scholarly journals Individual willingness to leave a safe refuge and the trade-off between food and safety: a test with social fish

2019 ◽  
Vol 286 (1907) ◽  
pp. 20190826 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jesse Balaban-Feld ◽  
William A. Mitchell ◽  
Burt P. Kotler ◽  
Sundararaj Vijayan ◽  
Lotan T. Tov Elem ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Group Foraging ◽  
Refuge Use ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Individual Fish ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual

Refuges offer prey animals protection from predation, but increased time spent hiding can reduce foraging opportunities. Within social groups, individuals vary in their refuge use and willingness to forage in the presence of a predator. Here, we examine the relative foraging benefits and mortality costs associated with individual refuge use and foraging behaviour within groups of goldfish ( Carassius auratus ) under predation risk from an avian predator (little egret— Egretta garzetta ). We assessed individual order of emergence from the refuge and participation over 15 group foraging outings, and assigned each fish a daily outing index score. The individual fish that emerged from the refuge earlier than the other group members and that participated in more outings received high outing index scores and consumed more food compared with fish that tended to emerge in posterior positions and participate in fewer outings. However, individual fish that attained high outing index scores suffered a higher risk of predation. Furthermore, the amount of time the egret spent at the pool affected group foraging behaviour: as predation risk increased, groups of fish consumed significantly less food. Our results exemplify the trade-off between foraging success and safety from predation that prey species regularly experience.

scholarly journals Task allocation and site fidelity jointly influence foraging regulation in honeybee colonies

2017 ◽  
Vol 4 (8) ◽  
pp. 170344 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thiago Mosqueiro ◽  
Chelsea Cook ◽  
Ramon Huerta ◽  
Jürgen Gadau ◽  
Brian Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Site Fidelity ◽  
Collective Behaviour ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Agent Based ◽  
Resource Collection ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Collective Foraging ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Colony Level ◽  
And Task

Variation in behaviour among group members often impacts collective outcomes. Individuals may vary both in the task that they perform and in the persistence with which they perform each task. Although both the distribution of individuals among tasks and differences among individuals in behavioural persistence can each impact collective behaviour, we do not know if and how they jointly affect collective outcomes. Here, we use a detailed computational model to examine the joint impact of colony-level distribution among tasks and behavioural persistence of individuals, specifically their fidelity to particular resource sites, on the collective trade-off between exploring for new resources and exploiting familiar ones. We developed an agent-based model of foraging honeybees, parametrized by data from five colonies, in which we simulated scouts, who search the environment for new resources, and individuals who are recruited by the scouts to the newly found resources, i.e. recruits. We varied the persistence of returning to a particular food source of both scouts and recruits and found that, for each value of persistence, there is a different optimal ratio of scouts to recruits that maximizes resource collection by the colony. Furthermore, changes to the persistence of scouts induced opposite effects from changes to the persistence of recruits on the collective foraging of the colony. The proportion of scouts that resulted in the most resources collected by the colony decreased as the persistence of recruits increased. However, this optimal proportion of scouts increased as the persistence of scouts increased. Thus, behavioural persistence and task participation can interact to impact a colony's collective behaviour in orthogonal directions. Our work provides new insights and generates new hypotheses into how variations in behaviour at both the individual and colony levels jointly impact the trade-off between exploring for new resources and exploiting familiar ones.

scholarly journals Prey synchronize their vigilant behaviour with other group members

2007 ◽  
Vol 274 (1615) ◽  
pp. 1287-1291 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivier Pays ◽  
Pierre-Cyril Renaud ◽  
Patrice Loisel ◽  
Maud Petit ◽  
Jean-François Gerard ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Group Size ◽  
Prey Species ◽  
Group Members ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Cost ◽  
Group Member

