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28 results for “predation threat”
Relyea, R. A. 2000. Trait-mediated indirect effects in larval anurans: Reversing competition with the threat of predation. Ecology 81:2278-2289.
Ecologists recently have been focusing on the role that trait-mediated indirect effects can have on community structure and composition. To date, this work has primarily focused on the effects of predator-induced behavioral plasticity on communities. However, predator-induced morphological plasticity, which has been documented in many taxa, might also lead to trait-mediated indirect effects. Here, I examined how predators altered the behavior and morphology of larval wood frogs (Rana sylvatica) and leopard frogs (R. pipiens) and how these phenotypic changes altered the outcome of competition between the two species. Competition in the absence of caged predators was asymmetric; when reared separately, leopard frogs grew more than wood frogs, but when competing (without predators), wood frogs grew faster than leopard frogs. The presence of caged predators reversed the outcome of competition between the two anuran prey. In the presence of larval dragonflies (Anax spp.) or caged mudminnows (Umbra limi), leopard frogs grew faster than wood frogs while total tadpole biomass production remained unchanged. Thus, there was a predator-mediated indirect effect. Because predators alter both the behavior and morphology of larval anurans and both of these traits are known to affect resource consumption and growth, both are potential mechanisms to explain the change in competitive outcome. Changes in behavior were not related to changes in growth, but changes in morphology (specifically mouth width and tail length) were related to changes in growth. When competitors were added (without predators), wood frogs increased their mouth width by 10% and their tail length by 3%, while leopard frogs increased their mouth width by 5% and did not change their tail length. The greater increase in mouth width for wood frogs should increase their forage intake, since tadpoles feed by scraping periphyton; the importance of a 3% longer tail in competitive ability is unknown. The presence of the p
Managing multiple threats: Evaluating the efficacy of broad-scale introduced predator management in improving native mammal resilience to fire
<p>Preventing further biodiversity loss requires understanding which processes threaten biodiversity and the effectiveness of management actions in mitigating them. Threatening processes can interact in complex and unexpected ways, but different threats are often managed independently. Here, we develop a conceptual model to identify the conditions needed for management of a single threat to achieve a net conservation benefit in systems with multiple interacting threats, and demonstrate its relevance in a replicated case-study experiment. In Australia, introduced red foxes (<em>Vulpes vulpes</em>) and feral cats (<em>Felis catus</em>) may hunt vulnerable native mammals more effectively after fire, due to loss of understory vegetation. However, the efficacy of broad-scale control of introduced predators in improving native mammal resilience to fire has not been quantified. Moreover, many studies assessing the impacts of prescribed fire on species rely on a much smaller number of independent replicates. Using a natural before-after control-impact experiment with 14 prescribed fires, each > 200 ha, we tested whether existing landscape-scale fox baiting programs influenced the immediate effects of prescribed fire on these two introduced predators and five medium-sized native mammals, including the threatened long-nosed potoroo (<em>Potorous tridactylus</em>) and southern brown bandicoot (<em>Isoodon obesulus</em>). Fox occupancy increased across both treatments post-fire, but baiting reduced the magnitude of increase. In contrast, mean feral cat occupancy remained constant in unbaited areas post-fire, but nearly doubled in fox-controlled areas, possibly due to a mesopredator release. Existing landscape-scale fox control programs did not clearly improve the short-term resilience of native mammals to prescribed fire (at least under the current fire and fox management regimes in our study landscapes). These results likely emphasise the need to integrate fire and predator management strategies for threatened faunal conservation iIn the presence of acute disturbances such as fire, threatened native mammals may require more intensive and integrated management of fire and introduced predators, such as (e.g., through more intensive targeted predator controlbaiting around fire events, or intensive protection usingthrough natural or artificial refuges).</p>
Fig. 1 in Aquatic vertebrate predation threats to the Platte River caddisfly (Trichoptera: Limnephilidae)
Fig. 1. Percent of total Ironoquia plattensis larvae consumed over the 72 h test period for each vertebrate species tested.
