scholarly journals The smell of success: the amount of prey consumed by predators determines the strength and range of cascading non-consumptive effects

PeerJ ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. e1426 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc Weissburg ◽  
Jeffrey Beauvais
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Top Predator ◽  
Restricted Diet ◽  
Tritrophic System ◽  
Prey Behavior ◽  
Field Environment ◽  
Temporal Variance ◽  
Basal Resources ◽  
Panopeus Herbstii ◽  
Cue Availability

We examined whether chemically mediated risk perception by prey and the effects of changes in prey behavior on basal resources vary as a function of the amount of prey biomass consumed by the predator. We studied these issues using a tritrophic system composed of blue crabs,Callinectes sapidus(top predator), mud crabsPanopeus herbstii(intermediate prey), and oystersCrassostrea virginica(basal resource). Working in a well characterized field environment where experiments preserve natural patterns of water flow, we found that biomass consumed by a predator determines the range, intensity and nature of prey aversive responses. Predators that consume large amounts of prey flesh more strongly diminish consumption of basal resources by prey and exert effects over a larger range (in space and time) compared to predators that have eaten less. Less well-fed predators produce weaker effects, with the consequence that behaviorally mediated cascades preferentially occur in refuge habitats. Well-fed predators affected prey behavior and increased basal resources up to distances of 1–1.5 m, whereas predators fed restricted diet evoked changes in prey only when they were extremely close, typically 50 cm or less. Thus, consumptive and non-consumptive effects may be coupled; predators that have a greater degree of predatory success will affect prey traits more strongly and non-consumptive and consumptive effects may fluctuate in tandem, with some lag. Moreover, differences among predators in their degree of prey capture will create spatial and temporal variance in risk cue availability in the absence of underlying environmental effects.

scholarly journals Chemical encoding of risk perception and predator detection among estuarine invertebrates

2018 ◽  
Vol 115 (4) ◽  
pp. 662-667 ◽  
Author(s):  
Remington X. Poulin ◽  
Serge Lavoie ◽  
Katherine Siegel ◽  
David A. Gaul ◽  
Marc J. Weissburg ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Risk Perception ◽  
Blue Crab ◽  
Urinary Metabolites ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Blue Crabs ◽  
Predator Detection ◽  
Prey Behavior ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Panopeus Herbstii ◽  
Mud Crabs

An effective strategy for prey to survive in habitats rich in predators is to avoid being noticed. Thus, prey are under selection pressure to recognize predators and adjust their behavior, which can impact numerous community-wide interactions. Many animals in murky and turbulent aquatic environments rely on waterborne chemical cues. Previous research showed that the mud crab, Panopeus herbstii, recognizes the predatory blue crab, Callinectus sapidus, via a cue in blue crab urine. This cue is strongest if blue crabs recently preyed upon mud crabs. Subsequently, mud crabs suppress their foraging activity, reducing predation by blue crabs. Using NMR spectroscopy- and mass spectrometry-based metabolomics, chemical variation in urine from blue crabs fed different diets was related to prey behavior. We identified the urinary metabolites trigonelline and homarine as components of the cue that mud crabs use to detect blue crabs, with concentrations of each metabolite dependent on the blue crab’s diet. At concentrations found naturally in blue crab urine, trigonelline and homarine, alone as well as in a mixture, alerted mud crabs to the presence of blue crabs, leading to decreased foraging by mud crabs. Risk perception by waterborne cues has been widely observed by ecologists, but the molecular nature of these cues has not been previously identified. Metabolomics provides an opportunity to study waterborne cues where other approaches have historically failed, advancing our understanding of the chemical nature of a wide range of ecological interactions.

scholarly journals Temporal Resource Continuity Increases Predator Abundance in a Metapopulation Model: Insights for Conservation and Biocontrol

Land ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (12) ◽  
pp. 479
Author(s):  
Brian Spiesman ◽  
Benjamin Iuliano ◽  
Claudio Gratton
Keyword(s):  
Temporal Variability ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Habitat Specialization ◽  
Agricultural Pests ◽  
Metapopulation Model ◽  
Generalist Species ◽  
Temporal Variance ◽  
Basal Resources ◽  
Temporal Dimensions

