PREDATOR HUNTING MODE AND HABITAT DOMAIN ALTER NONCONSUMPTIVE EFFECTS IN PREDATOR–PREY INTERACTIONS

Predator–prey interactions are important drivers in structuring ecological communities. However, despite widespread acknowledgement that individual behaviours and predator species regulate ecological processes, studies have yet to incorporate individual behavioural variations in a multipredator system. We quantified a prevalent predator avoidance behaviour to examine the simultaneous roles of prey personality and predator hunting mode in governing predator–prey interactions. Mud crabs, Panopeus herbstii , reduce their activity levels and increase their refuge use in the presence of predator cues. We measured mud crab mortality and consistent individual variations in the strength of this predator avoidance behaviour in the presence of predatory blue crabs, Callinectes sapidus , and toadfish, Opsanus tau . We found that prey personality and predator species significantly interacted to affect mortality with blue crabs primarily consuming bold mud crabs and toadfish preferentially selecting shy crabs. Additionally, the strength of the predator avoidance behaviour depended upon the predation risk from the predator species. Consequently, the personality composition of populations and predator hunting mode may be valuable predictors of both direct and indirect predator–prey interaction strength. These findings support theories postulating mechanisms for maintaining intraspecies diversity and have broad implications for community dynamics.

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Faculty Opinions recommendation of Predator-prey interactions mediated by prey personality and predator hunting mode.

Faculty Opinions – Post-Publication Peer Review of the Biomedical Literature ◽

10.3410/f.726286662.793536939 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Oswald Schmitz

Keyword(s):

Predator Prey ◽

Hunting Mode ◽

Predator Hunting Mode

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The role of sensory modalities in producing nonconsumptive effects for a crayfish–bass predator–prey system

Canadian Journal of Zoology ◽

10.1139/cjz-2017-0109 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 96 (7) ◽

pp. 680-691 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Jessica L. Clark ◽

Paul A. Moore

Keyword(s):

Micropterus Salmoides ◽

Interactive Effects ◽

Predator Detection ◽

Nonconsumptive Effects ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Rusty Crayfish ◽

Sensory Modalities ◽

Study Support ◽

The Impact

The impact of nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) in structuring predator–prey interactions and trophic cascades is a prominent area of ecological research. For NCEs to occur, prey need to be able to detect the presence of predators through sensory mechanisms. The investigation of the role of different sensory modalities in predator detection has lagged behind the development of NCE-based theories. This study aimed to determine whether a hierarchy in the reliance upon sensory modalities exists in the rusty crayfish (Orconectes rusticus (Girard, 1852) = Faxonius rusticus (Girard, 1852)) for predator detection and if this hierarchy is altered across different sensory environments (flowing and nonflowing environments). Rusty crayfish were exposed to largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides (Lacépède, 1802)) odor in either a flowing or nonflowing arena where behavior was recorded under different sensory lesions. Linear mixed models were conducted to determine the impact of lesions, flowing environments, and the interactive effects of lesions and flowing environments on the rusty crayfish ability to respond to predatory stimuli. Results from this study support the significance of sensory multimodality in the rusty crayfish for accurately detecting and assessing predatory threats. Results from this study also suggest a hierarchy in the reliance upon sensory modalities in the rusty crayfish that is dependent upon the environment and the location of rusty crayfish within an environment.

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Nonconsumptive predator effects on prey demography: Dogwhelk cues decrease benthic mussel recruitment

10.1101/172692 ◽

2017 ◽

Author(s):

Sonja M. Ehlers ◽

Ricardo A. Scrosati ◽

Julius A. Ellrich

Keyword(s):

Natural History ◽

Prey Item ◽

Experimental Conditions ◽

Nonconsumptive Effects ◽

Predator Prey ◽

Prey System ◽

Intertidal Habitats ◽

Basic Features ◽

The Impact ◽

Predator Effects

AbstractPredators have often been shown to have nonconsumptive effects (NCEs) on prey behaviour, but the demographic consequences for prey remain poorly known. This is important to understand because demography influences the impact of a species in its community. We used an intertidal predator–prey system to investigate predator NCEs on prey recruitment, a key demographic process for population persistence. Pelagic mussel larvae are known to avoid waterborne cues from dogwhelks, which prey on intertidal mussels. Through a field experiment done in Atlantic Canada, we manipulated the presence of dogwhelks in intertidal habitats during the mussel recruitment season. We measured mussel recruitment in collectors that could be reached by waterborne dogwhelk cues but not by dogwhelks themselves. We found that the nearby presence of dogwhelks significantly decreased mussel recruit density. A previous study done in the same habitats under the same experimental conditions showed that dogwhelk cues also limit the recruitment of barnacles, another prey item for dogwhelks. However, such NCEs were four times stronger than those observed for mussel recruitment. This difference relates well to the higher ability of mussels to escape predation, as mussels can relocate while barnacles cannot. Therefore, basic features of natural history may be useful to predict predator NCEs on prey recruitment.

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