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70 results for “predator-prey interaction”
California's Central Valley Project Improvement Act Predation Contact Point Study - 2022: Predator-prey interactions under low artificial lighting in a laboratory setting
The highest rates of piscivorous predation in the field have been recorded during crepuscular light levels associated with sunrise and sunset or artificial lighting at night (ALAN). We conducted a laboratory study where groups of predator-naïve, hatchery-raised juvenile rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) were exposed to natural-origin piscivorous largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) under three light treatments representative of brighter crepuscular periods or direct ALAN illumination (“high” treatment), dimmer crepuscular periods or sky glow from ALAN (“medium” treatment), and night or no ALAN (“low” treatment). We then statistically evaluated potential associations between light treatment, prey group cohesion, and predator activity.
Sublethal effects of pesticides on predator-prey interactions in amphibians, 2008.
Increasing evidence suggests that contaminants in the environment can have important consequences on organismal interactions. While we have a good understanding of the lethal effects of contaminants on organisms, we have a weak understanding of how contaminants can affect organisms by altering the interactions that they have with other species in the community. Using tadpoles of two anuran species (Bullfrogs, Lithobates [Rana] catesbeianus; Green Frogs, L. clamitans), we investigated the effects of low nominal concentrations (1 and 10 ppb) of two pesticides (malathion and endosulfan) on tadpole activity and survival when exposed to four predator treatments (no predators; water bugs, Belostoma flumineum; newts, Notophthalmus viridescens; and dragonfly larvae, Anax junius). In both anuran species, adding predators reduced tadpole activity and survival, with increasing rates of mortality occurring with water bugs, newts, and dragonflies, respectively. Additionally, the highest concentration of endosulfan caused tadpole mortality after 48 hrs. Most significant, tadpole species also experienced interactive effects of predators and pesticides on survival after 48 hrs. In Bullfrog treatments, all predators reduced the amount of tadpole mortality when exposed to endosulfan. In Green Frogs, additive negative effects occurred, except that newts increased the tadpole mortality when exposed to endosulfan. Our findings illustrate that pesticide effects on predator–prey interactions are often complex and have the potential to alter aquatic community composition.
Bottom-up meets top-down: Leaf litter inputs influence predator-prey interactions in wetlands, 2011.
While the common conceptual role of resource subsidies is one of bottom-up nutrient and energy supply, inputs can also alter the structural complexity of environments. This can further impact resource flow by providing refuge for prey and decreasing predation rates. However, the direct influence of different organic subsidies on predator–prey dynamics is rarely examined. In forested wetlands, leaf litter inputs are a dominant energy and nutrient resource and they can also increase benthic surface cover and decrease water clarity, which may provide refugia for prey and subsequently reduce predation rates. In outdoor mesocosms, we investigated how inputs of leaf litter that alter benthic surface cover and water clarity influence the mortality and growth of gray treefrog tadpoles (Hyla versicolor) in the presence of free-swimming adult newts (Notophthalmus viridiscens), which are visual predators. To manipulate surface cover, we added either oak (Quercus spp.) or red pine (Pinus resinosa) litter and crossed these treatments with three levels of red maple (Acer rubrum) litter leachate to manipulate water clarity. In contrast to our predictions, benthic surface cover had no effect on tadpole survival while darkening the water caused lower survival. In addition, individual tadpole mass was lowest in the high maple leachate treatments, suggesting an interaction between bottom-up effects of leaf litter and topdown effects of predation risk that altered mortality and growth of tadpoles. Our results indicate that realistic changes in forest tree composition, which cause concomitant changes in litter inputs to wetlands, can substantially alter community interactions.
What doesn’t kill you makes you sluggish: How sublethal pesticides alter predator-prey interactions, 2004.
