scholarly journals Behavioural reactions of three-spined sticklebacks to simulated risk of predation—Effects of predator distance and movement

FACETS ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 1 (1) ◽  
pp. 55-66 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joacim Näslund ◽  
Leo Pettersson ◽  
Jörgen I Johnsson
Keyword(s):  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Predator Control ◽  
Experimental Setting ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Predation Effects ◽  
Predator Model ◽  
Time Freezing

The behavioural response of animals to predation risk commonly depends on the behaviour of potential predators. Here, we report an experiment investigating effects of predator model (a life-like wooden trout model) distance and movement on the behaviour of three-spined sticklebacks Gasterosteus aculeatus L. in a standardized experimental setting. When the predator model was immobile, the behaviour of the sticklebacks could, in general, not be clearly distinguished from a no-predator control treatment. When moving the predator 41 cm towards the stickleback, clear anti-predator behaviours were observed. However, behavioural expression depended on the distance to the predator. At the two farthest distances (approaching from 129 to 88 cm and from 170 to 129 cm), the sticklebacks approached the predator and spent little time freezing. At the two closest distances (approaching from 88 to 47 cm and from 47 to 6 cm), the sticklebacks increased the distance to the predator model and froze their movements. These results suggest that the closest-distance groups showed avoidance behaviour, whereas the farthest-distance groups instead appeared to start inspecting the potential predator. This provides evidence for conditional anti-predator behaviour and highlights the importance of considering distance to, and movement of predator models when interpreting data from standardized behavioural trials.

Risk taking in parasitized sticklebacks under threat of predation: effects of energetic need and food availability

1988 ◽  
Vol 66 (11) ◽  
pp. 2360-2367 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Guy J. Godin ◽  
Cathryn D. Sproul
Keyword(s):  
Risk Taking ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Energy Requirement ◽  
Parasitic Infection ◽  
Parasite Load ◽  
Food Density ◽  
Food Patch ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Predation Effects ◽  
Threespine Sticklebacks

Threespine sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus L.) parasitized by the cestode Schistocephalus solidus (Miiller) have a greater need for energy than uninfected fish, and therefore should be hungrier and more willing to compromise safety from predation for foraging gains. We hypothesized that the magnitude of this trade-off is directly related to the fish's parasite load (i.e., energy requirement) and food abundance. After being frightened by a model heron, sticklebacks fled shorter distances, remained motionless and cryptic for shorter periods, returned sooner to forage in a food patch near the predator, and remained active longer in the patch with increasing parasite load. The correlations of these responses with fish parasite load were significant most consistently at the highest food density tested, and suggest that the fish were taking a greater risk of predation with an increasing level of parasitic infection, particularly when the potential energetic gain from foraging was high. On average, the fish stayed longer in the food patch near predation hazard and consumed more food during this period with increasing prey density in the patch. However, individual feeding rate was independent of parasite load and food density, suggesting that the parasite places a constraint on the fish's foraging effort.

scholarly journals Suppression of personality variation in boldness during foraging in three-spined sticklebacks

2021 ◽  
Vol 75 (4) ◽  
Author(s):  
Hannah E. A. MacGregor ◽  
Aislinn Cottage ◽  
Christos C. Ioannou
Keyword(s):  
Negative Feedback ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Positive Feedback ◽  
Gasterosteus Aculeatus ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Refuge Use ◽  
Individual Level ◽  
Behavioural Type ◽  
State Behaviour

Abstract Consistent inter-individual variation in behaviour within a population, widely referred to as personality variation, can be affected by environmental context. Feedbacks between an individual’s behaviour and state can strengthen (positive feedback) or weaken (negative feedback) individual differences when experiences such as predator encounters or winning contests are dependent on behavioural type. We examined the influence of foraging on individual-level consistency in refuge use (a measure of risk-taking, i.e. boldness) in three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus, and particularly whether changes in refuge use depended on boldness measured under control conditions. In the control treatment trials with no food, individuals were repeatable in refuge use across repeated trials, and this behavioural consistency did not differ between the start and end of these trials. In contrast, when food was available, individuals showed a higher degree of consistency in refuge use at the start of the trials versus controls but this consistency significantly reduced by the end of the trials. The effect of the opportunity to forage was dependent on behavioural type, with bolder fish varying more in their refuge use between the start and the end of the feeding trials than shyer fish, and boldness positively predicted the likelihood of feeding at the start but not at the end of the trials. This suggests a state-behaviour feedback, but there was no overall trend in how bolder individuals changed their behaviour. Our study shows that personality variation can be suppressed in foraging contexts and a potential but unpredictable role of feedbacks between state and behaviour. Significance statement In this experimental study, we examined how foraging influences consistency in risk-taking in individual three-spined sticklebacks. We show that bolder individuals become less consistent in their risk-taking behaviour than shyer individuals during foraging. Some bolder individuals reinforce their risk-taking behaviour, suggesting a positive feedback between state and behaviour, while others converge on the behaviour of shyer individuals, suggesting a negative feedback. In support of a role of satiation in driving negative feedback effects, we found that bolder individuals were more likely to feed at the start but not at the end of the trials. Overall, our findings suggest that foraging can influence personality variation in risk-taking behaviour; however, the role of feedbacks may be unpredictable.

