Predicting prey population dynamics from kill rate, predation rate and predator-prey ratios in three wolf-ungulate systems.

Science.gov (United States)

Vucetich, John A; Hebblewhite, Mark; Smith, Douglas W; Peterson, Rolf O

2011-11-01

1. Predation rate (PR) and kill rate are both fundamental statistics for understanding predation. However, relatively little is known about how these statistics relate to one another and how they relate to prey population dynamics. We assess these relationships across three systems where wolf-prey dynamics have been observed for 41 years (Isle Royale), 19 years (Banff) and 12 years (Yellowstone). 2. To provide context for this empirical assessment, we developed theoretical predictions of the relationship between kill rate and PR under a broad range of predator-prey models including predator-dependent, ratio-dependent and Lotka-Volterra dynamics. 3. The theoretical predictions indicate that kill rate can be related to PR in a variety of diverse ways (e.g. positive, negative, unrelated) that depend on the nature of predator-prey dynamics (e.g. structure of the functional response). These simulations also suggested that the ratio of predator-to-prey is a good predictor of prey growth rate. That result motivated us to assess the empirical relationship between the ratio and prey growth rate for each of the three study sites. 4. The empirical relationships indicate that PR is not well predicted by kill rate, but is better predicted by the ratio of predator-to-prey. Kill rate is also a poor predictor of prey growth rate. However, PR and ratio of predator-to-prey each explained significant portions of variation in prey growth rate for two of the three study sites. 5. Our analyses offer two general insights. First, Isle Royale, Banff and Yellowstone are similar insomuch as they all include wolves preying on large ungulates. However, they also differ in species diversity of predator and prey communities, exploitation by humans and the role of dispersal. Even with the benefit of our analysis, it remains difficult to judge whether to be more impressed by the similarities or differences. This difficulty nicely illustrates a fundamental property of ecological

Prey-Predator Model with a Nonlocal Bistable Dynamics of Prey

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Malay Banerjee

2018-03-01

Full Text Available Spatiotemporal pattern formation in integro-differential equation models of interacting populations is an active area of research, which has emerged through the introduction of nonlocal intra- and inter-specific interactions. Stationary patterns are reported for nonlocal interactions in prey and predator populations for models with prey-dependent functional response, specialist predator and linear intrinsic death rate for predator species. The primary goal of our present work is to consider nonlocal consumption of resources in a spatiotemporal prey-predator model with bistable reaction kinetics for prey growth in the absence of predators. We derive the conditions of the Turing and of the spatial Hopf bifurcation around the coexisting homogeneous steady-state and verify the analytical results through extensive numerical simulations. Bifurcations of spatial patterns are also explored numerically.

Revealing the role of predator interference in a predator-prey system with disease in prey population

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Chakraborty, Subhendu; Kooi, B.W.; Biswas, B.

2015-01-01

Predation on a species subjected to an infectious disease can affect both the infection level and the population dynamics. There is an ongoing debate about the act of managing disease in natural populations through predation. Recent theoretical and empirical evidence shows that predation...... on infected populations can have both positive and negative influences on disease in prey populations. Here, we present a predator-prey system where the prey population is subjected to an infectious disease to explore the impact of predator on disease dynamics. Specifically, we investigate how...... on the strength of interference among predators, predators enhance or control disease outbreaks and population persistence. Moreover, the presence of multistable regimes makes the system very sensitive to perturbations and facilitates a number of regime shifts. Since, the habitat structure and the choice...

Competition and Dispersal in Predator-Prey Waves

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Savill, N.J.; Hogeweg, P.

1998-01-01

Dispersing predators and prey can exhibit complex spatio-temporal wave-like patterns if the interactions between them cause oscillatory dynamics. We study the effect of these predator- prey density waves on the competition between prey populations and between predator popu- lations with different

Prey-mediated avoidance of an intraguild predator by its intraguild prey

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Wilson, R.R.; Blankenship, T.L.; Hooten, M.B.; Shivik, J.A.

2010-01-01

Intraguild (IG) predation is an important factor influencing community structure, yet factors allowing coexistence of IG predator and IG prey are not well understood. The existence of spatial refuges for IG prey has recently been noted for their importance in allowing coexistence. However, reduction in basal prey availability might lead IG prey to leave spatial refuges for greater access to prey, leading to increased IG predation and fewer opportunities for coexistence. We determined how the availability of prey affected space-use patterns of bobcats (Lynx rufus, IG prey) in relation to coyote space-use patterns (Canis latrans, IG predators). We located animals from fall 2007 to spring 2009 and estimated bobcat home ranges and core areas seasonally. For each bobcat relocation, we determined intensity of coyote use, distance to water, small mammal biomass, and mean small mammal biomass of the home range during the season the location was collected. We built generalized linear mixed models and used Akaike Information Criteria to determine which factors best predicted bobcat space use. Coyote intensity was a primary determinant of bobcat core area location. In bobcat home ranges with abundant prey, core areas occurred where coyote use was low, but shifted to areas intensively used by coyotes when prey declined. High spatial variability in basal prey abundance allowed some bobcats to avoid coyotes while at the same time others were forced into more risky areas. Our results suggest that multiple behavioral strategies associated with spatial variation in basal prey abundance likely allow IG prey and IG predators to coexist. ?? 2010 Springer-Verlag.

The modeling of predator-prey interactions

OpenAIRE

Muhammad Shakil; H. A. Wahab; Muhammad Naeem, et al.

2015-01-01

In this paper, we aim to study the interactions between the territorial animals like foxes and the rabbits. The territories for the foxes are considered to be the simple cells. The interactions between predator and its prey are represented by the chemical reactions which obey the mass action law. In this sense, we apply the mass action law for predator prey models and the quasi chemical approach is applied for the interactions between the predator and its prey to develop the modeled equations...

A Generalist Protist Predator Enables Coexistence in Multitrophic Predator-Prey Systems Containing a Phage and the Bacterial Predator Bdellovibrio

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Julia Johnke

2017-10-01

Full Text Available Complex ecosystems harbor multiple predators and prey species whose direct and indirect interactions are under study. In particular, the combined effects of predator diversity and resource preference on prey removal are not known. To understand the effect of interspecies interactions, combinations of micro-predators—i.e., protists (generalists, predatory bacteria (semi-specialists, and phages (specialists—and bacterial prey were tracked over a 72-h period in miniature membrane bioreactors. While specialist predators alone drove their preferred prey to extinction, the inclusion of a generalist resulted in uniform losses among prey species. Most importantly, presence of a generalist predator enabled coexistence of all predators and prey. As the generalist predator also negatively affected the other predators, we suggest that resource partitioning between predators and the constant availability of resources for bacterial growth due to protist predation stabilizes the system and keeps its diversity high. The appearance of resistant prey strains and subsequent evolution of specialist predators unable to infect the ancestral prey implies that multitrophic communities are able to persist and stabilize themselves. Interestingly, the appearance of BALOs and phages unable to infect their prey was only observed for the BALO or phage in the absence of additional predators or prey species indicating that competition between predators might influence coevolutionary dynamics.

Predator attack rate evolution in space: the role of ecology mediated by complex emergent spatial structure and self-shading.

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Messinger, Susanna M; Ostling, Annette

2013-11-01

Predation interactions are an important element of ecological communities. Population spatial structure has been shown to influence predator evolution, resulting in the evolution of a reduced predator attack rate; however, the evolutionary role of traits governing predator and prey ecology is unknown. The evolutionary effect of spatial structure on a predator's attack rate has primarily been explored assuming a fixed metapopulation spatial structure, and understood in terms of group selection. But endogenously generated, emergent spatial structure is common in nature. Furthermore, the evolutionary influence of ecological traits may be mediated through the spatial self-structuring process. Drawing from theory on pathogens, the evolutionary effect of emergent spatial structure can be understood in terms of self-shading, where a voracious predator limits its long-term invasion potential by reducing local prey availability. Here we formalize the effects of self-shading for predators using spatial moment equations. Then, through simulations, we show that in a spatial context self-shading leads to relationships between predator-prey ecology and the predator's attack rate that are not expected in a non-spatial context. Some relationships are analogous to relationships already shown for host-pathogen interactions, but others represent new trait dimensions. Finally, since understanding the effects of ecology using existing self-shading theory requires simplifications of the emergent spatial structure that do not apply well here, we also develop metrics describing the complex spatial structure of the predator and prey populations to help us explain the evolutionary effect of predator and prey ecology in the context of self-shading. The identification of these metrics may provide a step towards expansion of the predictive domain of self-shading theory to more complex spatial dynamics. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Prey aggregation is an effective olfactory predator avoidance strategy

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Asa Johannesen

2014-05-01

Full Text Available Predator–prey interactions have a major effect on species abundance and diversity, and aggregation is a well-known anti-predator behaviour. For immobile prey, the effectiveness of aggregation depends on two conditions: (a the inability of the predator to consume all prey in a group and (b detection of a single large group not being proportionally easier than that of several small groups. How prey aggregation influences predation rates when visual cues are restricted, such as in turbid water, has not been thoroughly investigated. We carried out foraging (predation experiments using a fish predator and (dead chironomid larvae as prey in both laboratory and field settings. In the laboratory, a reduction in visual cue availability (in turbid water led to a delay in the location of aggregated prey compared to when visual cues were available. Aggregated prey suffered high mortality once discovered, leading to better survival of dispersed prey in the longer term. We attribute this to the inability of the dead prey to take evasive action. In the field (where prey were placed in feeding stations that allowed transmission of olfactory but not visual cues, aggregated (large groups and semi-dispersed prey survived for longer than dispersed prey—including long term survival. Together, our results indicate that similar to systems where predators hunt using vision, aggregation is an effective anti-predator behaviour for prey avoiding olfactory predators.