The amount of habitat in a landscape is an important metric for evaluating the effects of land cover on biodiversity, yet it fails to capture complex temporal dimensions of resource availability that could be consequential for species population dynamics. Here, we use a spatially-explicit predator–prey metapopulation model to test the effect of different spatiotemporal resource patterns on insect predators and their prey. We examined population responses in model landscapes that varied in both the amount and temporal variability of basal vegetation. Further, we examined cases where prey comprised either a single generalist species or two specialist species that use different resources available either early or late in the growing season. We found that predators and generalist prey benefitted from lower temporal variance of basal resources, which increased landscape-scale abundances. However, increasing the amount of basal resources also increased the variability of generalist prey populations. Specialist prey, on the other hand, did not benefit from less temporally variable basal resources, as they were restricted by habitat type, while also suffering greater predation. Predators achieved greater prey suppression in landscapes with less temporally variable resources, but the overall effects on prey abundance depended on prey habitat specialization. Our simulations demonstrate the joint importance of both the amount and temporal variability of resources for understanding how landscape heterogeneity influences biodiversity and ecosystem services such as the biological control of agricultural pests.

scholarly journals Microhabitat use and prey capture of a bottom-feeding top predator, the European shag, shown by camera loggers

2008 ◽  
Vol 356 ◽  
pp. 283-293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y Watanuki ◽  
F Daunt ◽  
A Takahashi ◽  
M Newell ◽  
S Wanless ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Microhabitat Use ◽  
Top Predator

Modulation of buccal pressure during prey capture in Hexagrammos decagrammus (Teleostei: Hexagrammidae)

1997 ◽  
Vol 200 (15) ◽  
pp. 2145-2154 ◽  
Author(s):  
D Nemeth
Keyword(s):  
Prey Capture ◽  
Escape Behavior ◽  
Current View ◽  
Feeding Mode ◽  
Suction Force ◽  
Prey Category ◽  
Prey Behavior ◽  
Preparatory Phase ◽  
The Individual ◽  
Intraoral Pressure

Changes in intraoral pressure during prey capture were recorded for a trophic generalist, Hexagrammos decagrammus, feeding on different prey species. Prey were grouped into elusive (shrimps), grasping (isopods and crabs) and non-elusive (pieces of shrimp) categories. Elusive and grasping prey elicited strikes with a larger and faster reduction in buccal pressure than did non-elusive prey. The suction force generated by the predator differed for strikes among the shrimp genera in the elusive prey category. The most sedentary shrimps (Crangon alaskensis and C. nigricauda) elicited the fastest and greatest reduction in pressure relative to the most evasive shrimps (Pandalus danae and Heptacarpus stylus). A preparatory phase, during which the buccal cavity is compressed prior to the strike, occurred significantly more frequently in strikes at grasping prey than in strikes at elusive and non-elusive prey, and more frequently for elusive than for non-elusive prey. Prey size did not influence the suction force generated by the predator. No differences in buccal pressure patterns were detected between strikes that resulted in a capture or a miss, suggesting that misses were due to the escape behavior of the prey and were not the result of an inappropriate suction force. These data support the current view that fish can modify their feeding mode in response to prey behavior, and they emphasize that the behavioral responses of the individual prey must be considered when defining the appropriate strategy for prey capture. The use of a flexible, modifiable feeding behavior is associated with a broad diet in H. decagrammus and may increase capture success on diverse prey relative to that of other species showing stereotypical feeding responses.

scholarly journals Temporal resource continuity increases predator abundance in a metapopulation model: insights for conservation and biocontrol

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian J. Spiesman ◽  
Benjamin Iuliano ◽  
Claudio Gratton
Keyword(s):  
Ecosystem Services ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Landscape Heterogeneity ◽  
Habitat Type ◽  
Landscape Scale ◽  
Metapopulation Model ◽  
Biological Pest Control ◽  
Temporal Variance ◽  
Basal Resources ◽  
Predator Abundance

AbstractThe amount of habitat in a landscape is an important metric for evaluating the effects of land cover and land use on biodiversity and ecosystem services, yet it fails to capture complex temporal dimensions of resource availability that could be consequential for species population dynamics. If ephemeral resources across multiple habitat patches are synchronously available, resource gaps could be detrimental to population growth. In contrast, asynchronously available resources create a mosaic of temporally complementary resources that mobile organisms can track across the landscape. Knowledge is especially lacking on the relevance of temporal complementation for tri-trophic interactions and biological pest control. Here we use a spatially-explicit predator-prey metapopulation model to test the effect of different spatiotemporal resource patterns on insect predators and their prey. We examined prey and predator responses in model landscapes that varied in both the amount and temporal variability of basal vegetation resources. Further, we examined cases where prey comprised either a single generalist species or two specialist species that use different resources available either early or late in the growing season. We found that predators and generalist prey benefitted from lower temporal variance of basal resources, which increased both of their landscape-scale abundances. However, increasing the amount of basal resources also increased the variability of generalist prey populations, resulting in a negative correlation between basal resource amount and predator abundance. Specialist prey, on the other hand, did not benefit from less temporally variable in basal resources, since they were restricted by habitat type while also suffering greater predation. Predators feeding on specialists achieved greater prey suppression in landscapes with less temporally variable resources. Our simulations demonstrate the joint importance of landscape-scale temporal dynamics of resources and resource amount in understanding how landscape heterogeneity influences biodiversity and ecosystem services such as the biological control of agricultural pests.