Differentiating the roles of shrimp and aquatic insects in leaf processing in a Neotropical stream

2017 ◽  
Vol 68 (9) ◽  
pp. 1695 ◽  
Author(s):  
Claudia M. Andrade ◽  
Vinicius Neres-Lima ◽  
Timothy P. Moulton
Keyword(s):  
Electric Field ◽  
Aquatic Insects ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Control Treatment ◽  
Behavioural Inhibition ◽  
Leaf Breakdown ◽  
Ecological Processes ◽  
Low Intensity ◽  
Leaf Processing ◽  
Neotropical Stream

There is interest in the relationships between macroconsumers (e.g. shrimp) and aquatic insects, as well as their role in ecological processes, including leaf breakdown, in tropical freshwater environments. Many studies have shown that shrimp have the capacity to reduce the abundance of aquatic insects (by predation and behavioural inhibition) and promote leaf breakdown as shredders. To discriminate between these effects, we used fresh leaves of Erythroxylum pulchrum and manipulated the presence of shrimp and insects by electric exclusion at high and low intensities of electric field. In the control treatment (no electric exclusion) shrimp (the brushing collector Potimirim brasiliana and the shredding omnivore Macrobrachium olfersii) and aquatic insects (including shredders) were present. The low-intensity electric field excluded only shrimp, whereas the high-intensity electric field excluded both shrimp and medium- and large-sized aquatic insects (>2mm). Leaf processing was approximately twice as fast in the absence of shrimp and in the presence of insects than when both or neither were present. This implied a trophic cascade of shrimp acting as potential predators of insect shredders, but not acting as shredders themselves. We postulate that increased leaf processing was caused by a behavioural response of the putative shredders to the absence of shrimp; abundant leptophlebiid ephemeropterans were the most likely shredders.

SOCIAL STATUS AND INVESTIGATORY BEHAVIOUR IN THE ANGELFISH (PTEROPHYLLUM SCALARE)

Behaviour ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 139 (11-12) ◽  
pp. 1469-1490 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luis Gómez-Laplaza
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
The Other ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Shortest Distance ◽  
The Social ◽  
Dominant Fish ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Investigatory Behaviour ◽  
Predator Model ◽  
Pterophyllum Scalare

AbstractThe response of juvenile angelfish (Pterophyllum scalare) with different dominance ranks towards a potential predator and a nonthreatening novel stimulus was studied when in a group, to assess the influence of the social status on investigatory behaviour. Dominant fish showed a cautious predator inspection behaviour, often approaching the predator model from a relatively safe distance. In contrast, middle ranking fish inspected the predator model closely and the number and duration of the inspection visits to the area closest to the predator were greater than those of the other group members. Subordinate fish tended to avoid the potential predator, but showed the greatest interest in the novel harmless stimulus, investigating it more readily and for more time from the shortest distance than their companions. Dominant fish displayed a rather weak response towards the nonthreatening stimulus, exhibiting the shortest duration of investigation and the longest latency of approach. The response of intermediate ranking fish was more variable, existing little differences with that showed by any of the other fish categories in the parameters considered. The results indicate that dominance relationships within a group may affect behavioural decisions during investigatory behaviour, and suggest that individuals with different social status use different behavioural strategies dependent on the focal stimulus, possibly reflecting adaptive changes and physiological condition.

scholarly journals Predators affect a plant virus through direct and trait-mediated indirect effects on vectors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Benjamin W. Lee ◽  
Robert E. Clark ◽  
Saumik Basu ◽  
David W. Crowder
Keyword(s):  
Plant Pathogens ◽  
Virus Transmission ◽  
Pathogen Transmission ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Predation Effects ◽  
Antipredator Behaviors ◽  
Vector Borne ◽  
Predator Risk ◽  
Aphid Movement ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractArthropods that vector plant pathogens often interact with predators within food webs. Predators affect vectors by eating them (consumptive effects) and by inducing antipredator behaviors (non-consumptive effects), and these interactions may affect transmission of vector-borne pathogens. However, it has proven difficult to experimentally tease apart the effects of predators on vector fitness and behavior as they are often correlated. We addressed this problem by assessing how both aphids and an aphid-borne pathogen were affected by variable predation risk. Specifically, we experimentally manipulated ladybeetle predators’ mouthparts to isolate consumptive, and non-consumptive, effects of predators on aphid fitness, movement, and virus transmission. We show that although lethal predators decreased aphid vector abundance, they increased pathogen transmission by increasing aphid movement among hosts. Moreover, aphids responded to risk of predation by moving to younger plant tissue that was more susceptible to the pathogen. Aphids also responded to predator risk through compensatory reproduction, which offset direct consumptive effects. Our results support predictions of disease models showing alterations of vector movement due to predators can have greater effects on transmission of pathogens than vector consumption. Broadly, our study shows isolating direct and indirect predation effects can reveal novel pathways by which predators affect vector-borne pathogens.