Putting prey and predator into the CO2 equation--qualitative and quantitative effects of ocean acidification on predator-prey interactions.

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Ferrari, Maud C O; McCormick, Mark I; Munday, Philip L; Meekan, Mark G; Dixson, Danielle L; Lonnstedt, Öona; Chivers, Douglas P

2011-11-01

Little is known about the impact of ocean acidification on predator-prey dynamics. Herein, we examined the effect of carbon dioxide (CO(2)) on both prey and predator by letting one predatory reef fish interact for 24 h with eight small or large juvenile damselfishes from four congeneric species. Both prey and predator were exposed to control or elevated levels of CO(2). Mortality rate and predator selectivity were compared across CO(2) treatments, prey size and species. Small juveniles of all species sustained greater mortality at high CO(2) levels, while large recruits were not affected. For large prey, the pattern of prey selectivity by predators was reversed under elevated CO(2). Our results demonstrate both quantitative and qualitative consumptive effects of CO(2) on small and larger damselfish recruits respectively, resulting from CO(2)-induced behavioural changes likely mediated by impaired neurological function. This study highlights the complexity of predicting the effects of climate change on coral reef ecosystems. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Are all prey created equal? A review and synthesis of differential predation on prey in substandard condition

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Mesa, Matthew G.; Poe, Thomas P.; Gadomski, Dena M.; Petersen, James H.

1994-01-01

Our understanding of predator-prey interactions in fishes has been influenced largely by research assuming that the condition of the participants is normal. However, fish populations today often reside in anthropogenically altered environments and are subjected to many kinds of stressors, which may reduce their ecological performance by adversely affecting their morphology, physiology, or behaviour. One consequence is that either the predator or prey, or both, may be in a substandard condition at the time of an interaction. We reviewed the literature on predator-prey interactions in fishes where substandard prey were used as experimental groups. Although most of this research indicates that such prey are significantly more vulnerable to predation, prey condition has rarely been considered in ecological theory regarding predator-prey interactions. The causal mechanisms for increased vulnerability of substandard prey to predation include a failure to detect predators, lapses in decision-making, poor fast-start performance, inability to shoal effectively, and increased prey conspicuousness. Despite some problems associated with empirical predator-prey studies using substandard prey, their results can have theoretical and applied uses, such as in ecological modelling or justification of corrective measures to be implemented in the wild. There is a need for more corroborative field experimentation, a better understanding of the causal mechanisms behind differential predation, and increased incorporation of prey condition into the research of predator-prey modellers and theoreticians. If the concept of prey condition is considered in predator-prey interactions, our understanding of how such interactions influence the structure and dynamics of fish communities is likely to change, which should prove beneficial to aquatic ecosystems.

Disentangling mite predator-prey relationships by multiplex PCR.

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Pérez-Sayas, Consuelo; Pina, Tatiana; Gómez-Martínez, María A; Camañes, Gemma; Ibáñez-Gual, María V; Jaques, Josep A; Hurtado, Mónica A

2015-11-01

Gut content analysis using molecular techniques can help elucidate predator-prey relationships in situations in which other methodologies are not feasible, such as in the case of trophic interactions between minute species such as mites. We designed species-specific primers for a mite community occurring in Spanish citrus orchards comprising two herbivores, the Tetranychidae Tetranychus urticae and Panonychus citri, and six predatory mites belonging to the Phytoseiidae family; these predatory mites are considered to be these herbivores' main biological control agents. These primers were successfully multiplexed in a single PCR to test the range of predators feeding on each of the two prey species. We estimated prey DNA detectability success over time (DS50), which depended on the predator-prey combination and ranged from 0.2 to 18 h. These values were further used to weight prey detection in field samples to disentangle the predatory role played by the most abundant predators (i.e. Euseius stipulatus and Phytoseiulus persimilis). The corrected predation value for E. stipulatus was significantly higher than for P. persimilis. However, because this 1.5-fold difference was less than that observed regarding their sevenfold difference in abundance, we conclude that P. persimilis is the most effective predator in the system; it preyed on tetranychids almost five times more frequently than E. stipulatus did. The present results demonstrate that molecular tools are appropriate to unravel predator-prey interactions in tiny species such as mites, which include important agricultural pests and their predators. © 2015 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

Predator cannibalism can intensify negative impacts on heterospecific prey.

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Takatsu, Kunio; Kishida, Osamu

2015-07-01

Although natural populations consist of individuals with different traits, and the degree of phenotypic variation varies among populations, the impact of phenotypic variation on ecological interactions has received little attention, because traditional approaches to community ecology assume homogeneity of individuals within a population. Stage structure, which is a common way of generating size and developmental variation within predator populations, can drive cannibalistic interactions, which can affect the strength of predatory effects on the predator's heterospecific prey. Studies have shown that predator cannibalism weakens predatory effects on heterospecific prey by reducing the size of the predator population and by inducing less feeding activity of noncannibal predators. We predict, however, that predator cannibalism, by promoting rapid growth of the cannibals, can also intensify predation pressure on heterospecific prey, because large predators have large resource requirements and may utilize a wider variety of prey species. To test this hypothesis, we conducted an experiment in which we created carnivorous salamander (Hynobius retardatus) populations with different stage structures by manipulating the salamander's hatch timing (i.e., populations with large or small variation in the timing of hatching), and explored the resultant impacts on the abundance, behavior, morphology, and life history of the salamander's large heterospecific prey, Rana pirica frog tadpoles. Cannibalism was rare in salamander populations having small hatch-timing variation, but was frequent in those having large hatch-timing variation. Thus, giant salamander cannibals occurred only in the latter. We clearly showed that salamander giants exerted strong predation pressure on frog tadpoles, which induced large behavioral and morphological defenses in the tadpoles and caused them to metamorphose late at large size. Hence, predator cannibalism arising from large variation in the timing

Prey responses to predator chemical cues: disentangling the importance of the number and biomass of prey consumed.

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Michael W McCoy

Full Text Available To effectively balance investment in predator defenses versus other traits, organisms must accurately assess predation risk. Chemical cues caused by predation events are indicators of risk for prey in a wide variety of systems, but the relationship between how prey perceive risk in relation to the amount of prey consumed by predators is poorly understood. While per capita predation rate is often used as the metric of relative risk, studies aimed at quantifying predator-induced defenses commonly control biomass of prey consumed as the metric of risk. However, biomass consumed can change by altering either the number or size of prey consumed. In this study we determine whether phenotypic plasticity to predator chemical cues depends upon prey biomass consumed, prey number consumed, or both. We examine the growth response of red-eyed treefrog tadpoles (Agalychnis callidryas to cues from a larval dragonfly (Anax amazili. Biomass consumed was manipulated by either increasing the number of prey while holding individual prey size constant, or by holding the number of prey constant and varying individual prey size. We address two questions. (i Do prey reduce growth rate in response to chemical cues in a dose dependent manner? (ii Does the magnitude of the response depend on whether prey consumption increases via number or size of prey? We find that the phenotypic response of prey is an asymptotic function of prey biomass consumed. However, the asymptotic response is higher when more prey are consumed. Our findings have important implications for evaluating past studies and how future experiments should be designed. A stronger response to predation cues generated by more individual prey deaths is consistent with models that predict prey sensitivity to per capita risk, providing a more direct link between empirical and theoretical studies which are often focused on changes in population sizes not individual biomass.

Does the aggressiveness of the prey modify the attack behavior of the predator Supputius cincticeps (Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae? A agressividade da presa altera o comportamento de ataque do predador Supputius cincticeps (Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae?

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Rafael Braga da Silva

2012-06-01

Full Text Available Does the aggressiveness of the prey modify the attack behavior of the predator Supputius cincticeps (Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae? The stink bug Supputius cincticeps (Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae is a predator found in several Brazilian regions, which possesses desirable attributes as a natural control agent and in biological control programs. The aim of this study was to test if the attack behavior and predation success of S. cincticeps were affected by prey species. Larvae of Tenebrio molitor (L. (Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae, Spodoptera frugiperda (J. E. Smith (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae, and Thyrinteina arnobia (Stoll (Lepidoptera, Geometridae were offered to S. cincticeps in laboratory bioassays where predatory attack and prey defensive behaviors were observed for 2-hour periods. The attack behavior of S. cincticeps changed with the prey species offered. More than 25% of T. molitor and S. frugiperda larvae were immediately attacked, but T. arnobia was not immediately attacked by S. cincticeps. Successful attack (i.e., successful insertion of the predator stylets into the prey depends on the region of the body attacked, with a greater proportion of successful attacks in the anterior than in the median or posterior regions. Larvae of T. arnobia and S. frugiperda displayed a sequence of abrupt head and body movements in response to S. cincticeps attack. Attempts of predation were more successful on T. molitor and S. frugiperda than on T. arnobia. Information about the differential attack behavior of S. cincticeps on different prey species is important for designing successful biological control programs using this hemipteran predator.A agressividade da presa altera o comportamento de ataque do predador Supputius cincticeps (Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae? O percevejo Supputius cincticeps (Stål (Hemiptera, Pentatomidae é um predador encontrado em várias regiões brasileiras, que possui atributos desejáveis como agente de controle natural ou em

Collective strategies and cyclic dominance in asymmetric predator-prey spatial games.

