scholarly journals Sex-based differences in anti-predator response of crickets to chemical cues of a mammalian predator

PeerJ ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. e4923 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian P. Tanis ◽  
Bradley Bott ◽  
Brian J. Gaston
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Acheta Domesticus ◽  
Mammalian Predators ◽  
Mammalian Predator ◽  
Predator Response ◽  
Blarina Hylophaga ◽  
Operational Sex Ratios ◽  
Predator Community

Anti-predator behaviors like vigilance or hiding come at the expense of other fitness increasing behaviors such as foraging. To compensate for this trade-off, prey assess predation risk and modify the frequency of anti-predator behaviors according to the likelihood of the threat. In this study, we tested the ability of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) to indirectly assess predation risk via odors from a mammalian predator, Elliot’s short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga). As natural differences in encounter rates and predation risk differs between sexes, we tested if male and female crickets perceive similar rates of predation risk from the presence of shrew odor measured via anti-predator behavioral response. Crickets were placed in enclosed, cardboard-lined chambers either treated with shrew odor or control, along with a food source. Time until foraging was measured for each individual and compared across treatment and sex. We found that in the presence of shrew odor, female crickets delayed foraging while males showed no response. These results suggest adult crickets can use chemical cues to detect mammalian predators. Furthermore, we demonstrate that female crickets associate greater predation risk from shrew predators than do male crickets, which are more stationary yet acoustically conspicuous. As predation risk potentially differs drastically for each sex, changes to the operational sex ratios of wild cricket populations could be influenced by the identity of the predator community.

scholarly journals Behavioral response of white-tailed deer to coyote predation risk

Ecosphere ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. e02141 ◽  
Author(s):  
William D. Gulsby ◽  
Michael J. Cherry ◽  
James T. Johnson ◽  
L. Mike Conner ◽  
Karl V. Miller
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Behavioral Response

scholarly journals Combined effect of risk type and activity rhythm on anti-predator response of the shore crab Gaetice depressus (Crustacea: Grapsidae)

2006 ◽  
Vol 86 (6) ◽  
pp. 1401-1405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryo Sakamoto ◽  
Atsushi Ito ◽  
Satoshi Wada
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Laboratory Experiments ◽  
Activity Rhythm ◽  
Combined Effect ◽  
Shore Crab ◽  
Octopus Vulgaris ◽  
Active Period ◽  
Inactive Period ◽  
Predator Response ◽  
Chemical Stimuli

The response of the shore crab Gaetice depressus to predation risk stimuli of either the octopus Octopus vulgaris or crushed conspecifics was examined at two different time phases in the activity rhythm (active and inactive period) by laboratory experiments. When octopus chemical stimuli were introduced to the experimental aquarium, the crab activity decreased in the active period (night) but not in the inactive period (daytime). When the chemical stimuli of crushed G. depressus were introduced, the activity of the crabs increased in the inactive period although the stimuli decreased the activity in the active period. This indicates that G. depressus adjust their anti-predator response according to a combination of the type of predation risk and also the activity rhythm.

Influence of prey diet quality on predator-induced traits in wood frog tadpoles (Lithobates sylvaticus)

2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Catherine Chuirazzi ◽  
Melissa Ocampo ◽  
Mizuki K. Takahashi
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Diet Quality ◽  
Growth And Development ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Wood Frog ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Lithobates Sylvaticus ◽  
Phenotypic Changes ◽  
Intestinal Length ◽  
Frog Tadpoles

Abstract Diet quality and predation are two critical factors in determining the growth and development of organisms. Various anurans are susceptible to phenotypic changes influenced by these factors. Yet, few studies examined prey diet quality as potential influence over predator-induced traits. Using wood frog tadpoles (Lithobates sylvaticus) as a model species, we investigated the effects of three diet compositions (plant-based, animal-based, omnivorous) crossed with presence or absence of chemical cues from predatory dragonfly larvae (Aeshnidae). After 35 days, we recorded 11 morphological measurements, Gosner stage, and intestinal length of tadpoles to assess phenotypic changes under the six different experimental conditions. Our results showed the additive effects of both diet quality and predator chemical cue without detection of interactions between the two. Tadpoles receiving the omnivorous diet grew and developed faster with wider denticle rows than those receiving the plant or animal diets. The growth and development of tadpoles receiving only the animal diet were significantly hindered. These results emphasize the importance of diet quality in the growth and development of larval wood frogs. Chemical cues from predators significantly reduced tadpole body size but, in contrast to previous findings, did not affect tail size. Our experimental procedure of providing water containing predator and injured conspecific chemical cues on a weekly basis likely provided relatively weak predation risk perceived by tadpoles compared to previous studies using caged predators. The predator environment in our experiment, however, represents one ecologically relevant scenario in which predation risk is not urgent.