Dominance determines fish community biomass in a temperate seagrass ecosystem

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Matthius Eger ◽  
Rebecca J. Best ◽  
Julia Kathleen Baum
Keyword(s):  
Species Richness ◽  
Ecosystem Function ◽  
Fish Community ◽  
Prey Capture ◽  
Fish Communities ◽  
Functional Trait ◽  
Ecosystem Functions ◽  
Community Biomass ◽  
Ecosystem Valuation ◽  
Species Abundances

Biodiversity and ecosystem function are often correlated, but there are multiple hypotheses about the mechanisms underlying this relationship. Ecosystem functions such as primary or secondary production may be maximized by species richness, evenness in species abundances, or the presence or dominance of species with certain traits. Here, we combined surveys of natural fish communities (conducted in July and August, 2016) with morphological trait data to examine relationships between diversity and ecosystem function (quantified as fish community biomass) across 14 subtidal eelgrass meadows in the Northeast Pacific (54° N 130° W). We employed both taxonomic and functional trait measures of diversity to investigate if ecosystem function is driven by species diversity (complementarity hypothesis) or by the presence or dominance of species with particular trait values (selection or dominance hypotheses). After controlling for environmental variation, we found that fish community biomass is maximized when taxonomic richness and functional evenness is low, and in communities dominated by species with particular trait values – those associated with benthic habitats and prey capture. While previous work on fish communities has found that species richness is positively correlated with ecosystem function, our results instead highlight the capacity for regionally prevalent and locally dominant species to drive ecosystem function in moderately diverse communities. We discuss these alternate links between community composition and ecosystem function and consider their divergent implications for ecosystem valuation and conservation prioritization.

Prey-field use by a Southern Ocean top predator: enhanced understanding using integrated datasets

2015 ◽  
Vol 526 ◽  
pp. 169-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
M Bedford ◽  
J Melbourne-Thomas ◽  
S Corney ◽  
T Jarvis ◽  
N Kelly ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southern Ocean ◽  
Top Predator

Testing ecological release as a compensating mechanism for mass mortality in a keystone predator

2020 ◽  
Vol 637 ◽  
pp. 59-69 ◽  
Author(s):  
J Sullivan-Stack ◽  
BA Menge
Keyword(s):  
Community Dynamics ◽  
Limiting Factor ◽  
Sea Star ◽  
Top Predator ◽  
Oregon Coast ◽  
Ecological Release ◽  
Keystone Predator ◽  
Pisaster Ochraceus ◽  
Wasting Syndrome

Top predator decline has been ubiquitous across systems over the past decades and centuries, and predicting changes in resultant community dynamics is a major challenge for ecologists and managers. Ecological release predicts that loss of a limiting factor, such as a dominant competitor or predator, can release a species from control, thus allowing increases in its size, density, and/or distribution. The 2014 sea star wasting syndrome (SSWS) outbreak decimated populations of the keystone predator Pisaster ochraceus along the Oregon coast, USA. This event provided an opportunity to test the predictions of ecological release across a broad spatial scale and determine the role of competitive dynamics in top predator recovery. We hypothesized that after P. ochraceus loss, populations of the subordinate sea star Leptasterias sp. would grow larger, more abundant, and move downshore. We based these predictions on prior research in Washington State showing that Leptasterias sp. competed with P. ochraceus for food. Further, we predicted that ecological release of Leptasterias sp. could provide a bottleneck to P. ochraceus recovery. Using field surveys, we found no clear change in density or distribution in Leptasterias sp. populations post-SSWS, and decreases in body size. In a field experiment, we found no evidence of competition between similar-sized Leptasterias sp. and P. ochraceus. Thus, the mechanisms underlying our predictions were not in effect along the Oregon coast, which we attribute to differences in habitat overlap and food availability between the 2 regions. Our results suggest that response to the loss of a dominant competitor can be unpredictable even when based in theory and previous research.

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