Journal articles: 'Animal predatory behaviour'

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Weightman, Janice O., and David J. Arsenault. "Predator classification by the sea pen Ptilosarcus gurneyi (Cnidaria): role of waterborne chemical cues and physical contact with predatory sea stars." Canadian Journal of Zoology 80, no. 1 (January 1, 2002): 185–90. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z01-211.

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Using laboratory and field experiments we examined the defensive behaviour of the sea pen Ptilosarcus gurneyi (Gray) towards three species of sea stars representing three levels of predatory threat. In the laboratory we first quantified the behaviour of P. gurneyi following physical contact with the sea stars Dermasterias imbricata (specialist predator), Pycnopodia helianthoides (generalist predator), and Pisaster ochraceus (nonpredator). Whereas the majority (73%) of the sea pens rapidly burrowed into the sediment following contact with D. imbricata, their response to P. helianthoides was highly variable and only 23% exhibited burrowing. In contrast, the response of P. gurneyi to P. ochraceus was weak and similar to that elicited by contact with a glass rod (control). Also, whereas the majority of sea pens displayed colony-wide bioluminescent flashes towards D. imbricata and P. helianthoides, their responses to P. ochraceus and the control were weaker and more localized. We subsequently examined whether waterborne predator chemical cues alone could trigger the defensive responses of P. gurneyi to D. imbricata and P. helianthoides, using laboratory bioassays of varying stimulus intensity. Interestingly, although exposure to chemical cues from predatory sea stars did not elicit any defensive response in P. gurneyi, subsequent physical contact with these predators triggered complete burrowing. Field bioassays using SCUBA yielded similar results, as P. gurneyi did not respond to the proximity of predators but rather delayed its response until physical contact occurred. Our study thus provides the first experimental evidence of predator-classification abilities in cnidarians and suggests that physical contact with predatory sea stars is required to trigger defensive behaviours in P. gurneyi.

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Durand, Jonas, Arnaud Legrand, Mélodie Tort, Alice Thiney, Radika J. Michniewicz, Aurélie Coulon, and Fabien Aubret. "Effects of geographic isolation on anti-snakes responses in the wall lizard, Podarcis muralis." Amphibia-Reptilia 33, no. 2 (2012): 199–206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853812x636448.

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Alteration in anti-predatory behaviour following geographic isolation has been observed in a number of taxa. Such alteration was attributed to the effect of relaxed selection in the novel environment, reinforced by the cost of anti-predatory behaviours. We studied aspects of anti-snake behaviour in 987 adult and juvenile wall lizards Podarcis muralis from two mainland areas (heavy snake predatory pressure) and two islands (low snake predatory pressure), isolated from the mainland 5000 and 7000 years ago. We conducted a scented retreat site choice experiment using the odours of five different snake species (saurophagous, piscivorous or generalist feeder). Mainland lizards avoided shelters scented by saurophagous snakes, but not those scented by non saurophagous snake species. Long isolated lizards (7000 years ago) showed no anti-predator response to any snake, suggesting a total loss of anti-predatory behaviour towards saurophagous snakes. More recently isolated lizards (5000 years ago) however showed anti-snake behaviour towards a former sympatric adder species, and a tendency to avoid the scent of a sympatric generalist feeder snake. There was no difference in the anti-snake responses between adult and juvenile wall lizards from all four sites, suggesting a limited role for experience (behavioural plasticity) in the expression of anti-snake behaviour in wall lizards.

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Ortega, Zaida, Abraham Mencía, and Valentín Pérez-Mellado. "Antipredatory behaviour of a mountain lizard towards the chemical cues of its predatory snakes." Behaviour 155, no. 10-12 (2018): 817–40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003504.

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Abstract The ability to early detect a potential predator is essential for survival. The potential of Iberolacerta cyreni lizards to discriminate between chemical cues of their two predatory snakes Coronella austriaca (a non-venomous active-hunter saurophagous specialist) and Vipera latastei (a venomous sit-and-wait generalist) was evaluated herein. A third snake species, Natrix maura, which does not prey on lizards, was used as a pungent control. Thus, the behaviour of I. cyreni was studied regarding four treatments: (1) C. austriaca scent, (2) V. latastei scent, (3) N. maura scent and (4) odourless control. Lizards showed antipredator behaviour (such as slow-motion and tail waving) to C. austriaca and V. latastei chemicals. The antipredatory response was similar for both predators. This ability to react with an intensive behavioural pattern to the chemical cues of their predatory snakes may prevent lizards from being detected, and, if detected, dissuade the predator from beginning a pursuit.

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Seebacher, Frank, Ashley Ward, and Amelia Reid. "Learning to hunt: the role of experience in predator success." Behaviour 147, no. 2 (2010): 223–33. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/000579509x12512871386137.

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AbstractAnimal behaviour is a composite of innate and learned components. During their lifetimes, animals typically gain experience and manifest learning, thereby augmenting or modifying genetically determined, innate behaviour patterns. Following a training period during which predatory fish (jade perch, Scortum barcoo) were allocated to treatments and given experience of either live prey (mosquitofish, Gambusia holbrooki), freshly killed prey, or cichlid pellets with equal nutritional value, we tested the response of the predators to the prey in an experimental arena. Across all treatments, there was no difference in the number of attacks made by the predators on the prey, however the predators with experience of live fish prey were significantly more successful in capturing prey than those without previous experience of live prey. These results suggest that, in this piscivorous predator, the recognition of prey has an innate component, but that hunting efficiency is increased through experience. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for the release of hatchery-reared fish into the wild, the majority of which are predatory.

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Viera, Carmen, and Hilton Ferreira Japyassú. "Predatory plasticity in nephilengys cruentata (araneae: tetragnathidae): relevance for phylogeny reconstruction." Behaviour 139, no. 4 (2002): 529–44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685390260135998.

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AbstractThe plasticity of behavioural expression has been used as an argument against the use of behavioural characters in the reconstruction of phylogenetic patterns. Nevertheless, plasticity itself may vary strongly among taxa, so that phylogenetic considerations about behavioural data must be complemented by an analysis of behavioural plasticity. Plasticity may also vary among distinct behavioural domains in a single species. We have studied the foraging repertoire in N. cruentata using a cluster analysis method, in order to identify the behavioural sequences employed by the spider when preying upon either distinct prey types or distinct prey sizes. Foraging behaviour varies less with prey size than with prey type. Variation in predatory sequences is obtained through (1) repetitions of one same sequence of categories, (2) the use of one same sequence at distinct phases of the predatory behaviour, or (3) the arrangement of behavioural categories in new sequences. Despite this plasticity in spider responses to prey, almost 40% of the predatory repertoire is common to both large and small prey items; this percentage lowers to 20% when we compare the predation of distinct prey types. These results suggest that phylogenetic analysis of predatory behaviour should focus on building ethograms for one single prey type. Small variations in prey/predator size among the predator species selected for a behavioural phylogenetic analysis are preferred to variations of prey type among predator taxa. We discuss the implications of this 'single prey-type' approach to the phylogenetic analysis of behaviour.