Science.gov (United States)

Cazaubiel, Annette; Lütz, Alessandra F; Arenzon, Jeferson J

2017-10-07

Predators may attack isolated or grouped prey in a cooperative, collective way. Whether a gregarious behavior is advantageous to each species depends on several conditions and game theory is a useful tool to deal with such a problem. We here extend the Lett et al. (2004) to spatially distributed populations and compare the resulting behavior with their mean-field predictions for the coevolving densities of predator and prey strategies. Besides its richer behavior in the presence of spatial organization, we also show that the coexistence phase in which collective and individual strategies for each group are present is stable because of an effective, cyclic dominance mechanism similar to a well-studied generalization of the Rock-Paper-Scissors game with four species, a further example of how ubiquitous this coexistence mechanism is. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

"Prey Play": Learning about Predators and Prey through an Interactive, Role-Play Game

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Deaton, Cynthia C. M.; Dodd, Kristen; Drennon, Katherine; Nagle, Jack

2012-01-01

"Prey Play" is an interactive role-play activity that provides fifth-grade students with opportunities to examine predator-prey interactions. This four-part, role-play activity allows students to take on the role of a predator and prey as they reflect on the behaviors animals exhibit as they collect food and interact with one another, as well as…

The Effects of Predator Evolution and Genetic Variation on Predator-Prey Population-Level Dynamics.

Science.gov (United States)

Cortez, Michael H; Patel, Swati

2017-07-01

This paper explores how predator evolution and the magnitude of predator genetic variation alter the population-level dynamics of predator-prey systems. We do this by analyzing a general eco-evolutionary predator-prey model using four methods: Method 1 identifies how eco-evolutionary feedbacks alter system stability in the fast and slow evolution limits; Method 2 identifies how the amount of standing predator genetic variation alters system stability; Method 3 identifies how the phase lags in predator-prey cycles depend on the amount of genetic variation; and Method 4 determines conditions for different cycle shapes in the fast and slow evolution limits using geometric singular perturbation theory. With these four methods, we identify the conditions under which predator evolution alters system stability and shapes of predator-prey cycles, and how those effect depend on the amount of genetic variation in the predator population. We discuss the advantages and disadvantages of each method and the relations between the four methods. This work shows how the four methods can be used in tandem to make general predictions about eco-evolutionary dynamics and feedbacks.

Innate and Learned Prey-Searching Behavior in a Generalist Predator.

Science.gov (United States)

Ardanuy, Agnès; Albajes, Ramon; Turlings, Ted C J

2016-06-01

Early colonization by Zyginidia scutellaris leafhoppers might be a key factor in the attraction and settling of generalist predators, such as Orius spp., in maize fields. In this paper, we aimed to determine whether our observations of early season increases in field populations of Orius spp. reflect a specific attraction to Z. scutellaris-induced maize volatiles, and how the responses of Orius predators to herbivore-induced volatiles (HIPVs) might be affected by previous experiences on plants infested by herbivorous prey. Therefore, we examined the innate and learned preferences of Orius majusculus toward volatiles from maize plants attacked by three potential herbivores with different feeding strategies: the leafhopper Z. scutellaris (mesophyll feeder), the lepidopteran Spodoptera littoralis (chewer), and another leafhopper Dalbulus maidis (phloem feeder). In addition, we examined the volatile profiles emitted by maize plants infested by the three herbivores. Our results show that predators exhibit a strong innate attraction to volatiles from maize plants infested with Z. scutellaris or S. littoralis. Previous predation experience in the presence of HIPVs influences the predator's odor preferences. The innate preference for plants with cell or tissue damage may be explained by these plants releasing far more volatiles than plants infested by the phloem-sucking D. maidis. However, a predation experience on D. maidis-infested plants increased the preference for D. maidis-induced maize volatiles. After O. majusculus experienced L3-L4 larvae (too large to serve as prey) on S. littoralis-infested plants, they showed reduced attraction toward these plants and an increased attraction toward D. maidis-infested plants. When offered young larvae of S. littoralis, which are more suitable prey, preference toward HIPVs was similar to that of naive individuals. The HIPVs from plants infested by herbivores with distinctly different feeding strategies showed distinguishable

The limits of adaptation: humans and the predator-prey arms race.

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Vermeij, Geerat J

2012-07-01

In the history of life, species have adapted to their consumers by evolving a wide variety of defenses. By contrast, animal species harvested in the wild by humans have not adapted structurally. Nonhuman predators have high failure rates at one or more stages of an attack, indicating that victim species have spatial refuges or phenotypic defenses that permit further functional improvement. A new compilation confirms that species in the wild cannot achieve immunity from human predation with structural defenses. The only remaining options are to become undesirable or to live in or escape to places where harvesting by people is curtailed. Escalation between prey defenses and predators' weapons may be restricted under human dominance to interactions involving those low-level predators that have benefited from human overexploitation of top consumers. © 2012 The Author.

A predator-prey system with stage-structure for predator and nonlocal delay

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Lin, Z.G.; Pedersen, Michael; Zhang, Lai

2010-01-01

This paper deals with the behavior of solutions to the reaction-diffusion system under homogeneous Neumann boundary condition, which describes a prey-predator model with nonlocal delay. Sufficient conditions for the global stability of each equilibrium are derived by the Lyapunov functional...... and the results show that the introduction of stage-structure into predator positively affects the coexistence of prey and predator. Numerical simulations are performed to illustrate the results....

Prey life-history and bioenergetic responses across a predation gradient.

Science.gov (United States)

Rennie, M D; Purchase, C F; Shuter, B J; Collins, N C; Abrams, P A; Morgan, G E

2010-10-01

To evaluate the importance of non-consumptive effects of predators on prey life histories under natural conditions, an index of predator abundance was developed for naturally occurring populations of a common prey fish, the yellow perch Perca flavescens, and compared to life-history variables and rates of prey energy acquisition and allocation as estimated from mass balance models. The predation index was positively related to maximum size and size at maturity in both male and female P. flavescens, but not with life span or reproductive investment. The predation index was positively related to size-adjusted specific growth rates and growth efficiencies but negatively related to model estimates of size-adjusted specific consumption and activity rates in both vulnerable (small) and invulnerable (large) size classes of P. flavescens. These observations suggest a trade-off between growth and activity rates, mediated by reduced activity in response to increasing predator densities. Lower growth rates and growth efficiencies in populations with fewer predators, despite increased consumption suggests either 1) a reduction in prey resources at lower predator densities or 2) an intrinsic cost of rapid prey growth that makes it unfavourable unless offset by a perceived threat of predation. This study provides evidence of trade-offs between growth and activity rates induced by predation risk in natural prey fish populations and illustrates how behavioural modification induced through predation can shape the life histories of prey fish species. © 2010 The Authors. Journal compilation © 2010 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Predatory functional response and prey choice identify predation differences between native/invasive and parasitised/unparasitised crayfish.

Science.gov (United States)

Haddaway, Neal R; Wilcox, Ruth H; Heptonstall, Rachael E A; Griffiths, Hannah M; Mortimer, Robert J G; Christmas, Martin; Dunn, Alison M

2012-01-01

Invasive predators may change the structure of invaded communities through predation and competition with native species. In Europe, the invasive signal crayfish Pacifastacus leniusculus is excluding the native white clawed crayfish Austropotamobius pallipes. This study compared the predatory functional responses and prey choice of native and invasive crayfish and measured impacts of parasitism on the predatory strength of the native species. Invasive crayfish showed a higher (>10%) prey (Gammarus pulex) intake rate than (size matched) natives, reflecting a shorter (16%) prey handling time. The native crayfish also showed greater selection for crustacean prey over molluscs and bloodworm, whereas the invasive species was a more generalist predator. A. pallipes parasitised by the microsporidian parasite Thelohania contejeani showed a 30% reduction in prey intake. We suggest that this results from parasite-induced muscle damage, and this is supported by a reduced (38%) attack rate and increased (30%) prey handling time. Our results indicate that the per capita (i.e., functional response) difference between the species may contribute to success of the invader and extinction of the native species, as well as decreased biodiversity and biomass in invaded rivers. In addition, the reduced predatory strength of parasitized natives may impair their competitive abilities, facilitating exclusion by the invader.

Behavioral response races, predator-prey shell games, ecology of fear, and patch use of pumas and their ungulate prey.

Science.gov (United States)

Laundré, John W

2010-10-01

The predator-prey shell game predicts random movement of prey across the landscape, whereas the behavioral response race and landscape of fear models predict that there should be a negative relationship between the spatial distribution of a predator and its behaviorally active prey. Additionally, prey have imperfect information on the whereabouts of their predator, which the predator should incorporate in its patch use strategy. I used a one-predator-one-prey system, puma (Puma concolor)-mule deer (Odocoileus hemionus) to test the following predictions regarding predator-prey distribution and patch use by the predator. (1) Pumas will spend more time in high prey risk/low prey use habitat types, while deer will spend their time in low-risk habitats. Pumas should (2) select large forage patches more often, (3) remain in large patches longer, and (4) revisit individual large patches more often than individual smaller ones. I tested these predictions with an extensive telemetry data set collected over 16 years in a study area of patchy forested habitat. When active, pumas spent significantly less time in open areas of low intrinsic predation risk than did deer. Pumas used large patches more than expected, revisited individual large patches significantly more often than smaller ones, and stayed significantly longer in larger patches than in smaller ones. The results supported the prediction of a negative relationship in the spatial distribution of a predator and its prey and indicated that the predator is incorporating the prey's imperfect information about its presence. These results indicate a behavioral complexity on the landscape scale that can have far-reaching impacts on predator-prey interactions.

