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387 results for “predation risk”
MCR LTER: Coral Reef: Growth-predation risk trade-offs constrain the local distribution of a thicket-forming staghorn coral to marginal reef habitats; Data for Ladd et al., 2025, Scientific Reports.
This dataset is in support of the manuscript: Growth-predation risk tradeoffs constrain the local distribution of a thicket-forming staghorn coral to marginal reef habitats. These data were collected to 1) document how Acropora pulchra is distributed around the island of Moorea, and 2) to better understand the ecological processes that shape that distribution. Data include 1) results from surveys around the island of Moorea documenting the presence and size distribution of Acropora pulchra thickets, 2) results from an experiment measuring the growth and survivorship of Acropora pulchra fragments in the presence and absence of fish predators at nearshore fringing reef sites and adjacent sites in the mid lagoon (n = 20 sites in total), and 3) ancillary data on nitrogen content and dN15 in the tissue of the macroalgae Turbinaria ornata, sediment accumulation, and corallivore biomass at the experimental sites. All data were collected in 2016 and 2017.
Snail Shell Strength and Total Crush Force of a Northern Michigan Snail as a Function of Predation Risk at the University of Michigan Biological Station Stream Research Facility (5/31/23-8/1/23)
Many prey organisms respond to the non-consumptive effects of predators by altering their physiology, morphology, and behavior. These inducible defenses can create refuges for prey by decreasing the likelihood of consumption by predators. Some prey, as in marine mollusks, have been shown to alter their morphology in response to the presence of size-limited predation. To extend this work into the freshwater realm, we presented pointed campeloma snails (Campeloma decisum) to chemical cues from a natural predator, the rusty crayfish (Faxonius rusticus), to better understand how snail morphology changes under the threat of predation. The total force needed to crush shells, total shell length, aperture width, and total weight, along with changes to these three body measurements were recorded for each individual and used to quantify morphological changes as a function of risk. Snails exposed to crayfish chemical cues needed significantly more force to crush their shells than controls (p = 0.002). Total shell length was greater in crayfish exposed snails than control snails (p = 0.002), and snails in the crayfish treatment also showed significantly more change in shell length than control snails (p = 0.003). Similarly, aperture width was significantly greater in exposed snails (p = 0.002). However, exposed snails exhibited significantly less change in aperture width than controls (p = 0.017). Finally, we found that snails exposed to crayfish weighed significantly more than snails in the control (p = 0.0009). Thus, the results of this study show that morphology of gastropods is altered in the presence of predators, and this may be an antipredator tactic directly related to risk.
Detecting small environmental differences: Risk-response curves for predator-induced behavior and morphology. 2008.
Most organisms possess traits that are sensitive to changes in the environment (i.e. plastic traits) which results in the expression of environmentally-induced polymorphisms. While most phenotypically plastic traits have traditionally been treated as threshold switches between induced and uninduced states, there is growing evidence that many traits can respond in a continuous fashion. In this experiment we exposed larval anurans (wood frog tadpoles, Rana sylvatica) to an increasing gradient of predation risk to determine how organisms respond to small environmental changes. We manipulated predation risk in two ways: by altering the amount of prey consumed by a constant number of predators (Dytiscus sp.) and by altering the number of predators that consume a constant amount of prey. We then quantified the expression of predator-induced behavior, morphology, and mass to determine the level of risk that induced each trait, the level of risk that induced the maximal phenotypic response for each trait, whether the different traits exhibited a plateauing response, and whether increasing risk via increasing predator number or via increasing prey consumption induced similar phenotypic changes. We found that all of the traits exhibited fine-tuned, graded responses and most of them exhibited a plateauing response with increased predation risk, suggesting either a limit to plasticity or the reflection of high costs of the defensive phenotype. For many traits, a large proportion of the maximum induction occurred at low levels of risk, suggesting that the chemical cues of predation are effective at extremely low concentrations. In contrast to earlier work, we found that behavioral and morphological responses to increased predator number were simply a response to increased total prey consumption. These results have important implications for models of plasticity evolution, models of optimal phenotypic design, expectations for how organisms respond to fine-grained changes (i.e. wi
Relyea, R. A. 2001. The relationship between predation risk and anti-predator responses in larval anurans. Ecology 82:541-554.