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Meuthen, Denis, Theo C. M. Bakker, and Timo Thünken. "Predatory developmental environments shape loser behaviour in animal contests." Behaviour 156, no. 15 (2019): 1519–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003577.

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Abstract High predation risk during development induces phenotypic changes in animals. However, little is known about how these plastic responses affect signalling and competitiveness during contests. Herein, we have studied the consequences of anti-predator plasticity during the intra-sexual competition of Pelvicachromis taeniatus, a cichlid fish with mutual mate choice. We staged contests between adult size-matched siblings of the same sex derived from different environments: one fish was regularly exposed to conspecific alarm cues since the larval stage (simulating predator presence), the other fish to control conditions. Rearing environment did not affect the winner of contests or total aggression within a fight. However, contest behaviour differed between treatments. The effects were especially pronounced in alarm cue-exposed fish that lost a contest: they generally displayed lower aggression than winners but also lower aggression than losers of the control treatment. Thus, perceived predator presence modulates intra-sexual competition behaviour by increasing the costs associated with fighting.

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Smolka, Jochen, Jochen Zeil, and Jan M. Hemmi. "Natural visual cues eliciting predator avoidance in fiddler crabs." Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 278, no. 1724 (April 13, 2011): 3584–92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2010.2746.

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To efficiently provide an animal with relevant information, the design of its visual system should reflect the distribution of natural signals and the animal's tasks. In many behavioural contexts, however, we know comparatively little about the moment-to-moment information-processing challenges animals face in their daily lives. In predator avoidance, for instance, we lack an accurate description of the natural signal stream and its value for risk assessment throughout the prey's defensive behaviour. We characterized the visual signals generated by real, potentially predatory events by video-recording bird approaches towards an Uca vomeris colony. Using four synchronized cameras allowed us to simultaneously monitor predator avoidance responses of crabs. We reconstructed the signals generated by dangerous and non-dangerous flying animals, identified the cues that triggered escape responses and compared them with those triggering responses to dummy predators. Fiddler crabs responded to a combination of multiple visual cues (including retinal speed, elevation and visual flicker) that reflect the visual signatures of distinct bird and insect behaviours. This allowed crabs to discriminate between dangerous and non-dangerous events. The results demonstrate the importance of measuring natural sensory signatures of biologically relevant events in order to understand biological information processing and its effects on behavioural organization.

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New, John G., and Peter Y. Kang. "Multimodal sensory integration in the strike–feeding behaviour of predatory fishes." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences 355, no. 1401 (September 29, 2000): 1321–24. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2000.0692.

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The search for useful model systems for the study of sensory processing in vertebrate nervous systems has resulted in many neuroethological studies investigating the roles played by a single sensory modality in a given behaviour. However, behaviours relying solely upon information from one sensory modality are relatively rare. Animals behaving in a complex, three–dimensional environment receive a large amount of information from external and internal receptor arrays. Clearly, the integration of sensory afference arising from different modalities into a coherent ‘gestalt’ of the world is essential to the behaviours of most animals. In the last several years our laboratory team has examined the roles played by the visual and lateral line sensory systems in organizing the feeding behaviour of two species of predatory teleost fishes, the largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides , and the muskellunge, Esox masquinongy . The free–field feeding behaviours of these fishes were studied quantitatively in intact animals and compared to animals in which the lateral line and visual systems had been selectively suppressed. All groups of animals continued to feed successfully, but significant differences were observed between each experimental group, providing strong clues as to the relative role played by each sensory system in the organization of the behaviour. Furthermore, significant differences exist between the two species. The differences in behaviour resulting when an animal is deprived of a given sensory modality reflect the nature of central integrative sensory processes, and these behavioural studies provide a foundation for further neuroanatomical and physiological studies of sensory integration in the vertebrate central nervous system.

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Mirza, Reehan S., and Douglas P. Chivers. "Predator-recognition training enhances survival of brook trout: evidence from laboratory and field-enclosure studies." Canadian Journal of Zoology 78, no. 12 (December 1, 2000): 2198–208. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z00-164.

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In this study we tested whether brook trout (Salvelinus fontinalis) can learn to recognise predators through releaser-induced recognition learning and whether this learning enhances survival of trout during encounters with a predator. In our initial experiment, we exposed hatchery-reared predator-naïve brook trout to chemical stimuli from predatory chain pickerel (Esox niger) paired with alarm signals released by damaged trout, disturbance signals, or distilled water. In subsequent tests 24 h later, when only pickerel odour was presented, trout conditioned with damage-released alarm signals exhibited antipredator behaviour (i.e., decreased movement and altered foraging patterns), in contrast to the other treatments, thereby demonstrating learned recognition of the predator. In our second experiment we showed that trout retained the ability to recognise the predator for at least 10 days. In the next series of experiments we explicitly tested whether training trout to recognise predators confers a survival benefit. During staged encounters with chain pickerel (in both the laboratory and the field), trained fish were better able to evade the predator than nontrained fish. Ours is the first study to demonstrate that fish trained to recognise predators gain a survival benefit during staged encounters with a predator.

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Nishiumi, Nozomi, and Akira Mori. "A game of patience between predator and prey: waiting for opponent’s action determines successful capture or escape." Canadian Journal of Zoology 98, no. 6 (June 2020): 351–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2019-0164.

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When predator and prey animals face each other, preemptive actions by both sides are considered to mediate successful capture or escape. However, in spite of the general presumption, some animals, such as predatory snakes and their frog prey, occasionally remain motionless or move slowly for a while before striking or escaping, respectively. To clarify the possible advantages of this behaviour, we examined interactions between Japanese Four-lined Ratsnakes (Elaphe quadrivirgata (H. Boie, 1826)) and Black-spotted Pond Frogs (Pelophylax nigromaculatus (Hallowell, 1861)), focusing especially on kinematic features of strike behaviour of snakes and flight behaviour of frogs in close quarters. Staged encounter experiments and field observations revealed that counteractions against an opponent’s preemptive actions are effective for both snakes and frogs until a certain distance because they are hardly able to change their trajectories once they initiate strike or escape behaviours. Snakes and frogs also appropriately switched their behaviour from waiting for the opponent’s action to taking preemptive action at this threshold distance. These results suggested the occurrence of a game of patience between snakes and frogs in which they wait for the opponent’s action to achieve effective countermeasures. Our study provides new insights for predicting optimal decision-making by predators and prey and will contribute to a better understanding of their strategies.