Why plankton modellers should reconsider using rectangular hyperbolic (Michaelis-Menten, Monod descriptions of predator-prey interactions

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Kevin John Flynn

2016-09-01

Full Text Available Rectangular hyperbolic type 2 (RHt2; Michaelis-Menten or Monod -like functions are commonly used to describe predation kinetics in plankton models, either alone or together with a prey selectivity algorithm deploying the same half-saturation constant for all prey types referenced to external prey biomass abundance. We present an analysis that indicates that such descriptions are liable to give outputs that are not plausible according to encounter theory. This is especially so for multi-prey type applications or where changes are made to the maximum feeding rate during a simulation. The RHt2 approach also gives no or limited potential for descriptions of events such as true de-selection of prey, effects of turbulence on encounters, or changes in grazer motility with satiation. We present an alternative, which carries minimal parameterisation effort and computational cost, linking allometric algorithms relating prey abundance and encounter rates to a prey-selection function controlled by satiation. The resultant Satiation-Controlled-Encounter-Based (SCEB function provides a flexible construct describing numeric predator-prey interactions with biomass-feedback control of grazing. The SCEB function includes an attack component similar to that in the Holling disk equation but SCEB differs in having only a single (satiation-based handling constant and an explicit maximum grazing rate. We argue that there is no justification for continuing to deploy RHt2 functions to describe plankton predator-prey interactions.

Fear on the move: predator hunting mode predicts variation in prey mortality and plasticity in prey spatial response.

Science.gov (United States)

Miller, Jennifer R B; Ament, Judith M; Schmitz, Oswald J

2014-01-01

Ecologists have long searched for a framework of a priori species traits to help predict predator-prey interactions in food webs. Empirical evidence has shown that predator hunting mode and predator and prey habitat domain are useful traits for explaining predator-prey interactions. Yet, individual experiments have yet to replicate predator hunting mode, calling into question whether predator impacts can be attributed to hunting mode or merely species identity. We tested the effects of spider predators with sit-and-wait, sit-and-pursue and active hunting modes on grasshopper habitat domain, activity and mortality in a grassland system. We replicated hunting mode by testing two spider predator species of each hunting mode on the same grasshopper prey species. We observed grasshoppers with and without each spider species in behavioural cages and measured their mortality rates, movements and habitat domains. We likewise measured the movements and habitat domains of spiders to characterize hunting modes. We found that predator hunting mode explained grasshopper mortality and spider and grasshopper movement activity and habitat domain size. Sit-and-wait spider predators covered small distances over a narrow domain space and killed fewer grasshoppers than sit-and-pursue and active predators, which ranged farther distances across broader domains and killed more grasshoppers, respectively. Prey adjusted their activity levels and horizontal habitat domains in response to predator presence and hunting mode: sedentary sit-and-wait predators with narrow domains caused grasshoppers to reduce activity in the same-sized domain space; more mobile sit-and-pursue predators with broader domains caused prey to reduce their activity within a contracted horizontal (but not vertical) domain space; and highly mobile active spiders led grasshoppers to increase their activity across the same domain area. All predators impacted prey activity, and sit-and-pursue predators generated strong

Predators are attracted to the olfactory signals of prey.

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Nelika K Hughes

2010-09-01

Full Text Available Predator attraction to prey social signals can force prey to trade-off the social imperatives to communicate against the profound effect of predation on their future fitness. These tradeoffs underlie theories on the design and evolution of conspecific signalling systems and have received much attention in visual and acoustic signalling modes. Yet while most territorial mammals communicate using olfactory signals and olfactory hunting is widespread in predators, evidence for the attraction of predators to prey olfactory signals under field conditions is lacking.To redress this fundamental issue, we examined the attraction of free-roaming predators to discrete patches of scents collected from groups of two and six adult, male house mice, Mus domesticus, which primarily communicate through olfaction. Olfactorily-hunting predators were rapidly attracted to mouse scent signals, visiting mouse scented locations sooner, and in greater number, than control locations. There were no effects of signal concentration on predator attraction to their prey's signals.This implies that communication will be costly if conspecific receivers and eavesdropping predators are simultaneously attracted to a signal. Significantly, our results also suggest that receivers may be at greater risk of predation when communicating than signallers, as receivers must visit risky patches of scent to perform their half of the communication equation, while signallers need not.

Biomechanics of predator-prey arms race in lion, zebra, cheetah and impala

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Wilson, Alan M.; Hubel, Tatjana Y.; Wilshin, Simon D.; Lowe, John C.; Lorenc, Maja; Dewhirst, Oliver P.; Bartlam-Brooks, Hattie L. A.; Diack, Rebecca; Bennitt, Emily; Golabek, Krystyna A.; Woledge, Roger C.; McNutt, J. Weldon; Curtin, Nancy A.; West, Timothy G.

2018-02-01

The fastest and most manoeuvrable terrestrial animals are found in savannah habitats, where predators chase and capture running prey. Hunt outcome and success rate are critical to survival, so both predator and prey should evolve to be faster and/or more manoeuvrable. Here we compare locomotor characteristics in two pursuit predator-prey pairs, lion-zebra and cheetah-impala, in their natural savannah habitat in Botswana. We show that although cheetahs and impalas were universally more athletic than lions and zebras in terms of speed, acceleration and turning, within each predator-prey pair, the predators had 20% higher muscle fibre power than prey, 37% greater acceleration and 72% greater deceleration capacity than their prey. We simulated hunt dynamics with these data and showed that hunts at lower speeds enable prey to use their maximum manoeuvring capacity and favour prey survival, and that the predator needs to be more athletic than its prey to sustain a viable success rate.

Predator-prey encounters in turbulent waters

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Mann, J.; Ott, Søren; Pécseli, H.L.

2002-01-01

With reference to studies of predator-prey encounters in turbulent waters, we demonstrate the feasibility of an experimental method for investigations of particle fluxes to an absorbing surface in turbulent flows. A laboratory experiment is carried out, where an approximately homogeneous and isot......With reference to studies of predator-prey encounters in turbulent waters, we demonstrate the feasibility of an experimental method for investigations of particle fluxes to an absorbing surface in turbulent flows. A laboratory experiment is carried out, where an approximately homogeneous...

Effects of an infectious fungus, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, on amphibian predator-prey interactions.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barbara A Han

2011-02-01

Full Text Available The effects of parasites and pathogens on host behaviors may be particularly important in predator-prey contexts, since few animal behaviors are more crucial for ensuring immediate survival than the avoidance of lethal predators in nature. We examined the effects of an emerging fungal pathogen of amphibians, Batrachochytrium dendrobatidis, on anti-predator behaviors of tadpoles of four frog species. We also investigated whether amphibian predators consumed infected prey, and whether B. dendrobatidis caused differences in predation rates among prey in laboratory feeding trials. We found differences in anti-predator behaviors among larvae of four amphibian species, and show that infected tadpoles of one species (Anaxyrus boreas were more active and sought refuge more frequently when exposed to predator chemical cues. Salamander predators consumed infected and uninfected tadpoles of three other prey species at similar rates in feeding trials, and predation risk among prey was unaffected by B. dendrobatidis. Collectively, our results show that even sub-lethal exposure to B. dendrobatidis can alter fundamental anti-predator behaviors in some amphibian prey species, and suggest the unexplored possibility that indiscriminate predation between infected and uninfected prey (i.e., non-selective predation could increase the prevalence of this widely distributed pathogen in amphibian populations. Because one of the most prominent types of predators in many amphibian systems is salamanders, and because salamanders are susceptible to B. dendrobatidis, our work suggests the importance of considering host susceptibility and behavioral changes that could arise from infection in both predators and prey.

A self-organized system of smart preys and predators

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Rozenfeld, Alejandro F. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquimicas Teoricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, UNLP, CONICET, Suc. 4, C.C. 16 (1900) La Plata (Argentina); Albano, Ezequiel V. [Instituto de Investigaciones Fisicoquimicas Teoricas y Aplicadas (INIFTA), Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, UNLP, CONICET, Suc. 4, C.C. 16 (1900) La Plata (Argentina)]. E-mail: ealbano@inifta.unlp.edu.ar

2004-11-22

Based on the fact that, a standard prey-predator model (SPPM), exhibits irreversible phase transitions, belonging to the universality class of directed percolation (DP), between prey-predator coexistence and predator extinction [Phys. Lett. A 280 (2001) 45], a self-organized prey-predator model (SOPPM) is formulated and studied by means of extensive Monte Carlo simulations. The SOPPM is achieved defining the parameters of the SPPM as functions of the density of species. It is shown that the SOPPM self-organizes into an active state close the absorbing phase of the SPPM, and consequently their avalanche exponents also belong to the universality class of DP.

Energetic conditions promoting top-down control of prey by predators.

