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.
18
datasets available to search
ShareScore release 0.9.0
Dataset results
18 results for “ambush predation”
Data for: Bi-modal response strategy in Daphnia to ambush predation risk
<p>Predation, a well-established major selective force, can manifest through either consumptive or non-consumptive effects. The relative impact of such effects is predicted to vary depending on the predator hunting strategy. In aquatic systems, great attention has been paid to coursing predators, such as fish, and their effects on the behaviour of zooplankton. However, less information is available regarding more ambush-style predators. To remedy this paucity, we utilised a 3D-tracking platform to record groups of <em>Daphnia </em>magna under control or predation risk conditions from the ambush, invertebrate predator <em>Erythromma najas</em>. This design allowed us to test if there are anti-predator responses in multiple metrics of swimming behaviours. Furthermore, we recorded actual predation events allowing the distinction between predator exuded info-chemicals and those produced during the predation event. We demonstrate that predation risk was greatest for those that swam at 85% of the available depth and averaged 8.1 mm/s. Examining each individuals swimming behaviour separately shows that predation risk did not exert an impact on any of the prey response metrics. Interestingly, however, we show that <em>Daphnia </em>conform to one of two strategies whilst under predation risk; either swim fast high up in the water column or swim slowly close to the bottom. Hence, this dichotomous behaviour is driven by strategies combining speed and depth in different constellations. As a result, our study demonstrates that <em>Daphnia</em> can detect the presence of a predator, but not immediately the act of predation. In a broader context, our findings highlight the importance of considering both the spatial and temporal dimensions of predation events in order correctly detect anti-predator responses.</p> <p>The data here is the raw positions of each individual tracked for the above study.</p>
Data for: Bi-modal response strategy in Daphnia to ambush predation risk
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Prey-driven behavioral habitat use in a low-energy ambush predator
<p>Food acquisition is an important modulator of animal behavior and habitat selection that can affect fitness. Optimal foraging theory predicts that predators should select habitat patches to maximize their foraging success and net energy gain, likely achieved by targeting areas with high prey availability. However, it is debated whether prey availability drives fine-scale habitat selection for predators. We assessed whether an ambush predator, the timber rattlesnake (<i>Crotalus horridus</i>), exhibits optimal foraging site selection based on the spatial distribution and availability of prey. We used passive infrared camera trap detections of potential small mammal prey (<i>Peromyscus</i> spp., <i>Tamias striatus</i>, and <i>Sciurus</i> spp.) to generate variables of prey availability across the study area and used whether a snake was observed in a foraging location or not to model optimal foraging in timber rattlesnakes. Our models of small mammal spatial distributions broadly predicted that prey availability was greatest in mature deciduous forests, but <i>T. striatus</i> and <i>Sciurus</i> spp. exhibited greater spatial heterogeneity compared to <i>Peromyscus</i> spp. We found the spatial distribution of cumulative small mammal encounters (i.e. overall prey availability), rather than the distribution of any one species, to be highly predictive of snake foraging. Timber rattlesnakes appear to forage where the probability of encountering prey is greatest. Our study provides evidence for fine-scale optimal foraging in a low-energy, ambush predator and offers new insights into drivers of snake foraging and habitat selection. </p>
Data from: Correlated evolution between colouration and ambush site in predators with visual prey lures
The evolution of a visual signal will be affected by signaller and receiver behaviour, and by the physical properties of the environment where the signal is displayed. Crab spiders are typical sit-and-wait predators found in diverse ambush sites, such as tree bark, foliage and flowers. Some of the flower-dweller species present a UV+-white visual lure that makes them conspicuous and attractive to their prey. We hypothesised that UV+-white colouration was associated with the evolution of a flower-dwelling habit. In addition, following up on results from a previous study we tested whether the UV+-white colouration evolved predominantly in flower-dwelling species occurring in Australia. We measured the reflectance of 1149 specimens from 66 species collected in Australia and Europe, reconstructed a crab spider phylogeny, and applied phylogenetic comparative methods to test our hypotheses. We found that the flower-dwelling habit evolved independently multiple times, and that this trait was correlated with the evolution of the UV+-white colouration. However, outside Australia non-flower-dwelling crab spiders also express a UV+-white colouration. Therefore, UV+-white reflectance is probably a recurring adaptation of some flower-dwellers for attracting pollinators, although it may have other functions in non-flower-dwellers, such as camouflage.
