Tail breakage and predatory pressure upon two invasive snakes (Serpentes: Colubridae) at two islands in the Western Mediterranean

Tail breakage is an important anti-predator mechanism in snake populations, which can be used as a proxy for predation intensity as natural observations of predator-prey interactions are scarce. Frequency of tail breakage was calculated for two Iberian colubrids recently introduced in the Balearic Islands (Western Mediterranean, Spain): Hemorrhois hippocrepis (Linnaeus, 1758) in Eivissa and Zamenis scalaris (Schinz, 1812) in Formentera. The effect of sex, life-stage, dorsal coloration pattern, body length and body condition on frequency of tail breakage and on remaining subcaudal scale pairs (SBC) were analyzed and compared between the native range and the invaded islands. An increase of the frequency of tail breakage with body size was found, supporting a size-related effect, which also occurs in the native range. Frequency of tail breakage of H. hippocrepis was lower in Eivissa when compared with the original area, while in Formentera Z. scalaris showed a higher frequency, which could be related to the different predator community on each island compared with the mainland. The study of the main ecological aspects of these recent introduced species may allow to assess their potential impact on insular ecosystems and their native biodiversity as well as to promote future control actions in these areas previously free of snakes.

Honey bees (Apis cerana) use animal feces as a tool to defend colonies against group attack by giant hornets (Vespa soror)

Honey bees (genus Apis) are well known for the impressive suite of nest defenses they have evolved to protect their abundant stockpiles of food and the large colonies they sustain. In Asia, honey bees have evolved under tremendous predatory pressure from social wasps in the genus Vespa, the most formidable of which are the giant hornets that attack colonies in groups, kill adult defenders, and prey on brood. We document for the first time an extraordinary collective defense used by Apis cerana against the giant hornet Vespa soror. In response to attack by V. soror, A. cerana workers foraged for and applied spots of animal feces around their nest entrances. Fecal spotting increased after colonies were exposed either to naturally occurring attacks or to chemicals that scout hornets use to target colonies for mass attack. Spotting continued for days after attacks ceased and occurred in response to V. soror, which frequently landed at and chewed on entrances to breach nests, but not Vespa velutina, a smaller hornet that rarely landed at entrances. Moderate to heavy fecal spotting suppressed attempts by V. soror to penetrate nests by lowering the incidence of multiple-hornet attacks and substantially reducing the likelihood of them approaching and chewing on entrances. We argue that A. cerana forages for animal feces because it has properties that repel this deadly predator from nest entrances, providing the first report of tool use by honey bees and the first evidence that they forage for solids that are not derived from plants. Our study describes a remarkable weapon in the already sophisticated portfolio of defenses that honey bees have evolved in response to the predatory threats they face. It also highlights the strong selective pressure honey bees will encounter if giant hornets, recently detected in western North America, become established.

Diet composition and some observations on the feeding ecology of the rhizostome Rhopilema nomadica in Israeli coastal waters

Since the mid-1980s, swarms of the rhizostome Rhopilema nomadica have been an annual phenomenon in Israeli Mediterranean coastal waters during the summer months. Despite its annual prominence and the potential impact on food webs and ecosystem services, studies concerning its feeding ecology and its interactions with other biota in the marine food web have not been conducted. During summer 2015 gut contents of 41 R. nomadica were analysed as well as ambient plankton assemblages. More than 60% of the medusae diet was found to consist of microzooplankton <150 μm. Size correlations revealed that larger R. nomadica consumed faster swimming prey while smaller medusae relied more on the slower swimming taxa. The medusan diet reflected most of the ambient plankton taxa, but no statistically significant correlations between the relative abundance in diet and ambient plankton were found. As summer progressed, there was a gradual decrease in both mean medusa bell diameter (from 42.2–16 cm) and integrity of feeding structures. These findings suggest that R. nomadica, at least at the time of its appearance in Israeli coastal waters, may exert less predatory pressure on the plankton than we might otherwise expect.