scholarly journals Artificial eyespots on cattle reduce predation by large carnivores

2020 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Cameron Radford ◽  
John Weldon McNutt ◽  
Tracey Rogers ◽  
Ben Maslen ◽  
Neil Jordan
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Human Behaviour ◽  
Large Carnivores ◽  
Treatment Groups ◽  
Livestock Predation ◽  
Mammalian Predators ◽  
First Time ◽  
All Treatment ◽  
Predator Signals

AbstractEyespots evolved independently in many taxa as anti-predator signals. There remains debate regarding whether eyespots function as diversion targets, predator mimics, conspicuous startling signals, deceptive detection, or a combination. Although eye patterns and gaze modify human behaviour, anti-predator eyespots do not occur naturally in contemporary mammals. Here we show that eyespots painted on cattle rumps were associated with reduced attacks by ambush carnivores (lions and leopards). Cattle painted with eyespots were significantly more likely to survive than were cross-marked and unmarked cattle, despite all treatment groups being similarly exposed to predation risk. While higher survival of eyespot-painted cattle supports the detection hypothesis, increased survival of cross-marked cattle suggests an effect of novel and conspicuous marks more generally. To our knowledge, this is the first time eyespots have been shown to deter large mammalian predators. Applying artificial marks to high-value livestock may therefore represent a cost-effective tool to reduce livestock predation.

scholarly journals The Rate of Degradation of Chemical Cues Indicating Predation Risk: An Experiment and Review

Ethology ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 120 (9) ◽  
pp. 942-949 ◽  
Author(s):  
Josh Van Buskirk ◽  
Andri Krügel ◽  
Julia Kunz ◽  
Fabia Miss ◽  
Alba Stamm
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Chemical Cues

scholarly journals Assessing bird predation on New Zealand’s lizard fauna using lizard-mimicking replicas

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Brittany Florence-Bennett
Keyword(s):  
New Zealand ◽  
Predation Risk ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Canopy Cover ◽  
Daily Rainfall ◽  
Small Range ◽  
Lizard Species ◽  
Avian Predation ◽  
Top Predators ◽  
Mammalian Predators

<p>Wildlife management is fraught with challenges due to the complexities of community ecology. Interventions aimed at restoring ecosystems, or managing species, can have unintended negative outcomes for target species. The effect of avian predation on native lizard fauna in New Zealand is not clearly understood, despite birds being regarded as top predators within mammal-free ecosystems. At least thirty-one species of bird have been recorded preying on native lizards, but few studies have directly addressed avian predation on lizards, with the majority of evidence sourced from published anecdotes. New Zealand’s herpetofauna are already vulnerable due to range contractions resulting from mammalian predation and habitat loss, with 87% of New Zealand lizard species considered ‘At Risk’ or ‘Threatened’. Understanding the risks posed to lizards will help to inform successful management of vulnerable populations.  I used lizard-mimicking replicas to identify and assess predation rates exerted by bird species on lizard populations within the Wellington region of New Zealand. I examined the use of lizard replicas as a tool to quantify predation by examining how birds interacted with replicas and comparing attack rates with novel items simultaneously placed in the field. I determined which bird species were preying on replicas, the extent of such predation, and whether site vegetation or daily weather influenced the probability of avian attack on replicas. Although attack frequency did not differ between novel items and lizard replicas, birds exhibited a realistic predatory response by preferentially attacking the head of lizard replicas. Interactions by birds with lizard-mimicking replicas cannot be confirmed as true predation attempts, but lizard replicas can nevertheless be used to quantify predation pressures exerted on lizard populations by opportunistic bird species.   Seven ground-foraging bird species were found to attack lizard replicas. Two species, the pūkeko (Porphyrio melanotus melanotus) and southern black-backed gull (Larus dominicanus dominicanus), were identified as high impact species. The average predation risk experienced by lizard replicas varied greatly across environments, with 0 – 25% of replicas attacked daily at sites. Canopy cover and daily rainfall were not significant predictors, but potentially decreased the likelihood of replica attack. Predation risk varied for lizard replicas as a result of differing assemblages of bird predators at sites, and the presence and foraging behaviour of specific predatory birds.   Predation by birds is likely to be an issue where predation pressure is high, or lizard populations are small, range restricted, or recovering from the presence of mammalian predators. When managing vulnerable lizard populations, managers should take into account the threats posed by avian predators so that lizard communities can recover successfully following the same trajectory as native birds.</p>