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Beattie, Leslie A., and Thomas D. Nudds. "Differential habitat occupancy by goldeneye ducklings (Bucephala clangula) and fish: predator avoidance or competition?" Canadian Journal of Zoology 67, no. 2 (February 1, 1989): 475–82. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z89-069.

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Two hypotheses have been proposed to account for disjunct habitat occupancy between breeding Common Goldeneye (Bucephala clangula) ducks and fish: competition and predator avoidance. Both experimental and correlational evidence suggest that competition for food explains why goldeneyes and their broods tend to use habitats in which numbers of fish are low. However, rejection of the predator avoidance hypothesis has been based on correlational evidence only. In experiments, we tested the hypothesis that avoidance of predatory fish affects habitat use by goldeneyes by examining the responses of goldeneye ducklings (hatched in captivity from eggs collected in the wild) to the presence of predatory and nonpredatory fish models in an aquatic arena. Although response behaviours generally decreased with age, this was not the result of habituation to the testing procedure; responses of the oldest ducklings (9 weeks old) were not different from those of ducklings of similar age who had not been previously exposed to the models. When the presence of the models affected duckling behaviour, group cohesion increased and diving activity decreased, but the intensity of these responses did not differ toward models of predatory and nonpredatory fish. Furthermore, measurements of duckling movements did not indicate that ducklings were actively avoiding the models. Our experimental evidence indicates that avoidance of predatory fish does not appear to be an important determinant of habitat use by goldeneye ducklings.

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Bateman, Philip W., and Patricia A. Fleming. "The influence of web silk decorations on fleeing behaviour of Florida orb weaver spiders, Argiope florida (Aranaeidae)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 91, no. 7 (July 2013): 468–72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0312.

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Spider web silk decorations may (i) act to attract prey, (ii) be decoys for predators, and (iii) make the web visible to prevent larger animals from destroying them. To disentangle the last two hypotheses, we examined the fleeing response and flight initiation distance (FID) of the Florida orb weaver spider (Argiope florida Chamberlin and Ivie, 1944). Spiders were approached in one of two manners: (1) a “predatory” one mimicking a bird and (2) a “looming” approach mimicking the approach of a large animal. We predicted that if silk decorations had an antipredator function, then the extent of silk decoration would influence whether spiders fled from the predatory approach. However, if the function was primarily a signal to large animals, then all spiders would flee the looming approach, but FID would be influenced by the extent of silk decoration. We found no influence of silk decorations on fleeing behaviour and FID of spiders. Spider fleeing behaviour was, however, influenced by height of the web from the ground. The effects of web height might reflect an adaptive response to a more exposed position and therefore could support either of the two hypotheses tested; however, we have no evidence supporting the role of silk decorations on antipredator responses.

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James, DG. "Biological-Control of Tetranychus-Urticae (Koch) (Acari, Tetranychidae) in Southern New-South-Wales Peach Orchards - the Role of Amblyseius-Victoriensis (Acarina, Phytoseiidae)." Australian Journal of Zoology 37, no. 6 (1989): 645. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9890645.

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Populations of mite predators and Tetranychus urticae (Tetranychidae) occurring in peach orchards on two farms at Leeton, New South Wales, were monitored during 1987/88. In both orchards the key pest Cydia molesta (Busck) (Tortricidae) was controlled by a pheromonal mating disruption strategy which avoided the use of broad-spectrum insecticides. During both years substantial populations of a native predatory mite, Amblyseius victoriensis were associated with an absence or very low populations of T. urticae from mid-summer until leaf fall. During spring 1987 some control of T. urticae was provided by a suite of predatory insects. Late spring applications of fungicide delayed development of A. victoriensis populations and a mid-summer miticide spray delayed establishment of the predator. Typhlodromus occidentalis occurred only when A. victoriensis populations were low or eradicated by sprays. During autumn, 1987 A. victoriensis occurred on orchard weeds but populations declined to a low level during winter. Substantial overwintering populations of reproductive T. urticae occurred on weeds and invaded the trees at bud burst. The generalist feeding behaviour of A. victoriensis is considered to be the key to the success of this predator. Dependence on biological control for T. urticae management is considered to be a practical option for southern New South Wales peach orchardists.

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Di Napoli, B., A. Ugolini, and C. Castellini. "Anti-predatory behaviour in littoral sandhoppers." Ethology Ecology & Evolution 5, no. 3 (September 1993): 392. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08927014.1993.9523047.

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Height, S. G., and G. J. Whisson. "Behavioural responses of Australian freshwater crayfish (Cherax cainii and Cherax albidus) to exotic fish odour." Australian Journal of Zoology 54, no. 6 (2006): 399. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo06011.

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Exotic finfish and crayfish have been translocated into Western Australia for more than 100 years. Deliberate stocking and subsequent escape from man-made impoundments have resulted in widespread distribution of non-native yabbies (Cherax albidus) and the exotic redfin perch (Perca fluviatilis) in the State’s south-west. Both species are considered invasive and are known to compete with indigenous species for resources. The nature and degree of impact on native marron (Cherax cainii) is unclear and the subject of current debate. Other researchers have hypothesised that invasive species modify their behaviour in the presence of predators in a more rapid and advantageous manner than native species. This greater behavioural plasticity can result in displacement of indigenous species and successful colonisation of invaders. The aim of this study was to investigate behavioural responses of an indigenous crayfish (C. cainii) and an invasive crayfish (C. albidus) to odours from a native predator (Tandanus bostocki) and an exotic predatory fish (P. fluviatilis) present in Western Australia. Crayfish behaviour was observed in individual glass tanks following the addition of odours from native (T. bostocki) or exotic (P. fluviatilis) finfish predators. Marron exhibited minor behavioural modifications when presented with odours from native or exotic finfish. In contrast, the invasive yabby showed greater detection of odours, displaying significant changes in behaviour (P < 0.05). Yabbies also appeared to distinguish between food odour (commercial crayfish feed) and predator odour; however, neither marron nor yabbies displayed behaviour indicating that they could distinguish between a native or exotic fish predator. Results support the hypothesis that invasive crayfish species have a greater capacity for behavioural plasticity than non-invasive crayfish.

