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139 results for “predator size”
Data from: Size, sex, and individual-level behavior drive intra-population variation in cross-ecosystem foraging of a top-predator
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Data from: Size selection by a gape-limited predator of a marine snail: insights into magic traits for speciation
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Data from: Seed masting causes fluctuations in optimum litter size and lag load in a seed predator
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Data from: Predator size divergence depends on community context
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Predator population size structure alters consumption of prey from epigeic and grazing food webs
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Data from: Ecological explanations to island gigantism: dietary niche divergence, predation and size in an endemic lizard
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Data from: Energy storage and fecundity explain deviations from ecological stoichiometry predictions under global warming and size-selective predation
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Data from: Brood size matching: a novel perspective on predator dilution
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Data from: Testes mass in the livebearing fish Brachyrhaphis rhabdophora (Poeciliidae) varies hypoallometrically with body size but not between predation environments
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Data from: Rodent seed predators and a dominant grass competitor affect coexistence of co-occurring forb species that vary in seed size
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Data from: Do intraspecific or interspecific interactions determine responses to predators feeding on a shared size-structured prey community?
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Data from: Lake size and fish diversity determine resource use and trophic position of a top predator in high-latitude lakes
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Data from: Effects of prey quality and predator body size on prey DNA detection success in a centipede predator
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Data from: Size‐dependent stress response in juvenile Arctic charr (Salvelinus alpinus) under prolonged predator conditioning
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Predation risk in relation to brain size in alternative prey of pygmy owls varies depending on the abundance of main prey
Large brains in prey may allow adoption of anti-predator behavior that facilitates escape. Prey species with relatively large brains have been shown to be less likely to fall prey to predators. This leads to the hypothesis that individuals that have been captured by predators on average should have smaller brains than sympatric individuals. We exploited the fact that Eurasian pygmy owls Glaucidium passerinum hoard small mammals and birds in cavities and nest-boxes for over-winter survival, allowing for comparison of the phenotype of prey with that of live conspecifics. In Northern Europe, main prey of pygmy owls are voles of the genera Myodes and Microtus , while forest birds and shrews are the most important alternative prey. Large fluctuations (amplitude 100-200-fold) in vole populations induce rapid numerical responses of pygmy owls in response to main prey populations, which in turn results in varying predation pressure on small birds. We found, weighed and measured 153 birds in food-stores of pygmy owls and mist-netted, weighed and measured 333 live birds of 12 species in central-western Finland during two autumns with low (2017) and high (2018) pygmy owl risk. In two autumns, individuals with large brains survived longer compared to individuals with small brains. Avian prey of pygmy owls had smaller heads than live birds in autumn 2018 when predation risk by pygmy owl was high, while a similar difference was not significant in 2017 when predation risk by pygmy owls was reduced. Finally, avian survivors were in better body condition than avian prey individuals. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that pygmy owls differentially prey on small birds that are in poor body condition and have small brains, and that predation risk imposed by pygmy owls on small birds in boreal forests varies depending on the abundance of the main prey (voles).
Predation and competition induce variable organ size tradeoffs in larval anurans
<p>Inducible-defenses allow organisms that live in variable environments to invest energy into defense when necessary. These responses are common in aquatic organisms and are particularly notable in larval anurans, which tend to develop deeper tails under sit-and-wait macroinvertebrate predation threat. Although tradeoffs between defense and growth have been well-studied, tradeoffs with internal organ sizes have rarely been considered. The purpose of our study was to investigate the effects of predation and competition on tradeoffs associated with total length (body + tail), tail size, and internal organ size (gut, pancreas, liver, and fat body) in two larval anurans, red-eyed treefrogs (<i>Agalychnis callidryas</i>) and gray treefrogs (<i>Hyla versicolor</i>). In two separate experiments, we reared larvae in outdoor mesocosms with and without competition in the presence and absence of a caged predator. We subsampled larvae from each mesocosm and measured tail and internal organ sizes. Both competition and predation exerted strong effects on total length and morphology, although each experiment produced unique results. Competition increased gut size in both species, supporting a previously reported tradeoff between gut and tail size. Competition also reduced total length in both experiments: gray treefrogs balanced total length with lipid deposition, and red-eyed treefrogs favored total length at the expense of lipid reserves. Predation threat elicited an increase in tail depth but a reduction in tail muscle size in gray treefrogs, which may have allowed larvae to maintain pancreas size and total length. Conversely, red-eyed treefrogs developed larger tails with more muscle area, allocating resources in a way that sacrificed both liver and pancreas size, as well as total length. Although the specific tail response was different, both species prioritized larger guts over tail modifications when faced with both competition and predation, as large gut sizes were maintained in competitive environments even when predators were present. </p>
Data from: Venom gland size and venom complexity – essential trophic adaptations of venomous predators: a case study using spiders
Specialised predators possess variety of adaptations. In the venomous predators this may include size of the venom gland and venom composition. It is expected that due to different foraging strategies predators with a wide trophic niche (generalists) should possess larger venom glands that contain more diversified components than species with a narrow niche (specialists). We focused on spiders, as the most diversified group of venomous predators, in which a wide variety of trophic strategies has evolved. We conducted a comparative analysis using 40 spider species, in which we measured the size of their venom gland and its complexity using proteome profiling methods. The species were classified into three trophic groups: generalists, facultative specialists, and obligatory specialists. We found that the venom glands of generalists are larger than those of obligatory specialists, which is presumably due to more frequent prey capture by the former. The complexity of venom, of peptides (2-15 kDa) and proteins (15-250 kDa), was more diverse in generalists than in specialists. Multivariate analysis of venom revealed significant differences among the three trophic categories only in the complexity of peptides. Our study thus shows that venom gland size and its content have taken different pathways during the evolution of trophic strategies in spiders. Generalists evolved larger venom glands with more complex composition, whereas obligatory specialists possess smaller glands with less diverse chemical structures, presumably containing prey-specific toxins.