Fig. 1 in Physiological responses of anti-predation in prey fish to the threat of piscivorous fish in different underwater visibility conditions
Fig. 1. Mean and standard error of plasma cortisol levels for Astyanax bimaculatus (Linnaeus, 1758) shoals in treatments with clear (white box) and turbid water (striped box). Different letters above bars indicate significant differences at P<0.05 in the Kruskal Wallis test between predator types. There were no differences between plasma cortisol levels in clear and turbid water treatments.
Data from: Housework or vigilance? Bilbies alter burrowing activity under threat of predation by feral cats
<p>Behavioral adjustments to predation risk not only impose costs on prey species themselves but can also have cascading impacts on whole ecosystems. The greater bilby (<em>Macrotis lagotis</em>) is an important ecosystem engineer, modifying the physical environment through their digging activity, and supporting a diverse range of sympatric species that use its burrows for refuge and food resources. The bilby has experienced severe decline over the last 200 years, and the species is now restricted to approximately 20% of its former distribution. Introduced predators, such as the feral cat (<em>Felis catus</em>), have contributed to this decline. We used camera traps to monitor bilby burrows at four sites in Western Australia, where bilbies were exposed to varying levels of cat predation threat. We investigated the impact of feral cats on bilby behavior at burrows, particularly during highly vulnerable periods when they dig and clear away soil or debris from the burrow entrance as they perform burrow maintenance. There was little evidence that bilbies avoided burrows that were visited by a feral cat; however, bilbies reduced the time spent performing burrow maintenance in the days following a cat visit (p=0.010). We found the risk posed to bilbies varied over time, with twice the cat activity around full moon compared with dark nights. Bilby burrows are such valuable resources for ecosystem functioning that bilby predation by feral cats, as well as even indirect impacts on bilby behavioral responses to perceived predation risk, together may have a substantial ecosystem impact.</p>
Data for: The evolution of enclosed nesting in passerines is shaped by competition, energetic costs and predation threat
<p><span>Many bird species breed in enclosed nests which may provide better protection against predation and climatic conditions compared to open nests and </span><span>are </span><span>generally associated with </span><span>larger clutch sizes</span><span> and slower offspring growth</span><span>. Here we show that different enclosed nesting strategies are each linked to behaviors with very different costs and benefits on a macroevolutionary scale. Using a detailed dataset of nest structure and location from the order Passeriformes we employed phylogenetic comparative methods to evaluate (1) how predation, competition, design complexity and energetic costs have shaped evolutionary transitions between different nesting strategies and (2) whether these strategies also have distinct relationships with life-history traits. We find that flexible strategies (i.e., nesting in both open and enclosed sites) as well as energetically demanding strategies are evolutionarily unstable, indicating the presence of underlying ecological trade-offs between anti-predator protections, construction costs and competition. We confirm that species with enclosed nests have larger clutch sizes and longer development and nestling periods compared to open nesters, but only species that construct enclosed nests rather than compete for pre-existing cavities spend more time incubating and are concentrated in the tropics. Flexible strategies prevail in seasonal environments and are linked to larger clutches – but not longer development – compared to nesting in the open. Overall, our results suggest that predation, competition and energetic costs affect the evolution of nesting strategies, but via distinct pathways, and that caution is warranted when generalizing about the functions of enclosed nest designs in birds. </span></p>
Data from: Sexually attractive traits predict predation-threat sensitivity of male alternative mating tactics
<p>Although visual sexual signals, such as ornamental colors and courtship displays, and large body size in males are attractive to females in numerous species, they may also inadvertently attract the attention of eavesdropping predators and thus may be costly in terms of increasing individual risk of mortality to predation. Theoretically, more color-ornamented and larger males should be more predation threat sensitive and suppress their sexual signaling and(or) mating effort relatively more than their less color-ornamented and smaller counterparts when under predation hazard. Here, we experimentally tested this hypothesis by quantifying concurrently the rates of alternative mating tactics (courtship displays, sneak mating attempts) expressed by male Trinidadian guppies (<em>Poecilia reticulata</em>) varying in color ornamentation and body size under a staged immediate threat of predation. Males suppressed their overall mating effort in response to the perceived predation threat, decreasing the frequency of their (presumably more conspicuous) courtship displays significantly more on average than the frequency of their sneak mating behavior. Statistically controlling for body length, more color-ornamented males were more threat-sensitive in their courtship displays, but not sneak mating attempts, under predation hazard than drabber males. Controlling for body coloration, larger males exhibited lower courtship and sneak mating efforts than smaller males in both predation treatments, but body length only influenced threat sensitivity in sneak mating behavior. These results are consistent with both the threat-sensitive hypothesis and asset protection principle and highlight the phenotype-dependency and adaptive plasticity of alternative mating tactics in male guppies under varying predation risk.</p>