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Kristin N Marshall

Full Text Available Humans remove large amounts of biomass from natural ecosystems, and large bodied high trophic level animals are especially sensitive and vulnerable to exploitation. The effects of removing top-predators on food webs are often difficult to predict because of limited information on species interaction strengths. Here we used a three species predator-prey model to explore relationships between energetic properties of trophodynamic linkages and interaction strengths to provide heuristic rules that indicate observable energetic conditions that are most likely to lead to stable and strong top-down control of prey by predator species. We found that strong top-down interaction strengths resulted from low levels of energy flow from prey to predators. Strong interactions are more stable when they are a consequence of low per capita predation and when predators are subsidized by recruitment. Diet composition also affects stability, but the relationship depends on the form of the functional response. Our results imply that for generalist satiating predators, strong top-down control on prey is most likely for prey items that occupy a small portion of the diet and when density dependent recruitment is moderately high.

Stochastic population oscillations in spatial predator-prey models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Taeuber, Uwe C

2011-01-01

It is well-established that including spatial structure and stochastic noise in models for predator-prey interactions invalidates the classical deterministic Lotka-Volterra picture of neutral population cycles. In contrast, stochastic models yield long-lived, but ultimately decaying erratic population oscillations, which can be understood through a resonant amplification mechanism for density fluctuations. In Monte Carlo simulations of spatial stochastic predator-prey systems, one observes striking complex spatio-temporal structures. These spreading activity fronts induce persistent correlations between predators and prey. In the presence of local particle density restrictions (finite prey carrying capacity), there exists an extinction threshold for the predator population. The accompanying continuous non-equilibrium phase transition is governed by the directed-percolation universality class. We employ field-theoretic methods based on the Doi-Peliti representation of the master equation for stochastic particle interaction models to (i) map the ensuing action in the vicinity of the absorbing state phase transition to Reggeon field theory, and (ii) to quantitatively address fluctuation-induced renormalizations of the population oscillation frequency, damping, and diffusion coefficients in the species coexistence phase.

Evolution determines how global warming and pesticide exposure will shape predator-prey interactions with vector mosquitoes.

Science.gov (United States)

Tran, Tam T; Janssens, Lizanne; Dinh, Khuong V; Op de Beeck, Lin; Stoks, Robby

2016-07-01

How evolution may mitigate the effects of global warming and pesticide exposure on predator-prey interactions is directly relevant for vector control. Using a space-for-time substitution approach, we addressed how 4°C warming and exposure to the pesticide endosulfan shape the predation on Culex pipiens mosquitoes by damselfly predators from replicated low- and high-latitude populations. Although warming was only lethal for the mosquitoes, it reduced predation rates on these prey. Possibly, under warming escape speeds of the mosquitoes increased more than the attack efficiency of the predators. Endosulfan imposed mortality and induced behavioral changes (including increased filtering and thrashing and a positional shift away from the bottom) in mosquito larvae. Although the pesticide was only lethal for the mosquitoes, it reduced predation rates by the low-latitude predators. This can be explained by the combination of the evolution of a faster life history and associated higher vulnerabilities to the pesticide (in terms of growth rate and lowered foraging activity) in the low-latitude predators and pesticide-induced survival selection in the mosquitoes. Our results suggest that predation rates on mosquitoes at the high latitude will be reduced under warming unless predators evolve toward the current low-latitude phenotype or low-latitude predators move poleward.

Predation on exotic zebra mussels by native fishes: Effects on predator and prey

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Magoulick, D.D.; Lewis, L.C.

2002-01-01

1. Exotic zebra mussels, Dreissena polymorpha, occur in southern U.S. waterways in high densities, but little is known about the interaction between native fish predators and zebra mussels. Previous studies have suggested that exotic zebra mussels are low profitability prey items and native vertebrate predators are unlikely to reduce zebra mussel densities. We tested these hypotheses by observing prey use of fishes, determining energy content of primary prey species of fishes, and conducting predator exclusion experiments in Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas. 2. Zebra mussels were the primary prey eaten by 52.9% of blue catfish, Ictalurus furcatus; 48.2% of freshwater drum, Aplodinotus grunniens; and 100% of adult redear sunfish, Lepomis microlophus. Blue catfish showed distinct seasonal prey shifts, feeding on zebra mussels in summer and shad, Dorosoma spp., during winter. Energy content (joules g-1) of blue catfish prey (threadfin shad, Dorosoma petenense; gizzard shad, D. cepedianum; zebra mussels; and asiatic clams, Corbicula fluminea) showed a significant species by season interaction, but shad were always significantly greater in energy content than bivalves examined as either ash-free dry mass or whole organism dry mass. Fish predators significantly reduced densities of large zebra mussels (>5 mm length) colonising clay tiles in the summers of 1997 and 1998, but predation effects on small zebra mussels (???5 mm length) were less clear. 3. Freshwater drum and redear sunfish process bivalve prey by crushing shells and obtain low amounts of higher-energy food (only the flesh), whereas blue catfish lack a shell-crushing apparatus and ingest large amounts of low-energy food per unit time (bivalves with their shells). Blue catfish appeared to select the abundant zebra mussel over the more energetically rich shad during summer, then shifted to shad during winter when shad experienced temperature-dependent stress and mortality. Native fish predators can suppress adult zebra

Joint evolution of predator body size and prey-size preference.

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Troost, T.A.; Kooi, B.W.; Dieckmann, U.

2007-01-01

We studied the joint evolution of predator body size and prey-size preference based on dynamic energy budget theory. The predators' demography and their functional response are based on general eco-physiological principles involving the size of both predator and prey. While our model can account for

Generalist predator, cyclic voles and cavity nests: testing the alternative prey hypothesis.

Science.gov (United States)

Pöysä, Hannu; Jalava, Kaisa; Paasivaara, Antti

2016-12-01

The alternative prey hypothesis (APH) states that when the density of the main prey declines, generalist predators switch to alternative prey and vice versa, meaning that predation pressure on the alternative prey should be negatively correlated with the density of the main prey. We tested the APH in a system comprising one generalist predator (pine marten, Martes martes), cyclic main prey (microtine voles, Microtus agrestis and Myodes glareolus) and alternative prey (cavity nests of common goldeneye, Bucephala clangula); pine marten is an important predator of both voles and common goldeneye nests. Specifically, we studied whether annual predation rate of real common goldeneye nests and experimental nests is negatively associated with fluctuation in the density of voles in four study areas in southern Finland in 2000-2011. Both vole density and nest predation rate varied considerably between years in all study areas. However, we did not find support for the hypothesis that vole dynamics indirectly affects predation rate of cavity nests in the way predicted by the APH. On the contrary, the probability of predation increased with vole spring abundance for both real and experimental nests. Furthermore, a crash in vole abundance from previous autumn to spring did not increase the probability of predation of real nests, although it increased that of experimental nests. We suggest that learned predation by pine marten individuals, coupled with efficient search image for cavities, overrides possible indirect positive effects of high vole density on the alternative prey in our study system.

The global stability of a delayed predator-prey system with two stage-structure

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Fengyan; Pang Guoping

2009-01-01

Based on the classical delayed stage-structured model and Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model, we introduce and study a delayed predator-prey system, where prey and predator have two stages, an immature stage and a mature stage. The time delays are the time lengths between the immature's birth and maturity of prey and predator species. Results on global asymptotic stability of nonnegative equilibria of the delay system are given, which generalize and suggest that good continuity exists between the predator-prey system and its corresponding stage-structured system.

When prey provide more than food: mammalian predators appropriating the refugia of their prey

Science.gov (United States)

Bill Zielinski

2015-01-01

Some mammalian predators acquire both food and shelter from their prey, by eating them and using the refugia the prey construct. I searched the literature for examples of predators that exhibit this behavior and summarize their taxonomic affiliations, relative sizes, and distributions. I hypothesized that size ratios of species involved in this dynamic would be near 1....

The effect of structural complexity, prey density, and "predator-free space" on prey survivorship at created oyster reef mesocosms

Science.gov (United States)

Humphries, Austin T.; La Peyre, Megan K.; Decossas, Gary A.

2011-01-01

Interactions between predators and their prey are influenced by the habitat they occupy. Using created oyster (Crassostrea virginica) reef mesocosms, we conducted a series of laboratory experiments that created structure and manipulated complexity as well as prey density and “predator-free space” to examine the relationship between structural complexity and prey survivorship. Specifically, volume and spatial arrangement of oysters as well as prey density were manipulated, and the survivorship of prey (grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio) in the presence of a predator (wild red drum, Sciaenops ocellatus) was quantified. We found that the presence of structure increased prey survivorship, and that increasing complexity of this structure further increased survivorship, but only to a point. This agrees with the theory that structural complexity may influence predator-prey dynamics, but that a threshold exists with diminishing returns. These results held true even when prey density was scaled to structural complexity, or the amount of “predator-free space” was manipulated within our created reef mesocosms. The presence of structure and its complexity (oyster shell volume) were more important in facilitating prey survivorship than perceived refugia or density-dependent prey effects. A more accurate indicator of refugia might require “predator-free space” measures that also account for the available area within the structure itself (i.e., volume) and not just on the surface of a structure. Creating experiments that better mimic natural conditions and test a wider range of “predator-free space” are suggested to better understand the role of structural complexity in oyster reefs and other complex habitats.

Predation by the Dwarf Seahorse on Copepods: Quantifying Motion and Flows Using 3D High Speed Digital Holographic Cinematography - When Seahorses Attack!