Rain, recreation, and risk: Human activity and ecological disturbance create seasonal risk landscapes for the prey of an ambush predator
<p>Predation risk and prey responses exhibit fluctuations in space and time. Seasonal ecological disturbances can alter landscape structure and permeability to influence predator activity and efficacy, creating predictable patterns of risk for prey (seasonal risk landscapes). This may create corresponding seasonal shifts in antipredator behavior, mediated by species ecology and trade-offs between risk and resources. Yet, how human recreation interacts with seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator behavior remains understudied.</p> <p><strong>Goals</strong> – In South Florida, we investigated the impact of a seasonal ecological disturbance, specifically flooding, which is inversely related to human activity, on interactions between Florida panthers (<em>Puma concolor coryi</em>) and white-tailed deer (<em>Odocoileus</em> <em>virginianus</em>). We hypothesized that human activity and ecological disturbances would interact with panther-deer ecology, resulting in the emergence of two distinct seasonal landscapes of predation risk and the corresponding antipredator response. We conducted camera trap surveys across southwestern Florida to collect detection data on humans, panthers, and deer. We analyzed the influence of human site use and flooding on deer and panther detection probability, co-occurrence, and diel activity during the flooded and dry seasons. Flooding led to decreased panther detections and increased deer detections, resulting in reduced deer-panther co-occurrence during the flooded season. Panthers exhibited increased nocturnality and reduced diel activity overlap with deer in areas with higher human activity. Supporting our hypothesis, panthers' avoidance of human recreation and flooding created distinct risk schedules for deer, driving their antipredator behavior. Deer utilized flooded areas to spatially offset predation risk during the flooded season while increasing diurnal activity in response to human recreation during the dry season.</p> <p><strong>Significance to the field </strong>– We highlight the importance of understanding how competing risks and ecological disturbances influence predator and prey behavior, leading to the generation of seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator responses. We emphasize the role of cyclical ecological disturbances in shaping dynamic predator-prey interactions. Furthermore, we highlight how human recreation may function as a 'temporal human shield,' altering seasonal risk landscapes and antipredator responses to reduce encounter rates between predators and prey. </p>
Data from: Proactive cursorial and ambush predation risk avoidance in four African herbivore species
<p>Most herbivores must balance demands to meet nutritional requirements, maintain stable thermoregulation and avoid predation. Species-specific predator and prey characteristics determine the ability of prey to avoid predation and the ability of predators to maximise hunting success. Using GPS collar data from African wild dogs, lions, impala, tsessebe, wildebeest and zebra in the Okavango Delta, Botswana, we studied proactive predation risk avoidance by herbivores. We considered predator activity level in relation to prey movement, predator and prey habitat selection, and preferential use of areas by prey. We compared herbivore behaviour to lion and wild dog activity patterns and determined the effect of seasonal resource availability and prey body mass on anti-predator behaviour. Herbivore movement patterns were more strongly correlated to lion than wild dog activity. Habitat selection by predators was not activity level-dependent and, while prey and predators differed to some extent in their habitat selection, there were also overlaps, probably caused by predators seeking habitats with high prey abundance. Areas favoured by lions were used by herbivores more when lions were less active, whereas wild dog activity level was not correlated with prey use. Prey body mass was not a strong predictor of the strength of proactive predation avoidance behaviour. Herbivores showed stronger anti-predator behaviours during the rainy season when resources were abundant. Reducing movement when top predators are most active and avoiding areas with a high likelihood of predator use during the same periods appear to be common strategies to minimize predation risk. Such valuable insights into predator-prey dynamics are only possible when using similar data from multiple sympatric species of predator and prey, an approach that should become more prevalent given the ongoing integration of technological methods into ecological studies.</p>
Prey-driven behavioral habitat use in a low-energy ambush predator
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Correlated evolution between colouration and ambush site in predators with visual prey lures
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Proactive cursorial and ambush predation risk avoidance in four African herbivore species
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Rain, recreation, and risk: Human activity and ecological disturbance create seasonal risk landscapes for the prey of an ambush predator
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Diet quality in a wild grazer declines under the threat of an ambush predator
Predators influence prey populations not only through predation itself, but also indirectly through prompting changes in prey behaviour. The behavioural adjustments of prey to predation risk may carry nutritional costs, but this has seldom been studied in the wild in large mammals. Here, we studied the effects of an ambush predator, the African lion (Panthera leo), on the diet quality of plains zebras (Equus quagga) in Hwange National Park, Zimbabwe. We combined information on movements of both prey and predators, using GPS data, and measurements of faecal crude protein, an index of diet quality in the prey. Zebras which had been in close proximity to lions had a lower quality diet, showing that adjustments in behaviour when lions are within short distance carry nutritional costs. The ultimate fitness cost will depend on the frequency of predator–prey encounters and on whether bottom-up or top-down forces are more important in the prey population. Our finding is the first attempt to our knowledge to assess nutritionally mediated risk effects in a large mammalian prey species under the threat of an ambush predator, and brings support to the hypothesis that the behavioural effects of predation induce important risk effects on prey populations.