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Sugiura, S., B. S. Holland, and R. H. Cowie. "Predatory behaviour of newly hatched Euglandina rosea." Journal of Molluscan Studies 77, no. 1 (January 12, 2011): 101–2. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/mollus/eyq042.

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Karraker, Nancy E. "Are toad tadpoles unpalatable: evidence from the behaviour of a predatory dragonfly in South China." Amphibia-Reptilia 32, no. 3 (2011): 413–18. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/017353711x571892.

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AbstractPredators are important determinants of amphibian community structure in aquatic habitats, and larval odonates can be significant predators of amphibian larvae. Despite their toxicity as adults, the palatability of bufonid eggs and tadpoles to vertebrate and invertebrate predators remains widely debated. I tested the palatability of hatchling tadpoles of the Asian common toad (Bufo melanosticus) and four other amphibians in Hong Kong to larvae of the dragonfly Pantala flavescens. Attempted predation of Bufo melanostictus hatchling tadpoles by P. flavescens resulted in 100% mortality of hatchlings, but none were consumed. All other amphibians were palatable to P. flavescens. Development of toxins may not protect early-stage bufonids from invertebrate predators that detect prey by visual cues and then make a debilitating strike. These findings present the first report of unpalatability of bufonid tadpoles to an invertebrate predator and provide evidence that unpalatability of early stage bufonids to odonates may decrease through ontogeny.

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Rowe, R. J. "Predatory behaviour and predatory versatility in young larvae of the dragonflyXanthocnemis zealandica(Odonata, Coenagrionidae)." New Zealand Journal of Zoology 21, no. 2 (January 1994): 151–66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03014223.1994.9517983.

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Godin, Jean-Guy J. "Risk of predation and foraging behaviour in shoaling banded killifish (Fundulus diaphanus)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 64, no. 8 (August 1, 1986): 1675–78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z86-251.

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While foraging for patchily distributed benthic prey in the laboratory, solitary and shoaling banded killifish reduced their per capita rate of feeding attempts and shortened the duration of their feeding posture (when sampling outside the food patches) in the presence of a predatory brook charr. This presumably allowed more time for predator vigilance and avoidance. Individual feeding rate was independent of shoal size, in either the presence or absence of a predator. Solitary fish thus incurred only a slightly greater predator-mediated relative cost of lost foraging opportunities compared with shoaling fish. Killifish therefore altered their foraging behaviour to reduce risk of predation in the presence of a predator and appeared to trade off risk of mortality and energy gain.

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Kotler, BP, JS Brown, and WA Mitchell. "The Role of Predation in Shaping the Behavior, Morphology and Community Organization of Desert Rodents." Australian Journal of Zoology 42, no. 4 (1994): 449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/zo9940449.

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Predation greatly influences many aspects of the ecology of desert rodents, from foraging behaviour to mechanisms of species coexistence to the evolution of specialised morphologies. Using a foraging-theory approach, we examine consequences of predation for assemblages of desert rodents from North America and the Middle East. In particular, we review experimental evidence that examines the influence of predation on foraging costs and foraging behaviour, explore how predation can act to structure communities, and discuss the role that predation may have played in the evolution of bipedal locomotion. Finally, we compare the importance of predation for the evolution of anti-predator behaviours and morphology, for population dynamics, and for community processes, with its magnitude and heterogeneity. In regard to foraging behaviour, desert rodents treat the risk of predation as a cost of foraging. They combine assessments of food and safety to arrive at foraging decisions, exploiting resource patches less intensively in response to increased predatory risk. The cost of predation can be up to 91% of the foraging costs of desert rodents, but the proportion is greater for Middle Eastern rodents than for North American rodents. In regard to community structure, predation can provide the niche axis as well as the necessary tradeoff for species coexistence. Despite the importance of predation in shaping the foraging behaviour of desert rodents, predation may not always influence species coexistence. Predation contributes to species coexistence at sites in the Sonoran and Great Basin deserts. But in the Negev Desert, where predation costs are the greatest, predation does not provide a mechanism of species coexistence. In regard to bipedal locomotion, predation most likely confers superior ability to avoid predators by improving sprint speed and ability to take evasive action, but at the expense of foraging ability in safe microhabitats. The evolution of bipedality will be favoured by situations where the risk of predation is great: the open microhabitat is riskier than the bush, the richest patches are found in the riskiest places, and rich patches are far apart. The magnitude of predatory risk will affect the evolution of anti-predator behaviour and morphologies. However, the importance of predation in community processes is not determined by its magnitude, but by its heterogeneity in time and space relative to the abilities of potentially coexisting species.

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Axelsen, Bjørn Erik, Tycho Anker-Nilssen, Petter Fossum, Cecilie Kvamme, and Leif Nøttestad. "Pretty patterns but a simple strategy: predator-prey interactions between juvenile herring and Atlantic puffins observed with multibeam sonar." Canadian Journal of Zoology 79, no. 9 (September 1, 2001): 1586–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z01-113.

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Predatorprey interactions between Atlantic puffins (Fratercula arctica) and newly metamorphosed herring (Clupea harengus) were studied in the Lofoten-Røst area in northern Norway using a high-resolution multibeam sonar system. Attacks from diving puffins and predatory fish induced massive predator-response patterns at the school level, including bend, vacuole, hourglass, pseudopodium, herd, and split. All patterns have previously been observed, using the same sonar, in schools of adult herring attacked by groups of killer whales. Tight ball, the prevailing response pattern in adult fish under predation, was not observed, but a new pattern, intraschool density propagation, was found and interpreted as an analogue to tight-ball formations moving rapidly within the school. The observed patterns persisted much longer than in schools of adult herring attacked by killer whales, reflecting the different hunting strategies. Traditionally, the repertoire of predator responses observed in schooling fish has been interpreted as a range of co operative tactics to trick predators, but this has recently been challenged by authors who suggested that fish that behave the same way produce different patterns at group level simply by maintaining a minimum approach distance to predators and hiding behind conspecifics (the "selfish herd"), and that the particular combination of group size and number and behaviour of predators, rather than different individual tactics, determines the outcome at group level. Our findings support the latter hypothesis.

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Hunter, Fiona F., and Astrid K. Maier. "Feeding behaviour of predatory larvae of Atherix lantha Webb (Diptera: Athericidae)." Canadian Journal of Zoology 72, no. 10 (October 1, 1994): 1695–99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z94-228.