Science.gov (United States)

Gemmell, Brad; Sheng, Jian; Buskey, Ed

2008-11-01

Copepods are an important planktonic food source for most of the world's fish species. This high predation pressure has led copepods to evolve an extremely effective escape response, with reaction times to hydrodynamic disturbances of less than 4 ms and escape speeds of over 500 body lengths per second. Using 3D high speed digital holographic cinematography (up to 2000 frames per second) we elucidate the role of entrainment flow fields generated by a natural visual predator, the dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) during attacks on its prey, Acartia tonsa. Using phytoplankton as a tracer, we recorded and reconstructed 3D flow fields around the head of the seahorse and its prey during both successful and unsuccessful attacks to better understand how some attacks lead to capture with little or no detection from the copepod while others result in failed attacks. Attacks start with a slow approach to minimize the hydro-mechanical disturbance which is used by copepods to detect the approach of a potential predator. Successful attacks result in the seahorse using its pipette-like mouth to create suction faster than the copepod's response latency. As these characteristic scales of entrainment increase, a successful escape becomes more likely.

Boundedness and permanence in a class of periodic time-dependent predator-prey system with prey dispersal and predator density-independence

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Long; Teng Zhidong

2008-01-01

In this paper, we study two species predator-prey Lotka-Volterra type dispersal system with periodic coefficients, in which the prey species can disperse among n patches, while the density-independent predator species is confined to one of the patches and cannot disperse. Sufficient conditions on the boundedness, permanence and existence of positive periodic solution for this system are established. The theoretical results are confirmed by a special example and numerical simulations

Optimal predator risk assessment by the sonar-jamming arctiine moth Bertholdia trigona.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Aaron J Corcoran

Full Text Available Nearly all animals face a tradeoff between seeking food and mates and avoiding predation. Optimal escape theory holds that an animal confronted with a predator should only flee when benefits of flight (increased survival outweigh the costs (energetic costs, lost foraging time, etc.. We propose a model for prey risk assessment based on the predator's stage of attack. Risk level should increase rapidly from when the predator detects the prey to when it commits to the attack. We tested this hypothesis using a predator--the echolocating bat--whose active biosonar reveals its stage of attack. We used a prey defense--clicking used for sonar jamming by the tiger moth Bertholdia trigona--that can be readily studied in the field and laboratory and is enacted simultaneously with evasive flight. We predicted that prey employ defenses soon after being detected and targeted, and that prey defensive thresholds discriminate between legitimate predatory threats and false threats where a nearby prey is attacked. Laboratory and field experiments using playbacks of ultrasound signals and naturally behaving bats, respectively, confirmed our predictions. Moths clicked soon after bats detected and targeted them. Also, B. trigona clicking thresholds closely matched predicted optimal thresholds for discriminating legitimate and false predator threats for bats using search and approach phase echolocation--the period when bats are searching for and assessing prey. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to correlate the sensory stimuli that trigger defensive behaviors with measurements of signals provided by predators during natural attacks in the field. We propose theoretical models for explaining prey risk assessment depending on the availability of cues that reveal a predator's stage of attack.

Optimal Predator Risk Assessment by the Sonar-Jamming Arctiine Moth Bertholdia trigona

Science.gov (United States)

Corcoran, Aaron J.; Wagner, Ryan D.; Conner, William E.

2013-01-01

Nearly all animals face a tradeoff between seeking food and mates and avoiding predation. Optimal escape theory holds that an animal confronted with a predator should only flee when benefits of flight (increased survival) outweigh the costs (energetic costs, lost foraging time, etc.). We propose a model for prey risk assessment based on the predator's stage of attack. Risk level should increase rapidly from when the predator detects the prey to when it commits to the attack. We tested this hypothesis using a predator – the echolocating bat – whose active biosonar reveals its stage of attack. We used a prey defense – clicking used for sonar jamming by the tiger moth Bertholdia trigona– that can be readily studied in the field and laboratory and is enacted simultaneously with evasive flight. We predicted that prey employ defenses soon after being detected and targeted, and that prey defensive thresholds discriminate between legitimate predatory threats and false threats where a nearby prey is attacked. Laboratory and field experiments using playbacks of ultrasound signals and naturally behaving bats, respectively, confirmed our predictions. Moths clicked soon after bats detected and targeted them. Also, B. trigona clicking thresholds closely matched predicted optimal thresholds for discriminating legitimate and false predator threats for bats using search and approach phase echolocation – the period when bats are searching for and assessing prey. To our knowledge, this is the first quantitative study to correlate the sensory stimuli that trigger defensive behaviors with measurements of signals provided by predators during natural attacks in the field. We propose theoretical models for explaining prey risk assessment depending on the availability of cues that reveal a predator's stage of attack. PMID:23671686

Predator-prey interactions in selected slow and fast developing females of a ladybird, Propylea dissecta.

Science.gov (United States)

Siddiqui, Arshi; Omkar; Mishra, Geetanjali

2015-10-14

Development rate polymorphism describes the scenario in which individuals exhibit distinct differences in their rate of development resulting in slow and fast developers even from the same clutch of eggs. Previously we showed that in ladybird, Propylea dissecta fast developers have higher foraging and predation rates than slow developers. But correlation between foraging efficacies with reproductive output of female remains unexplored. We selected slow and fast developmental rate for 15 generations in a P. dissecta and assessed female functional response and numerical response by using varying prey biomasses (A. pisum). We evaluated predatory parameters: prey consumption, attack rate, handling time, and the reproductive measures: number of eggs laid, egg, and body biomass conversion efficiencies. Overall, both group of P. dissecta showed increased prey biomasses curvilinear for consumption rate demonstrating the physiological capacity of foraging for food are mutually exclusive behaviors (i.e., Holling's Type-II functional response). Consumption rate and proportion of prey consumed was higher, and prey handling time was shorter, in experimental fast developers. However, prey attack rate was higher in experimental slow developers. The functional response of experimental fast developers got elevated whereas got depressed for control slow-fast developers. Our results suggest that slow developers may perform better at low prey biomass than fast developers due to their high attack rate whereas high density prey may favour fast developers due to their shorter prey handling time and higher consumption rates. This study is first attempt to evaluate predatory responses of experimentally selected lines of slow and fast developers. J. Exp. Zool. 9999A:XX-XX, 2015. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.

Modelling the dynamics of traits involved in fighting-predators-prey system.

Science.gov (United States)

Kooi, B W

2015-12-01

We study the dynamics of a predator-prey system where predators fight for captured prey besides searching for and handling (and digestion) of the prey. Fighting for prey is modelled by a continuous time hawk-dove game dynamics where the gain depends on the amount of disputed prey while the costs for fighting is constant per fighting event. The strategy of the predator-population is quantified by a trait being the proportion of the number of predator-individuals playing hawk tactics. The dynamics of the trait is described by two models of adaptation: the replicator dynamics (RD) and the adaptive dynamics (AD). In the RD-approach a variant individual with an adapted trait value changes the population's strategy, and consequently its trait value, only when its payoff is larger than the population average. In the AD-approach successful replacement of the resident population after invasion of a rare variant population with an adapted trait value is a step in a sequence changing the population's strategy, and hence its trait value. The main aim is to compare the consequences of the two adaptation models. In an equilibrium predator-prey system this will lead to convergence to a neutral singular strategy, while in the oscillatory system to a continuous singular strategy where in this endpoint the resident population is not invasible by any variant population. In equilibrium (low prey carrying capacity) RD and AD-approach give the same results, however not always in a periodically oscillating system (high prey carrying-capacity) where the trait is density-dependent. For low costs the predator population is monomorphic (only hawks) while for high costs dimorphic (hawks and doves). These results illustrate that intra-specific trait dynamics matters in predator-prey dynamics.

Influence of prey body characteristics and performance on predator selection.

Science.gov (United States)

Holmes, Thomas H; McCormick, Mark I

2009-03-01

At the time of settlement to the reef environment, coral reef fishes differ in a number of characteristics that may influence their survival during a predatory encounter. This study investigated the selective nature of predation by both a multi-species predator pool, and a single common predator (Pseudochromis fuscus), on the reef fish, Pomacentrus amboinensis. The study focused on the early post-settlement period of P. amboinensis, when mortality, and hence selection, is known to be highest. Correlations between nine different measures of body condition/performance were examined at the time of settlement, in order to elucidate the relationships between different traits. Single-predator (P. fuscus) choice trials were conducted in 57.4-l aquaria with respect to three different prey characteristics [standard length (SL), body weight and burst swimming speed], whilst multi-species trials were conducted on open patch reefs, manipulating prey body weight only. Relationships between the nine measures of condition/performance were generally poor, with the strongest correlations occurring between the morphological measures and within the performance measures. During aquaria trials, P. fuscus was found to be selective with respect to prey SL only, with larger individuals being selected significantly more often. Multi-species predator communities, however, were selective with respect to prey body weight, with heavier individuals being selected significantly more often than their lighter counterparts. Our results suggest that under controlled conditions, body length may be the most important prey characteristic influencing prey survival during predatory encounters with P. fuscus. In such cases, larger prey size may actually be a distinct disadvantage to survival. However, these relationships appear to be more complex under natural conditions, where the expression of prey characteristics, the selectivity fields of a number of different predators, their relative abundance, and

Predation as a landscape effect: the trading off by prey species between predation risks and protection benefits.