Data from: Dynamic shifts in predator diel activity patterns across landscapes and threat levels
<p>Understanding the constraints dominant predators impose on subordinate species is important for predicting ecosystem dynamics and anticipating outcomes of predator management. Subordinate predators may avoid dominant predators in time or space, making it difficult to quantify antipredator behaviours unless joint spatiotemporal analyses are used. Here, we tested whether an invasive dominant predator (red fox <em>Vulpes vulpes</em>) alters the spatiotemporal activity of an invasive subordinate predator (feral cat <em>Felis catus</em>). We collated records of both species from 3,667 camera-traps deployed experimentally across two regions of south-eastern Australia with simplified predator guilds. Foxes were poison-baited in some landscapes within each region. We used generalised additive models to quantify changes in predator spatiotemporal activity across geographic space, vegetation types, human footprint and (artificially manipulated) gradients of dominant predator activity. Foxes and cats had similar diel activity patterns when averaged across all sites, however there was important differentiation at a finer scale cats did not reduce their spatial activity but shifted diel patterns when localised fox activity was high. Cats were crepuscular on average. However, across dry vegetation types of both regions (where foxes were nocturnal), cats shifted to diurnal behaviour with increasing fox activity. In contrast, fox activity was relatively consistent throughout the daily cycle in the wet forest; here cats avoided dawn when fox activity was high. Changes in cat diel activity patterns may facilitate spatial coexistence between these two invasive predators, potentially shifting feral cat impacts onto different native prey. It is well-appreciated that predator activity varies spatially and fluctuates throughout the daily cycle. However, our study demonstrates that diel activity patterns also vary across space, likely mediated by both landscape-context and fear. Dominant predator avoidance in time appears to be spatially dynamic a key nuance which is overlooked when simply comparing the average activity overlap between two species.</p>
Data for: The evolution of enclosed nesting in passerines is shaped by competition, energetic costs and predation threat
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Data from: Do prey select for vacant hunting domains to minimize a multi-predator threat?
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Data from: Sexually attractive traits predict predation-threat sensitivity of male alternative mating tactics
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Data from: Dynamic shifts in predator diel activity patterns across landscapes and threat levels
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Data from: Stunned by a heatwave: Experimental heatwaves alter juvenile responsiveness to the threat of predation
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Data from: Housework or vigilance? Bilbies alter burrowing activity under threat of predation by feral cats
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Personality composition affects group cohesion of homing pigeons in response to novelty and predation threat
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Experimental predator intrusions in a cooperative breeder reveal threat-dependent task partitioning
In cooperatively breeding species, non-breeding individuals provide alloparental care and help in territory maintenance and defence. Antipredator behaviours of subordinates can enhance offspring survival, which may provide direct and indirect fitness benefits to all group members. Helping abilities and involved costs and benefits, risks and outside options (e.g. breeding independently) usually diverge between group members, which calls for status-specific differentiated behavioural responses. Such role differentiation within groups may generate task-specific division of labour, as exemplified by eusocial animals. In vertebrates, little is known about such task differentiation among group members. We show how breeders and helpers of the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus savoryi partition predator defence depending on intruder type and the presence of dependent young. In the field, we experimentally simulated intrusions by different fish species posing a risk either specifically to eggs, young, or adults. We used intrusions by harmless algae-eaters as a control. Breeders defended most when dependent young were present, while helper investment hinged mainly on their body size and on the potential threat posed by the respective intruders. Breeders and helpers partitioned defence tasks primarily when dependent young were exposed to immediate risk, with breeders investing most in antipredator defence, while helpers increased guarding and care in the breeding chamber. Breeders' defence likely benefits helpers as well, as it was especially enhanced in the treatment where helpers were also at risk. These findings illustrate that in a highly social fish different group members exhibit fine-tuned behavioural responses in dependence of ecological and reproductive parameter variation.