Data from: Shoaling in the Trinidadian guppy: Costs, benefits, and plasticity in response to an ambush predator
<p><span>Shoaling, the formation of social groupings in fish, can provide benefits including reduced predation risk. However, it can also inflict costs including increased competition for resources, transmission of parasites, and salience to predators. Trinidadian guppies exhibit inter-population variation in shoaling behavior where individuals coexisting with large piscivorous predators (high predation localities) spend most of their time in shoals and those coexisting with an ambush predator, <em>Rivulus hartii</em> (recently, <em>Anablepsoides hartii</em>), that preys primarily on smaller guppies (low predation localities) do not. It has been suggested that this predator selects for reduced shoaling because doing so reduces salience to the predator. Here, as far as we know, we perform the first test of this idea. First, we investigated the effectiveness of shoaling in encounters with this predator. In survival trials, where one <em>rivulus </em>interacted with a group of guppies, we found that the predator was more likely to attack individuals in shoals than singletons. However, we also found that attacks directed at shoals were less likely to succeed. This suggests that the optimal strategy for guppies co-existing with this predator is to reduce shoaling to reduce the probability of being attacked, and to form shoals when an attack is initiated. We then asked if guppies modified their shoaling behavior in response to visual and olfactory cues from this predator during development. We found changes in guppy behavior in response to the treatment: guppies increased shoaling behavior when there was heightened risk of predation.</span></p>
Data from: Diet quality in a wild grazer declines under the threat of an ambush predator
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Shoaling in the Trinidadian guppy: Costs, benefits, and plasticity in response to an ambush predator
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: Strike mechanics of an ambush predator: the spearing mantis shrimp
Ambush predation is characterized by an animal scanning the environment from a concealed position and then rapidly executing a surprise attack. Mantis shrimp (Stomatopoda) consist of both ambush predators (ʻspearersʼ) and foragers (ʻsmashersʼ). Spearers hide in sandy burrows and capture evasive prey, whereas smashers search for prey away from their burrows and typically hammer hard-shelled, sedentary prey. Here, we examined the kinematics, morphology and field behavior of spearing mantis shrimp and compared them with previously studied smashers. Using two species with dramatically different adult sizes, we found that strikes produced by the diminutive species, Alachosquilla vicina, were faster (mean peak speed 5.72±0.91 m s^−1; mean duration 3.26±0.41 ms) than the strikes produced by the large species, Lysiosquillina maculata (mean peak speed 2.30±0.85 m s^−1; mean duration 24.98±9.68 ms). Micro-computed tomography and dissections showed that both species have the spring and latch structures that are used in other species for producing a spring-loaded strike; however, kinematic analyses indicated that only A. vicina consistently engages the elastic mechanism. In the field, L. maculata ambushed evasive prey primarily at night while hidden in burrows, striking with both long and short durations compared with laboratory videos. We expected ambush predators to strike with very high speeds, yet instead we found that these spearing mantis shrimp struck more slowly and with longer durations than smashers. Nonetheless, the strikes of spearers occurred at similar speeds and durations to those of other aquatic predators of evasive prey. Although counterintuitive, these findings suggest that ambush predators do not actually need to produce extremely high speeds, and that the very fastest predators are using speed to achieve other mechanical feats, such as producing large impact forces.
Data from: The interaction between ambush predators, search patterns of herbivores and aggregations of plants
<p>While predators benefit from spatial overlap with their prey, prey strive to avoid predators. I used an individual-based simulation comprising sit-and-wait predators, widely-foraging herbivores, and plants, to examine the link between predator ambush location, herbivore movement, and plant aggregation. I used a genetic algorithm to reach the best strategies for all players. The predators could ambush herbivores either inside or outside plant patches. The herbivores could use movement of varying directionality levels, with a change in directionality following the detection of plants. When the predators were fixed outside plant patches, the herbivores were selected to use a directional movement before plant encounter followed by a tortuous movement afterwards. When predators were fixed inside patches, herbivores used a continuous directional movement. Predators maintained within-patch positions when the herbivores were fixed to use the directional-tortuous movement. The predator location inside patches led to higher plant aggregations, by changing the herbivore movement. Finally, I allowed half of the predators to search for herbivores and let them compete with sit-and-wait predators located inside plant patches. When plants were clumped and herbivores used a directional-tortuous movement, with a movement shift after plant detection, ambush predators had a higher success relative to widely-foraging predators. In all other scenarios, widely-foraging predators did much better than ambush predators. The findings from my simulation suggest a behavioral mechanism for several observed phenomena of predator-prey interactions, such as a shorter stay by herbivores in patches when predators ambush them nearby, and a more directional movement of herbivores in riskier habitats.</p>
Data from: Strike mechanics of an ambush predator: the spearing mantis shrimp
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
Data from: The interaction between ambush predators, search patterns of herbivores and aggregations of plants
Open the record for dataset details and reuse information.
ScienceDex guides
Understand access before you commit
These curated guides explain access requirements, typical timelines, costs, and reuse considerations for widely used research datasets.
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.