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Larvae of Atherix lantha Webb (Diptera: Athericidae) are piercing – sucking predators. Predator–prey experiments were conducted in beakers containing gravel substrates and airstone-oxygenated water. The predator:prey ratio used in all experiments was 5:5. One prey type was tested at a time. Prey tested included large and small heptageniid mayflies, hyalellid amphipods, and hydropsychid caddisflies. The effect of predator size was examined using two size classes of A. lantha larvae. Large A. lantha consumed more mayflies than did small A. lantha. However, amphipod mortality was the same with large as with small A. lantha. The effect of prey size on predation success was tested using two size classes of mayflies. Statistically, small A. lantha fed on equal numbers of small and large mayflies, whereas large A. lantha consumed more large than small mayflies. Data for species-wise comparisons are only available for small A. lantha; according to our results, hydropsychid caddisflies (average mortality (m) = 0.5346) are more vulnerable to predation than are hyalellid amphipods (m = 0.2041) and heptageniid mayflies (m = 0.1135–0.1813). However, the mortality of large mayflies caused by large A. lantha larvae (m = 0.5375) is the same as that of caddisflies caused by small A. lantha larvae. Thus, the vulnerability of prey species depends, in part, on predator size.

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Wignall, Anne E., and Phillip W. Taylor. "Predatory behaviour of an araneophagic assassin bug." Journal of Ethology 28, no. 3 (January 15, 2010): 437–45. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10164-009-0202-8.

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Godard, Renée, Catherine Wannamaker, and Bonnie Bowers. "Responses of Golden Shiner Minnows to Chemical Cues from Snake Predators." Behaviour 135, no. 8 (1998): 1213–28. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853998792913447.

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AbstractStudies of a limited number of species of fish in the superorder Ostariophysi have shown they they exhibit strong antipredator behaviour to conserved alarm substance in feces and in other byproducts from predatory fish that have consumed ostariophysans. Our experiments examined the ability of a previously untested ostariophysan to recognize chemical cues from two species of snake predators. In Experiment 1, shoals of golden shiners (Notemigonus chrysoleucas) exhibited strong shelter-seeking responses to water which contained waste byproducts from either a sympatric snake or an allopatric snake which had been fed golden shiners but not to a distilled water control. There was no difference in response to the sympatrie snake predator, northern water snakes (Nerodia sipedon), compared to the allopatric snake predator, black-bellied garter snakes (Thamnophis melanogaster). In Experiment 2, individual shiners exhibited vigourous dashing when presented with water which contained waste byproducts from N. sipedon fed golden shiners but exhibited a much weaker response to water which contained waste byproducts from N. sipedon fed green swordtails (Xiphophorus helleri, a non-ostariophysan) or to a water control. These results suggest that the alarm substance produced in the epidermis of the golden shiners is conserved in snake waste byproducts. Experiment 3 showed that there was little difference in shelter-seeking behaviour by shoals of shiners when presented with water in which N. sipedon had soaked, water in which T. melanogaster had soaked, or a distilled water control. Thus it appears that secretions from the skin of these predators may not be chemically labelled.

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Csermely, Davide, Danilo Mainardi, and Nicolantonio Agostini. "The predatory behaviour of captive wild kestrel,Falco tinnunculusL." Bolletino di zoologia 56, no. 4 (January 1989): 317–20. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11250008909355657.

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Verrell, Paul A. "Predation and the Evolution of Precopula in the Isopod Asellus Aquaticus." Behaviour 95, no. 3-4 (1985): 198–202. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853985x00127.

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Abstract1. The predatory behaviour of the smooth newt (Triturus vulgaris) on the isopod Asellus aquaticus was studied and the typical predatory sequence described. 2. Male Asellus in precopula experience a reduced risk of predation relative to single males. They seem to show an antipredator behaviour which 'confuses' the newt. 3. Precopula was probably influenced by both natural and sexual selection during the course of its evolution in this isopod.

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Johnston, Bradley R., Markus Molis, and Ricardo A. Scrosati. "Predator chemical cues affect prey feeding activity differently in juveniles and adults." Canadian Journal of Zoology 90, no. 1 (January 2012): 128–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z11-113.

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Nonconsumptive predator effects on prey behaviour are common in nature, but the possible influence of prey life-history stage on such responses is poorly known. We investigated whether prey life-history stage may be a factor affecting prey feeding activity responses to predator chemical cues, for which we used dogwhelks ( Nucella lapillus (L., 1758)) and their main prey, barnacles ( Semibalanus balanoides (L., 1758)), as a model system. Barnacles use their modified legs (cirri) to filter food from the water column. Through a manipulative laboratory experiment, we tested the hypothesis that the presence of dogwhelks affects the frequency of leg swipes differently in juvenile and adult barnacles. Juveniles showed a similar feeding activity with and without nearby dogwhelks, but adults exhibited a significantly lower frequency of leg swipes when dogwhelks were present. Such an ontogenetic change in the response of barnacles to predatory cues might have evolved as a result of dogwhelks preferring adult barnacles over juvenile barnacles, as found previously. Alternatively, barnacles could learn to recognize predator cues as they age, as shown for other prey species. Overall, our study indicates that the nonconsumptive effects of predators on prey need to be fully understood under consideration of the possible ontogenetic changes in prey responses to predator cues.

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ROVERO, FRANCESCO, ROGER N. HUGHES, and GUIDO CHELAZZI. "Effect of experience on predatory behaviour of dogwhelks." Animal Behaviour 57, no. 6 (June 1999): 1241–49. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/anbe.1999.1102.

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Ciborowski, Jan J. H., and Douglas A. Craig. "Factors influencing dispersion of larval black flies (Diptera: Simuliidae): effects of the presence of an invertebrate predator." Canadian Journal of Zoology 69, no. 4 (April 1, 1991): 1120–23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z91-157.

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Laboratory experiments were conducted to study aggregative responses of larvae of Simulium vittatum Zetterstedt on a ceramic tile to activity of a predatory perlid stonefly, Claassenia sabulosa (Banks). Nearest-neighbor analysis indicated that larvae became aggregated regardless of whether a predator was present. There was no significant difference in either number of larvae remaining on the tile or degree of black fly aggregation between trials that lacked a predator and those in which a stonefly could travel over the tile. Direct contact between predator and prey caused single simuliid larvae to release from the substrate, but daytime black fly behaviour was otherwise unaffected by stonefly activity.