Pesticides commonly occur in ecological communities at relatively low concentrations, leading to growing interest in determining the sublethal effects of pesticides. Such effects should affect individuals and, in turn, alter interspecific interactions. We sought to determine how sublethal concentrations (0.1 and 1.0 mg/L) of two common pesticides (carbaryl and malathion) affected predator and prey behavior as well as subsequent predation rates. We conducted a series of experiments using three species of larval amphibians (Gray Treefrogs, Hyla versicolor; Green Frogs, Rana clamitans; and American Bullfrogs, R. catesbeiana) and three species of their predators (larval dragonflies, Anax junius; adult water bugs, Belostoma flumineum; and adult Red-spotted Newts, Notophthalmus viridescens). We found that the pesticides frequently reduced the activity of all three tadpole species. For the two invertebrate predators (Anax and Belostoma), the pesticides were lethal, precluding us from examining sublethal effects on predator–prey interactions. However, newt survival was high and the addition of the pesticides reduced the predation rates of newts in one of the three tadpole species. There were no effects of the pesticides on the striking frequency of the newts or on their prey capture efficiency. Thus, the mechanism underlying the pesticide-induced reduction in predation rates remains unclear. What is clear is that sublethal concentrations of pesticides have the potential to alter prey behavior and species interactions and thereby alter the composition of ecological communities.
Habitat features and performance interact to determine the outcomes of terrestrial predator-prey pursuits
<p>1. Animals are responsive to predation risk, often seeking safer habitats at the cost of foraging rewards. Although previous research has examined how habitat features affect detection by predators, little is known about how the interaction of habitat features, sensory cues, and physical performance capabilities affect prey escape performance once detected.</p> <p>2. To investigate how specific habitat features affect predation risk, we developed an individual-based model of terrestrial predator–prey pursuits in habitats with programmable features.</p> <p>3. We ran simulations varying the relative performance capabilities of predator and prey as well as the availability and abundance of refuges and obstacles in the habitat.</p> <p>4. Prey were more likely to avoid detection in complex habitats containing a higher abundance of obstacles; however, if detected, prey escape probability was dependent on both the abundance of refuges and obstacles and the predator's relative performance capabilities. Our model accurately predicted the relative escape success for impala escaping from cheetah in open savanna versus acacia thicket habitat, though escape success was consistently underestimated.</p> <p>5. Our model provides a mechanistic explanation for the differential effects of habitat on survival for different predator–prey pairs. Its flexible nature means that our model can be refined to simulate specific systems and could have applications toward management programs for species threatened by habitat loss and predation.</p>
Beneath the Antarctic sea-ice: Fine-scale analysis of Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) behaviour and predator-prey interactions, using micro-sonar data in Terre Adélie
<p>In this study, we tried to assess:<br>i) whether and how female Weddell seals feed (frequency, depth, duration) during lactation,<br>ii) what is their utilization of a limited foraging area (benthic or pelagic dives) as they are spatially constrained by the presence of their pup, and<br>iii) how can we characterize their foraging dives and the approach/catching phases using new tools providing a more detailed description of their behaviour.<br>Sonar tags were deployed on three breeding female Weddell seals in Terre Adélie (East Antarctica) in November 2019, to study animals' movements and dives at high resolution (3D acceleration, magnetometry, time and depth and GPS location), as well as information on prey and predator-prey interactions using acoustic data.</p>
The Meadow Viper's perspective on the diet and predator-prey interactions of the reptile specialist Smooth Snake
<p>Despite its wide distribution, ecological data on the Smooth Snake (Coronella austriaca) remains limited. Previous dietary analyses report that it mainly consumes lizards, but it also eats mammals and snakes. Little information is available on the habitat choice of the species, but vegetation structure and microtopography are considered the main factors determining occupancy of these snakes. As there is limited data on the diet of this species from Central Europe and it was considered a potential predator of the endangered Vipera ursinii rakosiensis (Hungarian Meadow Viper), we conducted a study concerning the diet of C. austriaca in one of the largest habitats of V. ursinii in Hungary. As there is no data on the occupancy of C. austriaca, we tested if the availability of certain prey species