Science.gov (United States)

Mönkkönen, M; Husby, M; Tornberg, R; Helle, P; Thomson, R L

2007-05-01

1. Predators impose costs on their prey but may also provide benefits such as protection against other (e.g. nest) predators. The optimal breeding location in relation to the distance from a nesting raptor varies so as to minimize the sum of costs of adult and nest predation. We provide a conceptual model to account for variation in the relative predation risks and derive qualitative predictions for how different prey species should respond to the distance from goshawk Accipiter gentilis nests. 2. We test the model predictions using a comprehensive collection of data from northern Finland and central Norway. First, we carried out a series of experiments with artificial bird nests to test if goshawks may provide protection against nest predation. Second, we conducted standard bird censuses and nest-box experiments to detect how the density or territory occupancy of several prey species varies with distance from the nearest goshawk nest. 3. Nest predation rate increased with distance from goshawk nest indicating that goshawks may provide protection for birds' nests against nest predation. Abundance (or probability of presence) of the main prey species of goshawks peaked at intermediate distances from goshawk nests, reflecting the trade-off. The abundance of small songbird species decreased with distance from goshawk nests. The goshawk poses little risk to small songbirds and they may benefit from goshawk proximity in protection against nest predation. Finally, no pattern with distance in pied flycatcher territory (nest box) occupation rate or the onset of egg-laying was detected. This is expected, as flycatchers neither suffer from marked nest predation risk nor are favoured goshawk prey. 4. Our results suggest that territory location in relation to the nest of a predator is a trade-off situation where adult birds weigh the risk of themselves being predated against the benefits accrued from increased nest survival. Prey species appear able to detect and measure

Effect of sublethal levels of ionizing radiation on a predator-prey interaction

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chee, P.C.

1976-01-01

The predator-prey interaction studied was that between the largemouth bass (Micropterus salmoides) and the fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) in an artificial test environment. Experiments were first conducted to determine the 50% lethal dose at 30 days of the minnow. Three different dose rates were used to test the effect of dose rate on the 50% lethal dose value. After the 50% lethal dose was determined the predator-prey interaction experiment was conducted using 30% of the 50% lethal dose as the highest radiation dose, this dose being considered the upper limit to sublethal radiation levels. A 4 x 4 Latin square design was chosen for the experiment, with four treatment levels (control plus three radiation levels) and four replicates. In each test 10 prey minnow were offered to one predator bass and the number of prey left after 14 days was the parameter of interest. A predator-prey interaction experiment using a single high level of radiation and two types of controls as conducted to ascertain the ability of the test environment to detect changes in the predator-prey interaction. The two types of controls were irradiated prey not exposed to predation and non-irradiated prey exposed to predation. An experiment was also conducted to test the correlation between the physical activity patterns of minnow and different doses of radiation. At a dose rate of 37.8 rad/min the 50% lethal dose at 30 days for minnow was found to be 2650 rad. It was found that dose rate had a strong influence on the 50% lethal dose. In the predator-prey interaction test it was found that the 14-day survival rate of prey was unaffected by sublethal levels of ionizing radiation. No significant correlation was detected between the physical activity patterns of minnow and radiation dose

Extinction in a generalized Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model

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Azmy S. Ackleh

2000-01-01

Full Text Available In this paper we discuss the asymptotic behavior of a predator-prey model with distributed growth and mortality rates. We exhibit simple criteria on the parameters which guarantee that all subpopulations but one predator-prey pair are driven to extinction as t→∞. Finally, we present numerical simulations to illustrate the theoretical results.

Prey-predator dynamics driven by the solar radiation - Part 1

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sertorio, L.

2000-01-01

In this paper is studied a model ecosystem represented by two components: prey and predator. The predator feeds only on the prey, the prey, in turn, feeds on the solar radiation. In this scheme the two-species dynamics is no longer independent of the external physical conditions. Such independence was instead postulated in the Lotka-Volterra scheme. In this paper is considered the growth of the prey not unbounded (exponential), but logistic, where the saturation factor is governed by the available solar flux, more precisely by the percent of the solar flux that contains the photon frequencies which can drive the photosynthesis. In this way the solar flux represents the driving term of the dynamics, as it is expected in general for a realistic ecosystem. The system is asymptotically stable. The equilibrium values of the prey and predator numbers depend on several parameters. The system contains two nonlinear coupling terms and two coupling parameters. The dependence of the equilibrium point on the coupling parameters is studied in detail. According to this model, it can be defined a predator efficiency and a global solar efficiency. It is discussed the relationship between these two functions of the coupling parameters and the maximum value that the predator population can reach

Prey change behaviour with predation threat, but demographic effects vary with prey density: experiments with grasshoppers and birds.

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Belovsky, Gary E; Laws, Angela Nardoni; Slade, Jennifer B

2011-04-01

Increasingly, ecologists emphasize that prey frequently change behaviour in the presence of predators and these behavioural changes can reduce prey survival and reproduction as much or more than predation itself. However, the effects of behavioural changes on survival and reproduction may vary with prey density due to intraspecific competition. In field experiments, we varied grasshopper density and threat of avian predation and measured grasshopper behaviour, survival and reproduction. Grasshopper behaviour changed with the threat of predation and these behavioural changes were invariant with grasshopper density. Behavioural changes with the threat of predation decreased per capita reproduction over all grasshopper densities; whereas the behavioural changes increased survival at low grasshopper densities and then decreased survival at high densities. At low grasshopper densities, the total reproductive output of the grasshopper population remained unchanged with predation threat, but declined at higher densities. The effects of behavioural changes with predation threat varied with grasshopper density because of a trade-off between survival and reproduction as intraspecific competition increased with density. Therefore, resource availability may need to be considered when assessing how prey behavioural changes with predation threat affect population and food web dynamics. © 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Clock-Controlled Prey-Predator Dynamics : Temporal Segregation of Activities

OpenAIRE

Hiroaki, DAIDO; Department of Mathematical Sciences, Graduate School of Engineering, University of Osaka Prefecture

2003-01-01

A new type of mathematical model of prey-predator dynamics is proposed. This model takes into account the fact that the daily activities of animals are governed by their body clocks. On the basis of it, we investigate the conditions under which the prey and predator can segregate into diurnal and nocturnal habits on a timescale that is short compared to evolutionary timescales.

Joint evolution of predator body size and prey-size preference

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Troost, Tineke; Kooi, Bob; Dieckmann, Ulf

2007-01-01

We studied the joint evolution of predator body size and prey-size preference based on dynamic energy budget theory. The predators’ demography and their functional response are based on general eco-physiological principles involving the size of both predator and prey. While our model can account

Predator-prey interactions as macro-scale drivers of species diversity in mammals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandom, Christopher James; Sandel, Brody Steven; Dalby, Lars

Background/Question/Methods Understanding the importance of predator-prey interactions for species diversity is a central theme in ecology, with fundamental consequences for predicting the responses of ecosystems to land use and climate change. We assessed the relative support for different...... mechanistic drivers of mammal species richness at macro-scales for two trophic levels: predators and prey. To disentangle biotic (i.e. functional predator-prey interactions) from abiotic (i.e. environmental) and bottom-up from top-down determinants we considered three hypotheses: 1) environmental factors...... that determine ecosystem productivity drive prey and predator richness (the productivity hypothesis, abiotic, bottom-up), 2) consumer richness is driven by resource diversity (the resource diversity hypothesis, biotic, bottom-up) and 3) consumers drive richness of their prey (the top-down hypothesis, biotic, top...

Predator-Prey Dynamics in the Mesopelagic: Odontocete Foraging Ecology and Anti-predator Behavior of Prey

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Benoit-Bird, K. J.

2016-02-01

We explored the behavior of Risso's dolphins foraging in scattering layers off California using an integrated approach comprising echosounders deployed in a deep-diving autonomous underwater vehicle, ship based acoustics, visual observations, direct prey sampling, and animal-borne tags on deep-diving predators. We identified three distinct prey layers: a persistent layer around 425 m, a vertically migrating layer around 300 m, and a layer intermittently present near 50 m, all of which were used by individual tagged animals. Active acoustic measurements demonstrated that Risso's dolphins dove to discrete prey layers throughout the day and night with only slightly higher detection rates at night. Dolphins were detected in all three layers during the day with over half of detections in the middle layer, 20% of detections in the deepest layer, and 10% falling outside the main layers. Dolphins were found less frequently in areas where the shallow, intermittent layer was absent, suggesting that this layer, while containing the smallest prey and the lowest densities of squid, was an important component of their foraging strategy. The deepest layer was targeted equally both during the day and at night. Using acoustic data collected from the AUV, we found layers were made up of distinct, small patches of animals of similar size and taxonomy adjacent to contrasting patches. Squid made up over 70% of the patches in which dolphins were found and more than 95% of those in deep water. Squid targeted by dolphins in deep water were also relatively large, indicating significant benefit from these relatively rare, physically demanding dives. Within these patches, prey formed tighter aggregations when Risso's dolphins were present. Careful integration of a suite of traditional and novel tools is providing insight into the ecology and dynamics of predator and prey in the mesopelagic.

Predator-prey dynamics driven by feedback between functionally diverse trophic levels.

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Katrin Tirok

Full Text Available Neglecting the naturally existing functional diversity of communities and the resulting potential to respond to altered conditions may strongly reduce the realism and predictive power of ecological models. We therefore propose and study a predator-prey model that describes mutual feedback via species shifts in both predator and prey, using a dynamic trait approach. Species compositions of the two trophic levels were described by mean functional traits--prey edibility and predator food-selectivity--and functional diversities by the variances. Altered edibility triggered shifts in food-selectivity so that consumers continuously respond to the present prey composition, and vice versa. This trait-mediated feedback mechanism resulted in a complex dynamic behavior with ongoing oscillations in the mean trait values, reflecting continuous reorganization of the trophic levels. The feedback was only possible if sufficient functional diversity was present in both trophic levels. Functional diversity was internally maintained on the prey level as no niche existed in our system, which was ideal under any composition of the predator level due to the trade-offs between edibility, growth and carrying capacity. The predators were only subject to one trade-off between food-selectivity and grazing ability and in the absence of immigration, one predator type became abundant, i.e., functional diversity declined to zero. In the lack of functional diversity the system showed the same dynamics as conventional models of predator-prey interactions ignoring the potential for shifts in species composition. This way, our study identified the crucial role of trade-offs and their shape in physiological and ecological traits for preserving diversity.