It is generally assumed that an individual of a prey species can benefit from an increase in the number of its group's members by reducing its own investment in vigilance. But what behaviour should group members adopt in relation to both the risk of being preyed upon and the individual investment in vigilance? Most models assume that individuals scan independently of one another. It is generally argued that it is more profitable for each group member owing to the cost that coordination of individual scans in non-overlapping bouts of vigilance would require. We studied the relationships between both individual and collective vigilance and group size in Defassa waterbuck, Kobus ellipsiprymnus defassa , in a population living under a predation risk. Our results confirmed that the proportion of time an individual spent in vigilance decreased with group size. However, the time during which at least one individual in the group scanned the environment (collective vigilance) increased. Analyses showed that individuals neither coordinated their scanning in an asynchronous way nor scanned independently of one another. On the contrary, scanning and non-scanning bouts were synchronized between group members, producing waves of collective vigilance. We claim that these waves are triggered by allelomimetic effects i.e. they are a phenomenon produced by an individual copying its neighbour's behaviour.

scholarly journals Possums in the park: efficient foraging under the risk of predation or of competition?

2000 ◽  
Vol 48 (2) ◽  
pp. 155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eve McDonald-Madden ◽  
Lian K. Akers ◽  
Deena J. Brenner ◽  
Sarah Howell ◽  
Blair W. Patullo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Population ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Field Experiments ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Trichosurus Vulpecula ◽  
Initial Amount ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Food Items ◽  
Risk Of Predation

Many eutherian mammals adjust their foraging behaviour according to the presence or threat of predators. Here, we examine experimentally whether an urban population of brushtail possums, Trichosurus vulpecula, similarly adjust their foraging behaviour. Our field experiments manipulated the quantity of food items in artificial feeders placed at different distances from trees. These experiments showed that the possums remained longer at feeders placed far from the trees, but their foraging behaviour did not change with the initial amount of food. The scanning behaviour of possums did not simply increase with distance from the trees, as predicted from studies of other vertebrates. Nevertheless, the number of physical conflicts between individuals increased as the amount of available food decreased. These data suggest that the changes in the foraging behaviour of the possums in this population do not reflect a simple trade-off between foraging efficiency and the risk of predation or competition.

Variation in search and predatory attack strategies of shark mackerel Grammatorcynus bicarinatus

2008 ◽  
Vol 88 (4) ◽  
pp. 847-849 ◽  
Author(s):  
Peter J. Auster
Keyword(s):  
Information Sharing ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Linear Search ◽  
Group Foraging ◽  
Individual Fish ◽  
Or Groups ◽  
Predatory Attack

I observed shark mackerel demonstrating multiple search and attack strategies. Strategies were categorized as three distinct types: (1) a linear search by single or groups of fish along reef features; (2) ambush from a stationary position on the seafloor; and (3) ambush from resting schools of co-occurring predators. Together these strategies were consistent with both information-sharing and producer–scrounger models of group foraging and indicate significant flexibility in individual fish foraging behaviour based on proximate conditions.

scholarly journals Foraging behaviour and the risk of predation in the black house spider, Badumna insignis (Desidae)

1999 ◽  
Vol 47 (1) ◽  
pp. 29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robbie J. Henderson ◽  
Mark A. Elgar
Keyword(s):  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
Foraging Efficiency ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
House Spider ◽  
The Web ◽  
Model Predator

Many animals adjust their behaviour according to the presence or threat of predators. However, the foraging behaviour of sit-and-wait predators is typically thought to be inflexible to short-term changes in the environment. Here we investigate the foraging behaviour of the nocturnally active black house spider, Badumna insignis. Experiments in which different kinds of prey were introduced into the web during either the day or night indicated that the foraging success of Badumna is compromised by behaviours that reduce the risk of predation. During the day, spiders generally remain within the retreat and take longer to reach the prey, which may reduce their foraging success. In contrast, spiders sat exposed at the edge of the retreat at night, and from here could usually reach the prey before it escaped. The spiders were able to escape from a model predator more rapidly if they were at the edge of the retreat than if they were out on the web. These data suggest that the costs to Badumna of reduced fecundity through poor foraging efficiency may be outweighed by the benefits of reducing the risk of predation

Trade-offs in the choice of refuges by common wall lizards: do thermal costs affect preferences for predator-free refuges?