Organisms that produce alternative, nondiscrete phenotypes in response to environmental conditions are expected to alter their phenotypes in relation to the degree of environmental change. This idea has been applied to the evolution of antipredator responses by prey, in which it has been hypothesized that prey should respond more strongly to predators that pose greater mortality risk. In a companion paper, I quantified predatorinduced behavioral and morphological responses in six species of larval anurans across five different predator environments and found that these responses were prey- and predatorspecific. In the present study, I addressed whether the responses were related to the level of predation risk posed by each of the predators. Within each prey species, I found that different predators posed different levels of predation risk; within each predator species, different prey species experienced different levels of risk. The differences in predation risk could be understood mechanistically after I quantified differences among predators in their ability to capture, handle, and consume prey and differences among prey in behavior and morphology. Using multivariate analyses, I found that predation risk had no significant effect on how a given prey responds to predators, although there were significant univariate behavioral effects; higher predation risk was related to greater decreases in activity and greater spatial avoidance. I also examined the relationship between risk and response across the six prey species within a predator treatment and found that higher predation risk across species leads to greater decreases in activity in the presence of Umbra and greater increases in tail depth in the presence of Anax. Thus, while previous studies have found relationships between predation risk and prey response when focusing on relatively few species, few predators, and a single trait, this more powerful test using 30 predator–prey combinations and nine traits sugge
Data from: Neural representation of bat predation risk and evasive flight in moths: a modelling approach
<p>Most animals are at risk from multiple predators and can vary anti-predator behaviour based on the level of threat posed by each predator. Animals use sensory systems to detect predator cues, but the relationship between the tuning of sensory systems and the sensory cues related to predator threat are not well-studied at the community level. Noctuid moths have ultrasound-sensitive ears to detect the echolocation calls of predatory bats. Here, combining empirical data and mathematical modelling, we show that moth hearing is adapted to provide information about the threat posed by different sympatric bat species. First, we found that multiple characteristics related to the threat posed by bats to moths correlate with bat echolocation call frequency. Second, the frequency tuning of the most sensitive auditory receptor in noctuid moth ears provides information allowing moths to escape detection by all sympatric bats with similar safety margin distances. Third, the least sensitive auditory receptor usually responds to bat echolocation calls at a similar distance across all moth species for a given bat species. If this neuron triggers last-ditch evasive flight, it suggests that there is an ideal reaction distance for each bat species, regardless of moth size. This study shows that even a very simple sensory system can adapt to deliver information suitable for triggering appropriate defensive reactions to each predator in a multiple predator community.</p>
Reactive response to predation risk affects foraging time of hares, yet not their phosphorus intake
<p>Antipredator responses could affect nutrient intake, which could lead to nutritional deficits. However, little is known about the antipredator response of small herbivores because most are nocturnal or crepuscular and therefore very difficult to study in the field. Therefore, we experimentally assessed the effect of a reactive response to predation risk on the nutrient (i.e., phosphorous) intake of the European hare (<em>Lepus</em> <em>europaeus</em>) using three different playback sounds. Additionally, we studied the time spent being costly vigilant, the time spent foraging, and the vegetation height in which the hares were present using accelerometers and GPS. Our results showed that elevated predation risk from our playback experiment did not affect the (1) phosphorus intake, (2) time spent being costly vigilant, and (3) time spent in tall vegetation. However, elevated predation risk did increase the time spent foraging. Possibly hares spent more time foraging with an increased predation risk because hares cannot seek refuge from predators. Additionally, the effect on phosphorus intake could be weak because phosphorous intake does not benefit a flight escape, while the reactive response acts late in the predation sequence limiting the effect on hare ecology. Prey anti-predator responses seem strongly related to the escape tactics of prey species that can differ between different habitats and the time of the day. More detailed field studies are necessary to get a better insight into species' anti-predator-food tactics.</p>
Data from: Exploring polymorphism in a palatable prey: Predation risk and frequency-dependence in relation to distinct levels of conspicuousness