affects its occupancy C. austriaca individuals were captured to collect faecal samples, in which the remains were identified. In the obtained samples (n=53) we found remains of lizards (65%), mammals (20%), insects (12.5%) and Smooth Snake (2.5%). The consumed lizard species were Lacerta viridis, Podarcis tauricus and Lacerta agilis. We found no remains of V. ursinii in the faecal samples. We used dynamic two-species occupancy modeling to test if the occupancy of C. austriaca is linked to the presence of its prey species in the area. We found an interaction between C. austriaca and its lizard prey, as occupancy of C. austriaca had a higher probability when these species were present. We found no interaction between C. austriaca and V. ursinii. Our results support that C. austriaca mainly preys on lizards and its site occupancy depends on prey availability. Importantly, we found no evidence that C. austriaca consumes V. ursinii, which is further supported by the lack of interaction between the occupancy of C. austriaca and that of V. ursinii.</p>
Data from: Predator-prey Interactions of Terrestrial Invertebrates are Determined by Predator Body Size and Species Identity
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The past, present, and future of predator-prey interactions in a warming world: using species distribution modeling to forecast ectotherm-endotherm niche overlap
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Asymmetrical effects of temperature on stage-structured predator-prey interactions
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Beneath the Antarctic sea-ice: Fine-scale analysis of Weddell seal (Leptonychotes weddellii) behaviour and predator-prey interactions, using micro-sonar data in Terre Adélie
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Habitat features and performance interact to determine the outcomes of terrestrial predator-prey pursuits
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Data from: Human-driven breakdown of predator-prey interactions in the northern Adriatic Sea
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Data from: Influence of intra- and interspecific variation in predator-prey body size ratios on trophic interaction strengths
<p>1. Predation is a pervasive force that structures food webs and directly influences ecosystem functioning. The relative body sizes of predators and prey may be an important determinant of interaction strengths. However, studies quantifying the combined influence of intra- and interspecific variation in predator-prey body size ratios are lacking.</p> <p>2. We use a comparative functional response approach to examine interaction strengths between three size classes of invasive bluegill and largemouth bass towards three scaled size classes of their tilapia prey. We then quantify the influence of intra- and interspecific predator-prey body mass ratios on the scaling of attack rates and handling times.</p> <p>3. Type II functional responses were displayed by both predators across all predator and prey size classes. Largemouth bass consumed more than bluegill at small and intermediate predator size classes, whilst large predators of both species were more similar. Small prey were most vulnerable overall, however differential attack rates among prey were emergent across predator sizes. For both bluegill and largemouth bass, small predators exhibited higher attack rates towards small and intermediate prey sizes, whilst larger predators exhibited greater attack rates towards large prey. Conversely, handling times increased with prey size, with small bluegill exhibiting particularly low feeding rates towards medium-large prey types. Attack rates for both predators peaked unimodally at intermediate predator-prey body mass ratios, whilst handling times generally shortened across increasing body mass ratios.</p> <p>4. We thus demonstrate effects of body size ratios on predator-prey interaction strengths between key fish species, with attack rates and handling times dependent on the relative sizes of predator-prey participants.</p> <p>5. Considerations for intra- and interspecific body size ratio effects are critical for predicting the strengths of interactions within ecosystems and may drive differential ecological impacts among invasive species as size ratios shift.</p>
Data from: Antagonistic species interaction drives selection for sex in a predator-prey system