2004 ◽  
Vol 82 (6) ◽  
pp. 897-901 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luisa Amo ◽  
Pilar López ◽  
José Martín
Keyword(s):  
Avoidance Response ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Thermal Conditions ◽  
Movement Rate ◽  
Podarcis Muralis ◽  
Refuge Use ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Common Wall

Prey often respond to predator presence by increasing refuge use. However, some types of refuges may expose prey to other types of predators. In addition, in selecting refuges ectothermic animals may have a conflict between safety and thermal suitability. In this paper we examined in the laboratory whether common wall lizards, Podarcis muralis (Laurenti, 1768), (i) prefer to use warm refuges to cold ones, (ii) prefer safe refuges to those with chemical cues of a saurophagous snake, and (iii) whether lizards face a trade-off between using a warm but snake-scented refuge or a cold but odorless one. Results did not show differences in refuge use in relation to refuge temperature, because common wall lizards only entered to investigate it, but they were not forced to hide. So, common wall lizards did not have to be at suboptimal temperatures for longer times. Common wall lizards avoided the use of predator-scented refuges, regardless of thermal conditions, and they also increased their movement rate, trying to escape from the terrarium. Because snakes are inconspicuous inside refuges, an avoidance response to their chemicals may enhance the survival possibilities of common wall lizards. We conclude that in common wall lizards, predation-risk costs are more important than thermal costs in determining refuge use.

scholarly journals The consequences of complex habitat loss for the New Zealand blue cod, Parapercis colias

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Baylee Wade
Keyword(s):  
Population Dynamics ◽  
New Zealand ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Habitat Loss ◽  
Habitat Complexity ◽  
Prey Availability ◽  
Prey Abundance ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Fishery Species

<p>Climate driven threats are predicted to decrease the complexity of biogenic habitats. Within temperate coastal marine environments, we know that complex macroalgal beds support more complex communities through the provision of microhabitats and refuges. Macroalgal habitats have potential interacting benefits and costs for predators, as increased macroalgal biomass supports higher richness and diversity of prey species, but prey within these habitats might be more difficult to catch. An important New Zealand fishery species, the blue cod (Parapercis colias), is a large bodied temperate reef fish found exclusively throughout the coastal waters of New Zealand. Its dependence on subtidal coastal reef environments mean that it is important to understand how a loss of complex macroalgal habitats might alter the way that blue cod forage, and how the trade-off between prey abundance and availability will affect its abundance and productivity. This thesis aims to understand the influence of complex macroalgal habitats on P. colias prey availability and behaviour, on the foraging success of P. colias, and ultimately on P. colias population dynamics. Experiments were conducted using choice chambers to evaluate whether two alternate P. colias prey, Forsterygion lapillum and Heterozius rotundifrons, showed a preference for complex habitats with and without predation risk. Both species preferred complex habitats in the absence of predation cues, but F. lapillum showed a more consistent preference for complexity in response to predation risk. A mesocosm experiment was used to investigate whether the consumption rate and functional response of P. colias differs for these two prey types in the presence and absence of habitat complexity. Results indicated that the mobile fish prey, F. lapillum benefitted from the refuges provided by complexity and suffered lower consumption rates, whereas the sedentary crab, H. rotundifrons did not. Finally, using a simple population model, the trade-off between prey abundance and predation success on the population dynamics of P. colias with and without habitat complexity was explored. Models showed that scenarios with complex macroalgal habitats generally support more predators, and faster population growth rates than scenarios lacking habitat complexity. However, scenarios with complex habitats were predicted to be more sensitive to fishing pressure and have the potential to be more vulnerable to overexploitation. These results highlight the importance of understanding how habitat complexity mediates relationships between commercially important fishery species and their prey, in order to understand how habitat loss may alter their foraging success and population dynamics.</p>