<p>Camouflage and warning signals are different anti-predator strategies, which offer an excellent opportunity to study the evolutionary forces acting on prey appearance. Edible prey often escape detection via camouflage, which usually leads to apostatic selection favoring rare morphs. By contrast, defended prey often display conspicuous coloration acting as warning signals to predators, which usually leads to positive frequency-dependence and signal uniformity. However, when two morphs of the same species vary greatly in conspicuousness, the maintenance of both cryptic and conspicuous forms in profitable prey populations remains enigmatic. Using the white and melanic morphs of the invasive box tree moth (<em>Cydalima perspectalis</em>) presented at three different frequencies, we investigate a) the palatability of caterpillars and adult moths to birds, b) predation rates on the less conspicuous melanic morph, and c) the role of frequency-dependence in balancing morph frequencies. Our results show that caterpillars are distasteful for birds but not adult moths, which are fully palatable. We found that the less conspicuous, melanic morph, benefits from reduced predation due to its lower detectability. The more conspicuous, white morph, instead, is more predated and is best off when common, suggesting positive-frequency dependence. These results offer new insights into the evolution of color polymorphism and prey defenses in a polymorphic moth species. Further investigation is required to understand the role of different predation regimes on the maintenance of the polymorphism in this species, and test if additional selection pressures operate in natural populations.</p>
Cracks in the mirror hypothesis: high specularity does not reduce detection or predation risk
<p>Some animals, including certain fish, beetles, spiders and Lepidoptera chrysalises, have such shiny or glossy surfaces that they appear almost mirror-like. A compelling but unsubstantiated hypothesis is that a highly specular or mirror-like appearance enhances survival by reflecting the surrounding environment and reducing detectability.</p> <p>We tested this hypothesis by asking human participants to wear a mobile eye-tracking device and locate highly realistic mirror-green and diffuse-green replica beetles against a variety of backgrounds in a natural forest environment. We also tested whether a mirror-like appearance enhances survival to wild predators by monitoring survival of mirror-green and diffuse-green replica beetles in a forested habitat and an open habitat.</p> <p>Human participants showed no difference in the detection probability or detection latency of mirror versus diffuse replica beetles, indicating that mirror-like appearance does not impair prey capture. The field predation experiment found no difference in survival between the mirror and diffuse replica beetles in forested environments. Similarly, there was no difference in survival when beetles were deployed in open habitat where there is no background to reflect, indicating that predators detect and do not actively avoid mirror-like beetles.</p> <p>Our results suggest that a mirror-like appearance does not reduce attack by predators. Instead, highly specular, mirror-like surfaces may have evolved for an alternate visual function or as a secondary consequence of selection for a non-visual function, such as thermoregulation.</p>
Camera trap data suggest uneven predation risk across vegetation types in a mixed farmland landscape
<p>Ground-nesting farmland birds such as the grey partridge (<em>Perdix perdix</em>) have been rapidly declining due to a combination of habitat loss, food shortage and predation. Predator activity is the least understood factor, especially its modulation by landscape composition and complexity. An important question is whether agri-environment schemes such as flower strips are potentially useful for reducing predation risk, e.g., from red fox (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>). We employed 120 camera traps for two summers in an agricultural landscape in Central Germany to record predator activity (i.e., the number of predator captures) as a proxy for predation risk and used generalized linear mixed models (GLMMs) to investigate how the surrounding landscape affects predator activity in different vegetation types (flower strips, hedges, field margins, winter cereal and rapeseed fields). Additionally, we used 48 cameras to study the distribution of predator captures within flower strips. Vegetation type was the most important factor determining the number of predator captures and captures rates in flower strips were lower than in hedges or field margins. Red fox capture rates were the highest of all predators in every vegetation type, confirming their importance as a predator for ground-nesting birds. The number of fox captures increased with woodland area and decreased with structural richness and distance to settlements. In flower strips, capture rates in the centre were approximately 9 times lower than at the edge. We conclude that the optimal landscape for ground-nesting farmland birds seems to be open farmland with broad extensive vegetation elements and a high structural richness. Broad flower blocks provide valuable, comparatively safe nesting habitats and the predation risk can further be minimized by placing them away from woods and settlements. Our results suggest that adequate landscape management may reduce predation pressure. </p>