Threats from the air: damselfly predation on diverse prey taxa
<p>1. To understand the diversity and strength of predation in natural communities, researchers must quantify the total amount of prey species in the diet of predators. Metabarcoding approaches have allowed widespread characterization of predator diets with high taxonomic resolution. To determine the wider impacts of predators, researchers should combine DNA techniques with estimates of population size of predators using mark-release-recapture (MRR) methods, and with accurate metrics of food consumption by individuals.</p> <p>2. Herein, we estimate the scale of predation exerted by four damselfly species on diverse prey taxa within a well-defined 12-ha study area, resolving the prey species of individual damselflies, to what extent the diets of predatory species overlap, and which fraction of the main prey populations are consumed.</p> <p>3. We identify the taxonomic composition of diets using DNA metabarcoding and quantify damselfly population sizes by MRR. We also use predator-specific estimates of consumption rates, and independent data on prey emergence rates to estimate the collective predation pressure summed over all prey taxa and specific to their main prey (non-biting midges or chironomids) of the four damselfly species.</p> <p>4. The four damselfly species collectively consumed a prey mass equivalent to roughly 870 (95% CL 410–1,800) grams, over two months. Each individual consumed 29%-66% (95% CL 9.4–123) of its body weight during its relatively short life span (2.1-4.7 days 95% CL 0.74–7.9) in the focal population. This predation pressure was widely distributed across the local invertebrate prey community, including 4 classes, 19 orders, and ca. 140 genera. Different predator species showed extensive overlap in diets, with an average of 30% of prey shared by at least two predator species.</p> <p>5. Of the available prey individuals in the widely-consumed family Chironomidae, only a relatively small proportion (0.76%; 95% CL 0.35%–1.61%) were consumed.</p> <p>6. Our synthesis of population sizes, per-capita consumption rates and taxonomic distribution of diets identifies damselflies as a comparatively minor predator group of aerial insects. As the next step, we should add estimates of predation by larger odonate species, and experimental removal of odonates, thereby establishing the full impact of odonate predation on prey communities. </p>
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 for the article: Trophic niche partitioning between two prey and their incidental predators revealed various threats for an endangered species
<p><span>Documenting trophic niche partitioning and resource use within a community is critical to evaluate underlying mechanisms of coexistence, competition or predation. Detailed knowledge about foraging is essential as it may influence the vital rates, which, in turn, can affect trophic relationships between species and population dynamics. The aims of this study were to evaluate resource and trophic niche partitioning in summer/autumn between the endangered Atlantic-Gaspésie caribou (<em>Rangifer tarandus caribou</em>) population, moose (<em>Alces americanus</em>) and their incidental predators, the black bear (<em>Ursus americanus</em>) and coyote (<em>Canis latrans</em>), and to quantify the extent to which these predators consumed caribou. Bayesian isotopic analysis showed a small overlap in trophic niche for the two sympatric ungulates suggesting a low potential for resource competition. Our result also revealed that caribou occupied a larger isotopic niche area than moose, suggesting a greater diversity of resources used by caribou. Not surprisingly, coyote consumed mainly deer (<em>Odocoileus virginianus</em>), moose, snowshoe hare (<em>Lepus americanus</em>), and occasionally caribou, while bears consumed mainly vegetation and, to a lesser extent, moose and caribou. As coyotes and bears also feed on plant species, we documented trophic niche overlap between caribou and their predators, as searching for similar resources can force them to use the same habitats and thus increase the encounter rate and, ultimately, mortality risk for caribou. Although the decline of the Gaspésie caribou population is mostly driven by habitat-mediated predation, we found evidence that the low level of resource competition with moose added to the shared resources with incidental predators, mainly bears, may contribute to jeopardize the recovery of this endangered caribou population. Highlighting the trophic interaction between species is needed to establish efficient conservation and management strategies to insure the persistence of endangered populations. The comparison of trophic niches of species sharing the same habitat or resources is fundamental to evaluate the mechanisms of coexistence or competition and eventually predict the consequences of ecosystem changes in the community.</span></p>
Data for the article: Trophic niche partitioning between two prey and their incidental predators revealed various threats for an endangered species
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