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Csermely, Davide, and Stefano Sponza. "Role of experience and maturation in barn owl predatory behaviour." Bolletino di zoologia 62, no. 2 (January 1995): 153–57. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/11250009509356063.

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Fava, Gustavo A., and Juan C. Acosta. "Escape distance and escape latency following simulated rapid bird attacks in an Andean lizard, Phymaturus williamsi." Behaviour 155, no. 10-12 (2018): 861–81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/1568539x-00003506.

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Abstract Predatory birds represent the greatest risk for many lizard species. However, little is known about the functional relationship between the escape distance and escape latency of lizards during a rapid bird attack. We hypothesised that escape latency and distance in the Andean lizard species Phymaturus williamsi would increase proportionally, but vary according to the means of escape. Over a three-year period we observed seven types of antipredatory behaviour in 98% P. williamsi lizards on simulated predatory bird attacks. Escape distance and latency were positively correlated. 65% of lizards emerged from their refuge within 2 min of an attack. All of these behaviours were positively correlated with escape latency and distance, although we found the former to be more precise. This study contributes to a better understanding of the general antipredatory behaviour in this species of Andean lizard, and will assist in future decisions concerning its conservation.

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Mogali, Santosh M., Srinivas K. Saidapur, and Bhagyashri A. Shanbhag. "Behavioral responses of tadpoles of Duttaphrynus melanostictus (Anura: Bufonidae) to cues of starved and fed dragonfly larvae." Phyllomedusa: Journal of Herpetology 19, no. 1 (June 29, 2020): 93–98. http://dx.doi.org/10.11606/issn.2316-9079.v19i1p93-98.

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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.

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Lian, Xinming, Tongzuo Zhang, Yifan Cao, Jianping Su, and Simon Thirgood. "Road proximity and traffic flow perceived as potential predation risks: evidence from the Tibetan antelope in the Kekexili National Nature Reserve, China." Wildlife Research 38, no. 2 (2011): 141. http://dx.doi.org/10.1071/wr10158.

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Context The risk-disturbance hypothesis predicts that animals exhibit risk-avoidance behaviours when exposed to human disturbance because they perceive the disturbance as a predatory threat. Aims This study aimed to examine whether Tibetan antelopes (Pantholops hodgsoni) exhibit risk-avoidance behaviour with proximity to a major highway and with increasing traffic flow consistent with the risk-disturbance hypothesis. Methods Focal-animal sampling was used to observe the behaviour of Tibetan antelopes. The behaviours were categorised as foraging, vigilance, resting, moving, or other. The time, frequency, and duration of foraging and vigilance were calculated. Key results As distance from the road increased, time spent foraging and foraging duration increased while foraging frequency, time spent being vigilant and vigilance frequency decreased, indicating that there is a risk perception associated with roads. Tibetan antelopes presented more risk-avoidance behaviours during high-traffic periods compared with low-traffic periods. Conclusions Tibetan antelopes exhibited risk-avoidance behaviour towards roads that varied with proximity and traffic levels, which is consistent with the risk-disturbance hypothesis. Implications The consequences of risk-avoidance behaviour should be reflected in wildlife management by considering human disturbance and road design.

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Wanless, Ross M., and John W. Wilson. "Predatory Behaviour of the Gough MoorhenGallinula comeri: Conservation Implications." Ardea 95, no. 2 (October 2007): 311–15. http://dx.doi.org/10.5253/078.095.0213.

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Poole, Trevor B., and Nigel Dunstone. "Underwater predatory behaviour of the American mink (Mustela vison)." Journal of Zoology 178, no. 3 (August 20, 2009): 395–412. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1469-7998.1976.tb02277.x.

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Bridgman, L. J., J. Innes, C. Gillies, N. B. Fitzgerald, S. Miller, and C. M. King. "Do ship rats display predatory behaviour towards house mice?" Animal Behaviour 86, no. 2 (August 2013): 257–68. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2013.05.013.

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Dejean, Alain. "Memory Effect On Predatory Behaviour of Odontomachus Troglodytes (Formicidae - Ponerinae)." Behaviour 107, no. 3-4 (1988): 131–37. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853988x00313.

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Naive hunting workers of Odontomachus troglodytes will attack larvae of the Chrysomelidae. These larvae exhibit a secretory reflexive defense. The first experiment showed that even if a hunter has palpated or attacked a chrysomeline larva only one time, it will avoid or flee this type of prey on subsequent encounters. The second experiment showed that this memory of the first contact lasts at least 28 days. The escape behaviour shown by the hunters is compared to other kinds of locomotion.

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Fraser, Shannon A., Brian D. Wisenden, and Miles H. A. Keenleyside. "Aggressive behaviour among convict cichlid (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) fry of different sizes and its importance to brood adoption." Canadian Journal of Zoology 71, no. 12 (December 1, 1993): 2358–62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z93-331.

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Convict cichlids (Cichlasoma nigrofasciatum) exhibit extended biparental care of their young. Parents will adopt unrelated (foreign) conspecific young of similar size to or smaller than their own but reject larger foreign young. Adoption of smaller foreign young may benefit the parents by reducing loss of their own young to predators by the dilution effect, which may be enhanced by differential predation on the smaller young. Another factor influencing adoption is that larger foreign young may pose a direct predatory threat to the host parents' young. Measures of aggression among free-swimming young of different sizes showed that there was at least a 1 mm (standard length) size difference before larger young attacked smaller, a 3 mm difference before injury occurred, and a 4–5 mm difference before predation occurred. Parents were initially more discriminating than their young with respect to the size of foreign young accepted. As their young grew and became stronger swimmers, parents less actively rejected larger foreign young; however, they continued to reject them before they were large enough to pose a direct predatory threat. Parental rejection of relatively large foreign young is therefore based more on protecting their own young from differential predation than from aggression by larger adoptees.

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Tachet, Henri. "Vibrations and Predatory Behaviour of Plectrocnemia Larvae: (Trichoptera)." Zeitschrift für Tierpsychologie 45, no. 1 (April 26, 2010): 61–74. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1439-0310.1977.tb01008.x.

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Olson, Randal S., Arend Hintze, Fred C. Dyer, David B. Knoester, and Christoph Adami. "Predator confusion is sufficient to evolve swarming behaviour." Journal of The Royal Society Interface 10, no. 85 (August 6, 2013): 20130305. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rsif.2013.0305.