<p>The evolutionary maintenance of sexual reproduction has long challenged biologists as the majority of species reproduce sexually despite inherent costs. Providing a general explanation for the evolutionary success of sex has thus proven difficult and resulted in numerous hypotheses. A leading hypothesis suggests that antagonistic species interaction can generate conditions selecting for increased sex due to the production of rare or novel genotypes that are beneficial for rapid adaptation to recurrent environmental change brought on by antagonism. To test this ecology-based hypothesis, we conducted experimental evolution in a predator (rotifer) - prey (algal) system by using continuous cultures to track predator-prey dynamics and in-situ rates of sex in the prey over time and within replicated experimental populations. Overall, we found that predator-mediated fluctuating selection for competitive versus defended prey resulted in higher rates of genetic mixing in the prey. More specifically, our results showed that fluctuating population sizes of predator and prey, coupled with a trade-off in the prey, drove the sort of recurrent environmental change that could provide a benefit to sex in the prey, despite inherent costs. We end with a discussion of potential population genetic mechanisms underlying increased selection for sex in this system, based on our application of a general theoretical framework for measuring the effects of sex over time, and interpreting how these effects can lead to inferences about the conditions selecting for or against sexual reproduction in a system with antagonistic species interaction.</p>
Data from: Diversity in thermal affinity among key piscivores buffers impacts of ocean warming on predator-prey interactions
Asymmetries in responses to climate change have the potential to alter important predator-prey interactions, in part by altering the location and size of spatial refugia for prey. We evaluated the effect of ocean warming on interactions between four important piscivores and four of their prey in the U.S. Northeast Shelf by examining species overlap under historical conditions (1968-2014) and with a doubling in CO2. Because both predator and prey shift their distributions in response to changing ocean conditions, the net impact of warming or cooling on predator-prey interactions was not determined a priori from the range extent of either predator or prey alone. For Atlantic cod, an historically dominant piscivore in the region, we found that both historical and future warming led to a decline in the proportion of prey species' range it occupied and caused a potential reduction in its ability to exert top-down control on these prey. In contrast, the potential for overlap of spiny dogfish with prey species was enhanced by warming, expanding their importance as predators in this system. In sum, the decline in the ecological role for cod that began with overfishing in this ecosystem will likely be exacerbated by warming, but this loss may be counteracted by the rise in dominance of other piscivores with contrasting thermal preferences. Functional diversity in thermal affinity within the piscivore guild may therefore buffer against the impact of warming on marine ecosystems, suggesting a novel mechanism by which diversity confers resilience.
Data from: Thermal sensitivity and the role of behavior in driving an intertidal predator-prey interaction
Environmental stress models (ESM) provide a useful framework to study the direct and indirect ecological drivers of community diversity and resilience. ESMs make predictions about the relative importance of structuring processes (e.g., predation) based on the relative stress suffered by consumers and prey. Their practical application, i.e., determining the conditions under which consumers and prey performance is more negatively affected, has been limited because the roles of behavior and physiology are not usually considered. We examined the role of thermal sensitivity and behavior on the thermal performance of the rocky intertidal predator Pisaster ochraceus and its main prey Mytilus californianus. We propose a novel framework that merges thermal performance curves (TPC) with observations of microhabitat use to provide a realistic perspective of the relative physiological conditions of predator and prey. First, by deriving aquatic and aerial TPCs for both species and from two sites, we found differences in parameter values that in some cases correspond to the individuals' origins. Second, we calculated realized thermal performance in the field by combining TPCs with body temperatures recorded with biomimetic sensors. Notably, thermal performance of Pisaster was higher than that for Mytilus (i.e., prey-stress model), contrary to previous expectations based on caging experiments. Third, these estimates of thermal performance corresponded loosely with a measured indicator of overall physiological condition (body mass index, BMI) and a marker for extreme thermal stress (heat-shock proteins 70 kDa), suggesting that environmental drivers other than temperature, such as food supply, must be considered. We found no evidence that Pisaster movement significantly influences thermal performance under typical conditions, suggesting instead that its preference for sheltered microhabitats provides a mechanism for avoiding exposure to extreme environmental conditions. Through the application of TPCs and ESMs, this study provides a unique perspective on the importance of physiology and behavior in driving the sensitivity of species interactions to environmental change. Crucially, this framework allowed clarifying that this system behaves as a prey- instead of consumer-stress model, which may also apply to many other ectotherm species interactions.