Small mammals reduce distance-dependence and increase seed predation risk in tropical rainforest fragments
Seed predation and reduced predation risk with distance from conspecific trees are important influences on tree regeneration in tropical forests. Shifts in animal communities, such as an increase in rodents and other small mammals due to forest fragmentation, could alter patterns of seed predation and affect tree regeneration and community dynamics in forest fragments. We performed a field experiment on four native rainforest tree species in the Western Ghats, India, to test whether fragmentation increases seed predation by mammals and alters the distance-dependence of seed predation. We monitored seed predation within open and mammal-exclosure plots, near and far from the canopies of conspecific trees, in contiguous and fragmented forests. Seed predation of Cullenia exarillata, Ormosia travancorica, and Syzygium rubicundum was markedly higher in forest fragments, and more so within open plots than exclosures, while the predominantly insect-predated Acronychia pedunculata experienced similar predation in contiguous forests and fragments. Seed predation of C. exarillata and S. rubicundum was unrelated to distance from conspecific trees in open plots in both contiguous forests and fragments, in contrast to exclosures that showed marked near versus far differences in seed predation. Our findings suggest that by increasing overall seed predation risk and imposing similar seed predation risk near and far from adults variably across the tree species, small mammals could alter processes that shape tree diversity and species composition in fragmented tropical rainforests.
Behavioral "bycatch" from camera trap surveys yields insights on prey responses to human-mediated predation risk
<p>Human disturbance directly affects animal populations but indirect effects of disturbance on species behaviors are less well understood. Camera traps provide an opportunity to investigate variation in animal behaviors across gradients of disturbance. We used camera trap data to test predictions about predator-sensitive behavior in three ungulate species (caribou Rangifer tarandus; white-tailed deer, Odocoileus virginianus; moose, Alces alces) across two boreal forest landscapes varying in disturbance. We quantified behavior as the number of camera trap photos per detection event and tested its relationship to predation risk between a landscape with greater industrial disturbance and predator abundance (Algar) and a "control" landscape with lower human and predator activity (Richardson). We also assessed the influence of predation risk and habitat on behavior across camera sites within the disturbed Algar landscape. We predicted that animals in areas with greater predation risk (more wolf activity, less cover) would travel faster and generate fewer photos per event, while animals in areas with less predation risk would linger (rest, forage), generating more photos per event. Consistent with predictions, caribou and moose had more photos per event in the landscape where predation risk was reduced. Within the disturbed landscape, no prey species showed a significant behavioral response to wolf activity, but the number of photos per event decreased for white-tailed deer with increasing line of sight (m) along seismic lines (i.e. decreasing visual cover), consistent with a predator-sensitive response. The presence of juveniles was associated with shorter behavioral events for caribou and moose, suggesting greater predator sensitivity for females with calves. Only moose demonstrated a positive association with vegetation productivity (NDVI), suggesting that for other species influences of forage availability were generally weaker than those from predation risk. Behavioral insights can be gleaned from camera trap surveys and provide information about animal responses to predation risk and the indirect impacts of human disturbances.</p>
Evaluating the summer landscapes of predation risk and forage quality for elk (Cervus canadensis)
<p>These data accompany the paper "Evaluating the summer landscapes of predation risk and forage quality for elk (<em>Cervus canadensis</em>)", and are the unscaled version of the second- and third-order resource selection data sets for elk. Each data set consists of 6 columns: elkid (a unique identifier for every individual), used (an indicator: 0 = available sample, 1 = used sample), year, de (modeled digestible energy), lion (predicted relative probability of selection for mountain lions) and wolf (predicted relative probability of selection for wolves).</p>
Altitudinal differences in foraging decisions under predation risk in great tits