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Swarming behaviours in animals have been extensively studied owing to their implications for the evolution of cooperation, social cognition and predator–prey dynamics. An important goal of these studies is discerning which evolutionary pressures favour the formation of swarms. One hypothesis is that swarms arise because the presence of multiple moving prey in swarms causes confusion for attacking predators, but it remains unclear how important this selective force is. Using an evolutionary model of a predator–prey system, we show that predator confusion provides a sufficient selection pressure to evolve swarming behaviour in prey. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the evolutionary effect of predator confusion on prey could in turn exert pressure on the structure of the predator's visual field, favouring the frontally oriented, high-resolution visual systems commonly observed in predators that feed on swarming animals. Finally, we provide evidence that when prey evolve swarming in response to predator confusion, there is a change in the shape of the functional response curve describing the predator's consumption rate as prey density increases. Thus, we show that a relatively simple perceptual constraint—predator confusion—could have pervasive evolutionary effects on prey behaviour, predator sensory mechanisms and the ecological interactions between predators and prey.

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Langley, William M. "Development of Predatory Behaviour in the Southern Grasshopper Mouse (Onychomys Torridus)." Behaviour 99, no. 3-4 (1986): 275–95. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853986x00586.

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AbstractThis study described the effects that maturation and experience had on the development of cricket-catching behaviour in the southern grasshopper mouse. The responses of eight groups of mice of different ages or backgrounds were compared. Mice from the field exhibited the most proficient searches, pursuits, and kills and committed fewer errors than the lab-reared mice. Of the groups of lab-reared mice, the 20-day-old mice were the least and the 70-day-old the most proficient attackers. Maturation primarily affected the mouse's first attack response. Mice younger than 23 days of age were more reluctant to attack a cricket the first time than older lab-reared mice. These maturational changes appeared related to when weaning normally occurs in grasshopper mice. Experience contributed to the development of attack proficiency in three ways: decrease in reluctance to attack, improved killing technique and recognition of a cricket as prey sooner during an encounter. Compared with hamsters, grasshopper mice exhibit a nearly complete functional attack response the first time and require much less experience from repeated trials to become proficient insect captors. The early and rapid development of a proficient attack response may be related to the grasshopper mouse's carnivorous life style.

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Csermely, Davide, Beatrice Bonati, and Romano Romani. "Predatory behaviour of common kestrels (Falco tinnunculus) in the wild." Journal of Ethology 27, no. 3 (January 28, 2009): 461–65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10164-008-0143-7.

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Watve, Mukta, Sebastian Prati, and Barbara Taborsky. "Simulating more realistic predation threat using attack playbacks." PeerJ 7 (December 19, 2019): e8149. http://dx.doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8149.

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Use of virtual proxies of live animals are rapidly gaining ground in studies of animal behaviour. Such proxies help to reduce the number of live experimental animals needed to stimulate the behaviour of experimental individuals and to increase standardisation. However, using too simplistic proxies may fail to induce a desired effect and/or lead to quick habituation. For instance, in a predation context, prey often employ multimodal cues to detect predators or use specific aspects of predator behaviour to assess threat. In a live interaction, predator and prey often show behaviours directed towards each other, which are absent in virtual proxies. Here we compared the effectiveness of chemical and visual predator cues in the cooperatively breeding cichlid Neolamprologus pulcher, a species in which predation pressure has been the evolutionary driver of its sociality. We created playbacks of predators simulating an attack and tested their effectiveness in comparison to a playback showing regular activity and to a live predator. We further compared the effectiveness of predator odour and conspecific skin extracts on behaviours directed towards a predator playback. Regular playbacks of calmly swimming predators were less effective than live predators in stimulating a focal individual’s aggression and attention. However, playbacks mimicking an attacking predator induced responses much like a live predator. Chemical cues did not affect predator directed behaviour.

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Brodin, Tomas, Susanna Piovano, Jerker Fick, Jonatan Klaminder, Martina Heynen, and Micael Jonsson. "Ecological effects of pharmaceuticals in aquatic systems—impacts through behavioural alterations." Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences 369, no. 1656 (November 19, 2014): 20130580. http://dx.doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2013.0580.

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The study of animal behaviour is important for both ecology and ecotoxicology, yet research in these two fields is currently developing independently. Here, we synthesize the available knowledge on drug-induced behavioural alterations in fish, discuss potential ecological consequences and report results from an experiment in which we quantify both uptake and behavioural impact of a psychiatric drug on a predatory fish ( Perca fluviatilis ) and its invertebrate prey ( Coenagrion hastulatum ). We show that perch became more active while damselfly behaviour was unaffected, illustrating that behavioural effects of pharmaceuticals can differ between species. Furthermore, we demonstrate that prey consumption can be an important exposure route as on average 46% of the pharmaceutical in ingested prey accumulated in the predator. This suggests that investigations of exposure through bioconcentration, where trophic interactions and subsequent bioaccumulation of exposed individuals are ignored, underestimate exposure. Wildlife may therefore be exposed to higher levels of behaviourally altering pharmaceuticals than predictions based on commonly used exposure assays and pharmaceutical concentrations found in environmental monitoring programmes.

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Ben-David, Merav, Sergio M. Pellis, and Vivien C. Pellis. "Feeding Habits and Predatory Behaviour in the Marbled Polecat (Vormela Peregusna Syriaca): I. Killing Methods in Relation To Prey Size and Prey Behaviour." Behaviour 118, no. 1-2 (1991): 127–43. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/156853991x00247.

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AbstractThe marbled polecat (Vormela peregusna syriaca), a small musteline, is represented in the fauna of Israel. Predatory behaviour of eleven marbled polecats, caught in the field, and held in captivity for a reproductive biology study, was observed during their routine feedings over the course of two years. Sequences of prey capture and killing were recorded on film or videotape. Killed prey were also retrieved for autopsy. Prey offered included Gallus gallus domesticus, Mus musculus, Acomys cahirinus, Microtus guentheri, Meriones tristrami, Cavia porcellus and Rattus norvegicus. All prey items were obtained as surplus from medical laboratories. In addition to using the typical musteline killing method of biting the nape of the neck, marbled polecats used a variety of killing methods suited to a range of prey types. Two variables determined the killing method used. 1) Size of prey: Small prey were killed by bites to the thorax, whereas large prey were bitten on the head or neck. 2) Prey defense behaviour: Fleeing prey were bitten dorsally, whereas defending prey were bitten ventrally, typically on the throat. This non-stereotypical predatory behaviour appears to correlate with the opportunistic feeding habits of marbled polecats in the wild. Evolutionary and ecological aspects of this relationship are discussed.

