →

dryad36/100