Food versus risk: foraging decision in young Tiger snakes, Notechis scutatus

2007 ◽  
Vol 28 (2) ◽  
pp. 304-308 ◽  
Author(s):  
Don Bradshaw ◽  
Xavier Bonnet ◽  
Fabien Aubret
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Foraging Behaviour ◽  
High Food ◽  
Food Acquisition ◽  
Predation Threat ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Foraging Decisions ◽  
Versus Risk ◽  
Foraging Decision

AbstractForaging behaviour is influenced by an animal's level of hunger, and may reflect a trade-off between optimizing food acquisition and avoiding predation. Young tiger snakes were raised either on a high or low food diet and exposed to a predation threat while foraging. Under these circumstances, lower condition snakes (low food diet) were prone to take additional feeding/foraging risks: food was accepted at a much higher rate compared with the higher condition animals (high food diet) that were less inclined to risk feeding under a predation threat. This study provides the first direct example of predation risk-associated foraging decisions in snakes.

scholarly journals Predator olfactory cues generate a foraging–predation trade-off through prey apprehension

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 (2) ◽  
pp. 150537 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam M. Siepielski ◽  
Eric Fallon ◽  
Kate Boersma
Keyword(s):  
Indirect Costs ◽  
Olfactory Cues ◽  
Foraging Success ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Fish Predator ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Feeding Efficiency ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Predator Response ◽  
Reduced Activity

Most animals are faced with the challenge of securing food under the risk of predation. This frequently generates a trade-off whereby animals respond to predator cues with reduced movement to avoid predation at the direct cost of reduced foraging success. However, predators may also cause prey to be apprehensive in their foraging activities, which would generate an indirect ‘apprehension cost’. Apprehension arises when a forager redirects attention from foraging tasks to predator detection and incurs a cost from such multi-tasking, because the forager ends up making more mistakes in its foraging tasks as a result. Here, we test this apprehension cost hypothesis and show that damselflies miss a greater proportion of their prey during foraging bouts in response to both olfactory cues produced by conspecifics that have only viewed a fish predator and olfactory cues produced directly by fish. This reduced feeding efficiency is in addition to the stereotypical anti-predator response of reduced activity, which we also observed. These results show that costs associated with anti-predator responses not only arise through behavioural alterations that reduce the risk of predation, but also from the indirect costs of apprehension and multi-tasking that can reduce feeding efficiency under the threat of predation.

scholarly journals Sizing up your enemy: individual predation vulnerability predicts migratory probability

2010 ◽  
Vol 278 (1710) ◽  
pp. 1414-1418 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christian Skov ◽  
Henrik Baktoft ◽  
Jakob Brodersen ◽  
Christer Brönmark ◽  
Ben B. Chapman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Empirical Support ◽  
Partial Migration ◽  
Growth Potential ◽  
Wild Populations ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Size Dependent ◽  
Extensive Range ◽  
The Individual

Partial migration, in which a fraction of a population migrate and the rest remain resident, occurs in an extensive range of species and can have powerful ecological consequences. The question of what drives differences in individual migratory tendency is a contentious one. It has been shown that the timing of partial migration is based upon a trade-off between seasonal fluctuations in predation risk and growth potential. Phenotypic variation in either individual predation risk or growth potential should thus mediate the strength of the trade-off and ultimately predict patterns of partial migration at the individual level (i.e. which individuals migrate and which remain resident). We provide cross-population empirical support for the importance of one component of this model—individual predation risk—in predicting partial migration in wild populations of bream Abramis brama , a freshwater fish. Smaller, high-risk individuals migrate with a higher probability than larger, low-risk individuals, and we suggest that predation risk maintains size-dependent partial migration in this system.

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