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Ibáñez, Alejandro, Barbara A. Caspers, Pilar López, José Martín, and E. Tobias Krause. "Is the reaction to chemical cues of predators affected by age or experience in fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra)?" Amphibia-Reptilia 35, no. 2 (2014): 189–96. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-00002941.

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Predation is one of the strongest forces driving natural selection. Predator success reduces future prey fitness to zero. Thus, recognition and avoidance of a potential predator is an essential fitness-relevant skill for prey. Being well equipped in the predator-prey arms race is highly adaptive. In this context we tested whether age and/or potential experience of fire salamanders (Salamandra salamandra) affected their behaviour towards the chemical signature of a potential predator. We evaluated the space use of salamanders in a test arena with a shelter containing chemical cues from a predator (i.e., a rat) and a clean shelter. Our results demonstrate that naïve subadult fire salamanders do show a significant behavioural reaction towards rat odour. However, they do not avoid the chemical cues of the potential predator, but instead have a significant preference for the shelter with rat faeces. In contrast to this, both the naïve adult and wild-caught adult fire salamanders showed neither a preference nor an avoidance of rat scent. These results could suggest a role of age in odour-based predator recognition in salamanders. Similarly, predator recognition through chemical cues could be more important early in life when the young fire salamanders are more vulnerable to predatory attacks and less important in other life stages when salamanders are less subjected to predation. In conclusion, future studies considering wild-caught subadults should disentangle the importance of previous experience for predator chemical recognition.

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Diel, Patricia, Marvin Kiene, Dominik Martin-Creuzburg, and Christian Laforsch. "Knowing the Enemy: Inducible Defences in Freshwater Zooplankton." Diversity 12, no. 4 (April 7, 2020): 147. http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/d12040147.

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Phenotypic plasticity in defensive traits is an appropriate mechanism to cope with the variable hazard of a frequently changing predator spectrum. In the animal kingdom these so-called inducible defences cover the entire taxonomic range from protozoans to vertebrates. The inducible defensive traits range from behaviour, morphology, and life-history adaptations to the activation of specific immune systems in vertebrates. Inducible defences in prey species play important roles in the dynamics and functioning of food webs. Freshwater zooplankton show the most prominent examples of inducible defences triggered by chemical cues, so-called kairomones, released by predatory invertebrates and fish. The objective of this review is to highlight recent progress in research on inducible defences in freshwater zooplankton concerning behaviour, morphology, and life-history, as well as difficulties of studies conducted in a multipredator set up. Furthermore, we outline costs associated with the defences and discuss difficulties as well as the progress made in characterizing defence-inducing cues. Finally, we aim to indicate further possible routes in this field of research and provide a comprehensive table of inducible defences with respect to both prey and predator species.

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Recio, Pablo, Gonzalo Rodríguez-Ruiz, and José Martín. "Effects of sensory mode in prey discrimination and predatory behaviour of rock lizards." Amphibia-Reptilia 42, no. 1 (October 5, 2020): 125–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1163/15685381-bja10030.

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Abstract An essential part of foraging ecology is to understand the processes of detection, recognition and discrimination of prey, as well as the sensorial modalities involved. Often, predators do not rely on a single sensory system but on multiple interacting senses. Specifically, lizards mainly use vision and vomerolfaction for prey pursuit. Here, we used an experimental approach to study how the Carpetan rock lizard, Iberolacerta cyreni, responds to different types of stimuli (chemical, visual, or both combined) from two prey species. The number of individuals approaching the prey and the number of attacks differed between treatments, however, we did not find differences in latency time, number of individuals attacking the prey or number of tongue flicks. Our results suggested that visual cues combined with chemical stimuli enhanced detection of both prey species and that prey discrimination occurred posteriorly and independently of using any or both types of stimuli.

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Dor, A., and Y. Hénaut. "Importance of body size and hunting strategy during interactions between the Mexican red-rump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans) and the wolf spider Lycosa subfusca." Canadian Journal of Zoology 91, no. 8 (August 2013): 545–53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0308.

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Behavioural adaptation helps animals to maximize their ability to obtain food and to avoid being eaten, increasing fitness. To achieve this, they must assess predation risk and evaluate foraging needs simultaneously. In two sympatric spider species, the wandering wolf spider Lycosa subfusca F.O.P. Cambridge, 1902 and the sit-and-wait Mexican red-rump tarantula (Brachypelma vagans Ausserer, 1875), we studied the relationship between predatory behaviour and antipredatory behaviour at different life stages. In the laboratory, encounters were organized between one wolf spider (small, medium-sized, or large) and one tarantula (spiderling, small, medium-sized, or large). Attack latencies and behaviours were recorded. The results showed that wolf spiders attacked and successfully captured younger tarantulas, while they avoided or retreated from older ones. Tarantulas preferentially attacked and captured older wolf spiders. On other hand, younger wolf spiders were more cautious than older ones, which waited until for the tarantulas to attack before retreating. Younger tarantulas were also more cautious than adults, which never retreated from attack and increased their success in attacks with age. Finally, we discuss the relationship between the predatory strategies of both spiders with their perception abilities and life history.

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Mirza, Reehan S., and Douglas P. Chivers. "Predator diet cues and the assessment of predation risk by juvenile brook charr: do diet cues enhance survival?" Canadian Journal of Zoology 81, no. 1 (January 1, 2003): 126–32. http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/z02-225.

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Recent studies have shown that predator diet cues provide important information that prey animals can use to assess predation risk. Predator-naïve prey animals may even learn to recognize unknown predators when they detect conspecific cues in the predator's diet. We examined the importance of predator diet cues in the responses of juvenile brook charr (Salvelinus fontinalis) to chemical cues of predators. In our first experiment, we showed that charr respond to chemical cues of adult yellow perch (Perca flavescens) that were fed a diet of either brook charr or rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), but not to perch fed a diet of brook stickleback (Culaea inconstans). Responses to diet cues from perch fed both charr and trout may indicate that charr are responding to evolutionarily conserved salmonid alarm cues in the predator's diet. In a second experiment, we exposed charr to chemical cues from predatory northern pike (Esox lucius) that were fed charr, trout, or stickleback. Live-predation trials revealed that charr exposed to diet cues from pike fed salmonids exhibited higher survival than charr exposed to diet cues from pike fed a non-salmonid. These results are the first to document a survival benefit for prey exhibiting behavioural responses to predator diet cues.

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Journal articles on the topic 'Animal predatory behaviour'

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