Co-occurring Notonecta (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Notonectidae) Species Differ in Their Behavioral Response to Cues of Belostoma (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Belostomatidae) Predation Risk

2019 ◽  
Vol 112 (4) ◽  
pp. 402-408
Author(s):  
Ilia Maria C Ferzoco ◽  
Celina B Baines ◽  
Shannon J McCauley
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Habitat Specialization ◽  
Life History Strategies ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Ephemeral Ponds ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Specialist Species ◽  
Species Specific ◽  
Shared Predator

Abstract Predators affect prey through direct consumption as well as by inducing prey to defensively alter their phenotypes, including behavioral phenotypes, to maximize survival under predation risk. Closely related sympatric prey species with shared natural enemies may resolve behavioral trade-offs under predation risk differently. In a laboratory experiment, we investigated two co-occurring semiaquatic backswimmer congeners, which exhibit differences in their degree of habitat specialization across a gradient of habitat permanence. Notonecta irrorata Uhler primarily occur in ephemeral ponds, whereas Notonecta undulata Say are habitat generalists that are commonly found in both permanent and ephemeral ponds. We tested whether the two species differed in antipredator responses to both visual and chemical cues of a shared predator, the giant water bug, in a fully factorial design. The generalist species, N. undulata, exhibited reductions in activity in the presence of predator chemical cues only, whereas the specialist species, N. irrorata, remained consistently active across predator cue treatments. Our work shows that there are species-specific differences in how prey assess or respond to predation risk. The varying propensities of these backswimmer congeners to behaviorally respond to a shared predator, and differences in their behavior when exposed to different predation risk cues may be linked to underlying divergence in their life-history strategies.

scholarly journals Behavioral responses of tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Anura: Bufonidae) to cues of starved and fed dragonfly larvae

2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 93-98
Author(s):  
Santosh M. Mogali ◽  
Srinivas K. Saidapur ◽  
Bhagyashri A. Shanbhag
Keyword(s):  
Predation Risk ◽  
Behavioral Response ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Swimming Velocity ◽  
Duttaphrynus Melanostictus ◽  
Hoplobatrachus Tigerinus ◽  
Response To Water ◽  
Pantala Flavescens ◽  
Water Borne

Behavioral responses of tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Anura: Bufonidae) to cues of starved and fed dragonfly larvae. Tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus use chemoreception to detect kairomonal cues and excretory metabolites from predatory anuran tadpoles (Hoplobatrachus tigerinus) that consume them. We describe here the behavioral responses of tadpoles of D. melanostictus to predatory dragonfly larvae (Pantala flavescens). The predator’s kairomones (water conditioned by the starved predator) or its diet-derived metabolites released in excreta of predator after consumption of conspecific prey tadpoles were used to simulate predation risk. The tadpoles of D. melanostictus had no behavioral response to predator kairomones. However, the larvae reduced swimming movements and overall time spent in swimming, and had a higher burst speed/swimming velocity in response to water borne cues released from the excreta of predators fed conspecific prey. Thus, just the presence of dragonfly larvae does not elicit defense behaviors in tadpoles of D. melanostictus, but when predation risk is recognized as real (i.e., when tadpoles are exposed to excretory metabolites of predators fed conspecific tadpoles), defense behaviors are activated.

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.

Predator recognition of chemical cues in crayfish: diet and experience influence the ability to detect predation threats

Behaviour ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 155 (6) ◽  
pp. 505-530 ◽  
Author(s):  
Molly C. Beattie ◽  
Paul A. Moore
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Cues ◽  
Predator Recognition ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Dietary Cues ◽  
Predator Response ◽  
Threat Levels

AbstractAquatic prey often alter their morphology, physiology, and/or behaviour when presented with predatory chemical cues which are heavily influenced by the diet of the predator. We tested the roles that diet and prey familiarity with predators play in the ability of prey to recognize predator threats. Odours from two fish, bass and cichlid fed a vegetarian, protein, heterospecific, and a conspecific diet, were collected and presented to virile crayfish in a choice arena. Our results show that crayfish altered their behaviour in the presence of odours containing conspecific, as opposed to heterospecific diets, but only from familiar predators. A reduced anti-predator response was measured with odours from an unfamiliar predator fed conspecific crayfish. Therefore, crayfish may be able to determine different threat levels based on the different dietary cues from a potential predator, but only when the prey have familiarity with the predators.

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