<p>Foraging decisions under risk of predation are crucial for survival as predation risk can contribute to a reduction of food intake over time leading to a trade-off between starvation and predation. Environmental variation can provoke changes in food accessibility or predation risk that will in turn affect foraging decisions. Specifically, less predictable or harsher environments, such as those found at high elevation, should lead to more risk-prone foraging in order to prevent risk of starvation, but empirical confirmation of this hypothesis is lacking. In the current study, we used video playbacks combined with an automatic feeder to measure continuous foraging choices between control and predator videos by wild great tits originating from high and low elevations and tested under controlled conditions. Great tits discriminated between two conditions representing differences in predation risk and visited the feeder less frequently when a predator was shown. Moreover, we found that birds from low elevation populations were more risk-averse and visited the feeder significantly less when a predator video playback was broadcasted compared to high elevation individuals. This elevation related contrast was also dependent on the season, body mass and fat reserves of individuals, and was more marked in females. Furthermore, adults visited the feeder less in the presence of a predator compared to yearlings. These results are consistent with predictions from life history theory and starvation-predation trade-off hypotheses and could have implications for individual movements and population dynamics in changing environments.</p>
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 from: Coordination of care reduces conflict and predation risk in a cooperatively breeding bird
<p>When two or more individuals cooperate to provision a shared brood, each carer may be able to maximize their payoffs by coordinating provisioning in relation to what others are doing. This investment 'game' is not simply a matter of how much to invest, but also of the relative timing of investment. Recent studies propose that temporal coordination of care in the forms of alternation (i.e. turn-taking) and synchrony (i.e. provisioning together) function to mitigate conflict between carers and reduce brood predation risk, respectively. Such coordination is widespread in biparental and cooperatively breeding birds, yet the fitness consequences have rarely been empirically tested. Here, we use a long-term study of long-tailed tits <em>Aegithalos caudatus</em>, a facultative cooperatively breeding bird with active coordination of care, to assess the support for these hypothesized functions for coordination of provisioning visits. First, we found evidence that turn-taking mitigates conflict between carers because, in cooperative groups, provisioning rates and offspring recruitment increased with the level of active alternation exhibited by carers, and with the associated increase in provisioning rate parity between carers. In contrast, offspring recruitment did not increase with alternation in biparental nests, although it was positively correlated with parity of provisioning between carers, which is predicted to result from conflict mitigation. Secondly, synchronous nest visits were associated with a reduced probability of nest predation and thus increased brood survival, especially when provisioning rates were high. We attribute this effect to synchrony reducing carer activity near the nest. We conclude that temporal coordination of provisioning visits in the forms of alternation and synchrony both confer fitness benefits on carers, and despite being intrinsically linked, these different kinds of coordination appear to serve different functions.</p>
Fig. 15. P in First Records Of New Aquatic Predator Pelodiscus Sinensis (Wiegmann 1835) In Latvia And Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment Of The Invasion For Autochthonic Emys Orbicularis (Linnaeus 1758)
Fig. 15. P.sinensis laid eggs after breeding in captivity (Latgales Zoo, shelter for exotic turtles).
Fig.13 in First Records Of New Aquatic Predator Pelodiscus Sinensis (Wiegmann 1835) In Latvia And Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment Of The Invasion For Autochthonic Emys Orbicularis (Linnaeus 1758)
Fig.13. Old adult female of Emys orbicularis from the habitat, where Pelodiscus sinensis #PeSi0003 was found in 2014 (Daugavpils, Latvia) (Photo: 2003).
Fig. 5 in First Records Of New Aquatic Predator Pelodiscus Sinensis (Wiegmann 1835) In Latvia And Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment Of The Invasion For Autochthonic Emys Orbicularis (Linnaeus 1758)
Fig. 5. Olaines lake, habitat of the first P.sinensis #PeSi0001 recorded in Latvia (Photo: Drezina, 2008).
Fig. 7 in First Records Of New Aquatic Predator Pelodiscus Sinensis (Wiegmann 1835) In Latvia And Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment Of The Invasion For Autochthonic Emys Orbicularis (Linnaeus 1758)
Fig. 7. Orthophoto of habitat of findings of P.sinensis #PeSi0001 in Olaine, Latvia (Google Earth services).
Fig. 14. Received from owners P in First Records Of New Aquatic Predator Pelodiscus Sinensis (Wiegmann 1835) In Latvia And Preliminary Ecological Risk Assessment Of The Invasion For Autochthonic Emys Orbicularis (Linnaeus 1758)
Fig. 14. Received from owners P.sinensis breeding in captivity (Latgales Zoo, shelter for exotic turtles).
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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.
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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.
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