scholarly journals Anti-snake behaviour in a facultative cooperative breeder, the Cape ground squirrel

Behaviour ◽  
2014 ◽  
Vol 151 (12-13) ◽  
pp. 1735-1758 ◽  
Author(s):  
M.A. Phillips ◽  
J.M. Waterman
Keyword(s):  
Ground Squirrel ◽  
Alloparental Care ◽  
Maternal Behaviour ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Venomous Snakes ◽  
Xerus Inauris ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Group Members ◽  
Cape Ground Squirrel ◽  
Snake Predators

Predator harassment is an anti-predator behaviour that may increase an individual’s risk of predation, as individuals approach, threaten and harass a potential predator, yet this behaviour is still not well understood. The Cape ground squirrel (Xerus inauris) is a highly social facultative cooperative breeder from southern Africa that harasses several species of venomous snakes. We examined whether harassment was part of alloparental care by comparing harassment behaviours among different age and sex classes in Cape ground squirrel social groups. We also assessed how individuals adjusted their behaviour dependent on levels of risk by examining the Cape ground squirrel’s harassment behaviour among non-venomous, and two species of venomous snakes. We found adult females with emerged juvenile offspring took the most risk, harassing for longer durations and at higher intensities than other group members, suggesting that snake harassment was a maternal behaviour. Females with juvenile offspring only harassed the highest risk elapid snake but increased vigilance and inspection with increasing snake risk suggesting that the Cape ground squirrel can discriminate between different types of snake predators.

scholarly journals Effect of Alarm Chemicals and Predator Kairomones on the Behaviour of Two Species of Mosquito Larvae

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. 18
Author(s):  
Derek Roberts ◽  
Nargis Al-Alawi ◽  
Mai Al-Gharibi
Keyword(s):  
High Risk ◽  
Mosquito Species ◽  
Chemical Signals ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Mosquito Larvae ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Risk Of Predation ◽  
Culiseta Longiareolata ◽  
Filter Feeders ◽  
High Level

Mosquito larvae have developed a variety of responses to reduce the risk of predation, but this requires them to be able to identify the different species of predators and respond accordingly. We investigated the behavioural response of two mosquito species to three chemical signals: kairomones from two predators, and also to alarm semiochemicals from killed mosquito larvae. Culex perexiguus mosquito larvae are primarily surface filter-feeders. In response to all three chemical signals, they significantly reduced feeding by the high-risk active bottom scraping of biofilms in favour of the less active (and so lower predator-detection risk) surface filter feeding.  Active escape swimming (instead of feeding) also increased for all three signals, but was much less for dragonfly nymph kairomones. Dragonflies are almost entirely bottom feeders and so are a much lower danger to surface feeding mosquitoes compared with damselfly nymphs, which feed at all depths. Culiseta longiareolata mosquito larvae normally have a high level of bottom-feeding. This was significantly reduced to all three chemical signals, but escape swimming only occurred for dragonfly kairomones (which are natural predators for the bottom-feeding larvae).

scholarly journals Effect of pond dye on the response of Southern Leopard Frog tadpoles (Lithobates sphenocephalus) to Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis) cues

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (00) ◽  
Author(s):  
Sydney Bartson ◽  
Jessa Ogilvie ◽  
Anna Jean Petroff ◽  
Geoffrey R. Smith ◽  
Jessica E. Rettig
Keyword(s):  
Rural Areas ◽  
Aquatic Ecosystems ◽  
Pond Water ◽  
Behavioural Response ◽  
Gambusia Affinis ◽  
Leopard Frog ◽  
Potential Predator ◽  
Western Mosquitofish ◽  
Frog Tadpoles ◽  
Reduced Activity

Pollutant exposure can affect tadpole activity or affect their ability to respond to predator cues. One commonly used chemical in aquatic ecosystems, particularly those in suburban or rural areas, are dyes used to color or tint pond water. Little is known about how such dyes impact amphibians. We examined the effects of Tetra Pond Water Shade pond dye on the activity and behavioural response of Southern Leopard Frog (Lithobates sphenocephalus) tadpoles to cues from a potential predator, the Western Mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis). Tadpoles of L. sphenocephalus reduced activity after exposure to cues from G. affinis. The pond dye did not affect the activity or response of L. sphenocephalus tadpoles to G. affinis cues. Our results suggest little impact of this dye on the behavior of L. sphenocephalus at concentrations up to twice the recommended usage. .

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