Thermal plasticity and evolution shape predator-prey interactions differently in clear and turbid water
<p>Warming and eutrophication negatively affect freshwater ecosystems by modifying trophic interactions and increasing water turbidity. We need to consider their joint effects on predator-prey interactions, and how these depend on the thermal evolution of both predator and prey.</p> <p>We quantified how 4°C warming and algae-induced turbidity (that integrates turbidity per se and increased food for zooplankton prey) affect functional response parameters and prey population parameters in a common-garden experiment. We did so for all combinations of high- and low-latitude predator (damselfly larvae) and prey (water fleas) populations to assess the potential impact of thermal evolution of predators and/or prey at a high latitude under warming using a space-for-time substitution. We then modelled effects on the system stability (i.e. tendency to oscillate) under different warming, turbidity and evolutionary scenarios.</p> <p>Warming and turbidity had little effect on the functional response parameters of high-latitude predators. In contrast, warming and turbidity reduced the handling times of low-latitude predators. Moreover, warming increased the search rates of low-latitude predators in clear water but instead decreased these in turbid water.</p> <p>Warming increased stability (i.e. prevented oscillations) in turbid water (except for the "high-latitude predator & high-latitude prey" system), mainly by decreasing the prey's carrying capacity and partly also by decreasing search rates, while it did not affect stability in clear water. Algae-induced turbidity generally decreased stability, mainly by increasing the prey's carrying capacity and partly also by increasing search rates. This resembles findings that nutrient enrichment can reduce the stability of trophic systems. The expected stability of the high-latitude trophic system under warming was dependent on the turbidity level: our results suggest that thermal plasticity tends to destabilize the high-latitude trophic system under warming in clear water but not in turbid water, and that thermal evolution of the predator will stabilize the high-latitude system under warming in turbid water but less so in clear water.</p> <p>The extent to which thermal plasticity and evolution shape trophic system stability under warming may strongly differ between clear and turbid water bodies, with their contributions having a more stabilizing role in turbid water.</p>
Inferring predator-prey interactions from camera traps: A Bayesian co-abundance modelling approach
<p><span>Predator-prey dynamics are a fundamental part of ecology, but directly studying interactions has proven difficult. The proliferation of camera trapping has enabled the collection of large datasets on wildlife, but researchers face hurdles inferring interactions from observational data. </span><span>Recent advances in </span><span>hierarchical c</span><span>o-abundance models infer species interactions while </span><span>accounting for two species' detection probabilities, shared responses to environmental covariates, and propagate uncertainty throughout the</span> <span>entire modelling process. However, current approaches remain </span><span>unsuitable for interacting species </span><span>whose natural densities differ by an order of magnitude and have contrasting detection probabilities, such as predator-prey interactions, which introduce zero-inflation and overdispersion in count histories. </span><span>Here we developed </span><span>a Bayesian hierarchical N-mixture co-abundance model that is </span><span>suitable for </span><span>inferring </span><span>predator-prey </span><span>interactions. We accounted for excessive zeros in count histories using an informed zero-inflated Poisson distribution in the abundance formula and accounted for overdispersion in count histories by including a random effect per sampling unit and sampling occasion in the detection probability formula. We demonstrate that models with these modifications outperform alternative approaches, improve model goodness-of-fit, and overcome parameter convergence failures. We highlight its utility using 20 camera trapping datasets </span><span>from 10 tropical forest landscapes in Southeast Asia and estimate four predator-prey relationships between tigers, clouded leopards, and muntjac and sambar deer. Tigers had a negative effect on muntjac abundance, providing support for top-down regulation, while clouded leopards had a positive effect on muntjac and sambar deer, likely driven by shared responses to unmodelled covariates like hunting. </span><span>This Bayesian co-abundance modelling approach to quantify predator-prey relationships </span><span>is widely applicable across species, ecosystems, and sampling approaches, and may be useful in forecasting cascading impacts following widespread predator declines. Taken together, this approach facilitates a nuanced and mechanistic understanding of food-web ecology.</span></p>
Conspicuous coloration of toxin-resistant predators implicates additional trophic interactions in a predator-prey arms race
<p>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 (<em>Thamnophis sirtalis</em>) have evolved extreme resistance to tetrodotoxin (TTX) in the coevolutionary arms race with their deadly prey, Pacific newts (<em>Taricha spp.)</em>. 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.</p>
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