Carapace asymmetries in crabs

Through the geometric morphometric approach of the landmark-based method applied on adult right-handed specimens of Carcinus aestuarii, Liocarcinus depurator and Potamon fluviatile, statistical analyses showed significant outcomes for fluctuating asymmetry in the three studied species, and directional asymmetry only in P. fluviatile (that showed a less convex carapace shape on the right side, where larger chela occurred). Although these findings may be correlated to some environmental constraints, such as soil composition, refuge occurrence and predatory pressure, also other interpretations may be proposed.

The crypsis hypothesis: a stenopic view of the selective factors in the evolution of physical dormancy in seeds

Physical dormancy (PY) in seeds/fruits, which is caused by the water-impermeable palisade layer, has long been considered a mechanism for synchronizing germination to a favourable time for seedling survival and establishment. Recently, a new hypothesis (crypsis hypothesis) was proposed as the main selective factor for the evolution of PY. However, there are some misconceptions in this hypothesis. Our objective is to critically evaluate the crypsis hypothesis and to point out that there are multiple adaptive roles of PY. The fundamental argument in the crypsis hypothesis, that PY evolved as an escape mechanism from predators, is not valid according to the evolutionary theory of Darwin. According to Darwin's hypothesis, variations (dormancy in our case) within a population occur randomly, i.e. there is no direct function of a variation at the time of its origin. Different selection pressures operating in the environment increase or decrease the fitness of individuals with the variation. Water-gap anatomy in seeds/fruits and phylogenetic relationships of species with PY suggest that PY has evolved several times in angiosperms. Thus, we argue that not only predatory pressure but also several other environmental pressures (e.g. proper timing of germination, ultra-drying of seeds, dispersal and pathogens) were involved in increasing the fitness of species producing seeds with PY. The significance of PY in the survival of the species under the above-mentioned environmental pressures and other misconceptions of the crypsis hypothesis are discussed in detail.

Effects of baited crab pots on cultivated mussel (Mytilus edulis) survival rates

The shore crab, Carcinus maenas, is recognized as a voracious predator of blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, having the potential to greatly reduce stocks in the benthic cultivation industry. As a consequence, baited crab pots are often deployed on and around cultivated benthic mussel beds to trap and remove crabs, in an attempt to reduce predatory pressure. Little is known about how C. maenas behaves around crab pots, but for many other crustacean fisheries, the trapping efficiency of pots is often low. Crabs may be attracted towards but not enter pots, instead feeding on cultivated mussels outside pots on the surrounding substratum. We tested whether the rate of loss of mussels attached to plates differed in areas next to baited pots compared with unbaited pots and to areas without any pots, at two sea loughs (60 km apart) in Northern Ireland. In Strangford Lough, more mussels were lost from plates next to baited pots than the other treatments. In Carlingford Lough, however, we found no difference in the number of mussels lost from plates in any treatment. This difference could be attributed to the different assemblages of mobile benthic predators at the two loughs. The presence of the starfish Asterias rubens, which was absent from experimental sites in Carlingford Lough, was thought to be responsible for increased predation rates near baited pots in Strangford. It is, therefore, important to consider local predator communities when deploying crab pots as a predator mitigation technique to ensure predation rates are in fact reduced and not enhanced. This study is of relevance not only to attempts to limit predation on commercial stocks of benthic cultivated mussels but also in situations where baited traps are deployed close to species vulnerable to mobile benthic predators.

Hyperbenthic and pelagic predators regulate alternate key planktonic copepods in shallow temperate estuaries

Although predation has been identified as an important community driver, the role of predator diversity in structuring estuarine zooplankton has not been assessed. As such, we investigated the effects of two different zooplanktivorous fish species on the estuarine zooplankton community during a 12-day mesocosm study. Three experimental treatments were established, whereby natural zooplankton communities were subject to either (1) no predatory pressure, (2) predation by a pelagic predator (Monodactylus falciformis) or (3) predation by a hyper-benthic predator (Glossogobius callidus). The pelagic feeding M. falciformis fed largely on the numerically dominant mid-water copepod species, Paracartia longipatella. In contrast, the hyper-benthic fish had a greater predatory impact on the less numerically dominant copepod, Pseudodiaptomus hessei, which demonstrates strong diel vertical migration. Variations in prey-population regulation are ascribed to the distinct behavioural differences of the predators, and mediated by the differences in behaviour of the copepod species.