Data from: Predator-driven brain size evolution in natural populations of Trinidadian killifish (Rivulus hartii)
Vertebrates exhibit extensive variation in relative brain size. It has long been assumed that this variation is the product of ecologically driven natural selection. Yet, despite more than 100 years of research, the ecological conditions that select for changes in brain size are unclear. Recent laboratory selection experiments showed that selection for larger brains is associated with increased survival in risky environments. Such results lead to the prediction that increased predation should favour increased brain size. Work on natural populations, however, foreshadows the opposite trajectory of evolution; increased predation favours increased boldness, slower learning, and may thereby select for a smaller brain. We tested the influence of predator-induced mortality on brain size evolution by quantifying brain size variation in a Trinidadian killifish, Rivulus hartii, from communities that differ in predation intensity. We observed strong genetic differences in male (but not female) brain size between fish communities; second generation laboratory-reared males from sites with predators exhibited smaller brains than Rivulus from sites in which they are the only fish present. Such trends oppose the results of recent laboratory selection experiments and are not explained by trade-offs with other components of fitness. Our results suggest that increased male brain size is favoured in less risky environments because of the fitness benefits associated with faster rates of learning and problem-solving behaviour.
Data from: Brain size affects the behavioral response to predators in female guppies (Poecilia reticulata)
Large brains are thought to result from selection for cognitive benefits, but how enhanced cognition leads to increased fitness remains poorly understood. One explanation is that increased cognitive ability results in improved monitoring and assessment of predator threats. Here, we use male and female guppies (Poecilia reticulata), artificially selected for large and small brain size, to provide an experimental evaluation of this hypothesis. We examined their behavioural response as singletons, pairs or shoals of four towards a model predator. Large-brained females, but not males, spent less time performing predator inspections, an inherently risky behaviour. Video analysis revealed that large-brained females were further away from the model predator when in pairs but that they habituated quickly towards the model when in shoals of four. Males stayed further away from the predator model than females but again we found no brain size effect in males. We conclude that differences in brain size affect the female predator response. Large-brained females might be able to assess risk better or need less sensory information to reach an accurate conclusion. Our results provide experimental support for the general idea that predation pressure is likely to be important for the evolution of brain size in prey species.
Data from: Capacity to support predators scales with habitat size
Habitat reduction could drive biodiversity loss if the capacity of food webs to support predators is undermined by habitat-size constraints on predator body size. Assuming that (i) available space restricts predator body size, (ii) mass-specific energy needs of predators scale with their body size, and (iii) energy availability scales with prey biomass, we predicted that predator biomass per unit area would scale with habitat size (quarter-power exponent) and prey biomass (three-quarter–power exponent). We found that total predator biomass scaled with habitat size and prey resources as expected across 29 New Zealand rivers, such that a unit of habitat in a small ecosystem supported less predator biomass than an equivalent unit in a large ecosystem. The lower energetic costs of large body size likely mean that a unit of prey resource supports more biomass of large-bodied predators compared to small-bodied predators. Thus, contracting habitat size reduces the predator mass that can be supported because of constraints on predator body size, and this may be a powerful mechanism exacerbating reductions in biodiversity due to habitat loss.
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Allen Brain Atlas
Allen Brain Atlas is an Allen Institute collection of brain map atlases, datasets, APIs, and analysis tools covering mouse, human, and non-human primate brain resources.
Annotated Behaviour and Observability Dataset (ABODe)
ABODe is a University of Edinburgh DataShare dataset for behavior classification in group-housed mice using home-cage video, identities, bounding boxes, ground-plate positions, and annotator labels.
DANDI Archive for NWB datasets
DANDI is a BRAIN Initiative archive for publishing and sharing neurophysiology data, including electrophysiology, optophysiology, and behavioral data packaged as NWB and related standards.
International Brain Laboratory public data
The International Brain Laboratory public data releases expose standardized mouse decision-making experiments, including Neuropixels recordings, widefield calcium imaging, behavior, and session metadata accessed through the ONE API.
OpenNeuro
OpenNeuro is a free, open platform for sharing neuroimaging datasets, with public search, dataset pages, and download paths for web, S3, DataLad, and the OpenNeuro CLI.