Attack or attacked: The sensory and fluid mechanical constraints of copepods’ predator–prey interactions

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiørboe, Thomas

2013-01-01

, and mechanisms for mobility of the parties involved. Here, I describe the mechanisms of sensing, escaping predators, and capturing prey in marine pelagic copepods. I demonstrate that feeding tradeoffs vary with feeding mode, and I describe simple fluid mechanical models that are used to quantify these tradeoffs......Many animals are predator and prey at the same time. This dual position represents a fundamental dilemma because gathering food often leads to increased exposure to predators. The optimization of the tradeoff between eating and not being eaten depends strongly on the sensing, feeding...

The Dynamical Analysis of a Prey-Predator Model with a Refuge-Stage Structure Prey Population

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Raid Kamel Naji

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We proposed and analyzed a mathematical model dealing with two species of prey-predator system. It is assumed that the prey is a stage structure population consisting of two compartments known as immature prey and mature prey. It has a refuge capability as a defensive property against the predation. The existence, uniqueness, and boundedness of the solution of the proposed model are discussed. All the feasible equilibrium points are determined. The local and global stability analysis of them are investigated. The occurrence of local bifurcation (such as saddle node, transcritical, and pitchfork near each of the equilibrium points is studied. Finally, numerical simulations are given to support the analytic results.

Vertebrate predator-prey interactions in a seasonal environment

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Schmidt, Niels Martin; Berg, Thomas B; Forchhammer, Mads

2008-01-01

erminea predation and stabilising predation from the generalist predators, in Zackenbergdalen mainly the arctic fox Alopex lagopus. In Zackenbergdalen, however, the coupling between the specialist stoat and the lemming population is relatively weak. During summer, the predation pressure is high......The High Arctic, with its low number of species, is characterised by a relatively simple ecosystem, and the vertebrate predator-prey interactions in the valley Zackenbergdalen in Northeast Greenland are centred around the collared lemming Dicrostonyx groenlandicus and its multiple predators...

Can species-specific prey responses to chemical cues explain prey susceptibility to predation?

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Šmejkal, Marek; Ricard, Daniel; Sajdlová, Zuzana; Čech, Martin; Vejřík, Lukáš; Blabolil, Petr; Vejříková, Ivana; Prchalová, Marie; Vašek, Mojmír; Souza, Allan T; Brönmark, Christer; Peterka, Jiří

2018-05-01

The perception of danger represents an essential ability of prey for gaining an informational advantage over their natural enemies. Especially in complex environments or at night, animals strongly rely on chemoreception to avoid predators. The ability to recognize danger by chemical cues and subsequent adaptive responses to predation threats should generally increase prey survival. Recent findings suggest that European catfish ( Silurus glanis ) introduction induce changes in fish community and we tested whether the direction of change can be attributed to differences in chemical cue perception. We tested behavioral response to chemical cues using three species of freshwater fish common in European water: rudd ( Scardinius erythrophthalmus ), roach ( Rutilus rutilus ), and perch ( Perca fluviatilis ). Further, we conducted a prey selectivity experiment to evaluate the prey preferences of the European catfish. Roach exhibited the strongest reaction to chemical cues, rudd decreased use of refuge and perch did not alter any behavior in the experiment. These findings suggest that chemical cue perception might be behind community data change and we encourage collecting more community data of tested prey species before and after European catfish introduction to test the hypothesis. We conclude that used prey species can be used as a model species to verify whether chemical cue perception enhances prey survival.

Effects of intraguild predators on nest-site selection by prey.

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Huang, Wen-San; Pike, David A

2012-01-01

Nest-site selection involves tradeoffs between the risk of predation (on females and/or nests) and nest-site quality (microenvironment), and consequently suitable nesting sites are often in limited supply. Interactions with "classical" predators (e.g., those not competing for shared resources) can strongly influence nest-site selection, but whether intraguild predation also influences this behavior is unknown. We tested whether risk of predation from an intraguild predator [the diurnal scincid lizard Eutropis (Mabuya) longicaudata] influences nest-site selection by its prey (the nocturnal gecko Gekko hokouensis) on Orchid Island, Taiwan. These two species putatively compete for shared resources, including invertebrate prey and nesting microhabitat, but the larger E. longicaudata also predates G. hokouensis (but not its hard-shelled eggs). Both species nested within a concrete wall containing a series of drainage holes that have either one ("closed-in") or two openings ("open"). In allopatry, E. longicaudata preferred to nest within holes that were plugged by debris (thereby protecting eggs from water intrusion), whereas G. hokouensis selected holes that were open at both ends (facilitating escape from predators). When we experimentally excluded E. longicaudata from its preferred nesting area, G. hokouensis not only nested in higher abundances, but also modified its nest-site selection, such that communal nesting was more prevalent and both open and closed-in holes were used equally. Egg viability was unaffected by the choice of hole type, but was reduced slightly (by 7%) in the predator exclusion area (presumably due to higher local incubation temperatures). Our field experiment demonstrates that intraguild predators can directly influence the nest density of prey by altering maternal nest-site selection behavior, even when the predator and prey are active at different times of day and the eggs are not at risk of predation.

Non-pest prey do not disrupt aphid predation by a web-building spider.

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Welch, K D; Whitney, T D; Harwood, J D

2016-02-01

A generalist predator's ability to contribute to biological control is influenced by the decisions it makes during foraging. Predators often use flexible foraging tactics, which allows them to pursue specific types of prey at the cost of reducing the likelihood of capturing other types of prey. When a pest insect has low nutritional quality or palatability for a predator, the predator is likely to reject that prey in favour of pursuing alternative, non-pest prey. This is often thought to limit the effectiveness of generalist predators in consuming aphids, which are of low nutritional quality for many generalist predators. Here, we report behavioural assays that test the hypothesis that the generalist predator, Grammonota inornata (Araneae: Linyphiidae), preferentially forages for a non-pest prey with high nutritional quality (springtails), and rejects a pest prey with low nutritional quality (aphids). In no-choice assays, molecular gut-content analysis revealed that spiders continued to feed on the low-quality aphids at high rates, even when high-quality springtails were readily available. When provided a choice between aphids and springtails in two-way choice tests, spiders did not show the expected preference for springtails. Decision-making by spiders during foraging therefore appears to be sub-optimal, possibly because of attraction to the less frequently encountered of two preys as part of a dietary diversification strategy. These results indicate that behavioural preferences alone do not necessarily compromise the pest-suppression capacity of natural enemies: even nutritionally sub-optimal pest prey can potentially be subject to predation and suppression by natural enemies.

Along Came a Spider: Using Live Arthropods in a Predator-Prey Activity

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Richardson, Matthew L.; Hari, Janice

2011-01-01

We developed a predator-prey activity with eighth-grade students in which they used wolf spiders ("Lycosa carolinensis"), house crickets ("Acheta domestica"), and abiotic factors to address how (1) adaptations in predators and prey shape their interaction and (2) abiotic factors modify the interaction between predators and…

Signaling by decorating webs: luring prey or deterring predators?

OpenAIRE

Ren-Chung Cheng; I-Min Tso

2007-01-01

Many organisms convey false signals to mislead their prey or predators. Some orb-weaving spiders build conspicuous structures on webs called decorations. Web decorations and spider colorations are both suggested to be important signals involved in interactions between spiders and other organisms. There are several hypotheses about the functions of signaling by decorations, among which prey attraction had received much support, but empirical evidence regarding predator defense is controversial...

Adaptive behaviour and multiple equilibrium states in a predator-prey model.

Science.gov (United States)

Pimenov, Alexander; Kelly, Thomas C; Korobeinikov, Andrei; O'Callaghan, Michael J A; Rachinskii, Dmitrii

2015-05-01

There is evidence that multiple stable equilibrium states are possible in real-life ecological systems. Phenomenological mathematical models which exhibit such properties can be constructed rather straightforwardly. For instance, for a predator-prey system this result can be achieved through the use of non-monotonic functional response for the predator. However, while formal formulation of such a model is not a problem, the biological justification for such functional responses and models is usually inconclusive. In this note, we explore a conjecture that a multitude of equilibrium states can be caused by an adaptation of animal behaviour to changes of environmental conditions. In order to verify this hypothesis, we consider a simple predator-prey model, which is a straightforward extension of the classic Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model. In this model, we made an intuitively transparent assumption that the prey can change a mode of behaviour in response to the pressure of predation, choosing either "safe" of "risky" (or "business as usual") behaviour. In order to avoid a situation where one of the modes gives an absolute advantage, we introduce the concept of the "cost of a policy" into the model. A simple conceptual two-dimensional predator-prey model, which is minimal with this property, and is not relying on odd functional responses, higher dimensionality or behaviour change for the predator, exhibits two stable co-existing equilibrium states with basins of attraction separated by a separatrix of a saddle point. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

A predator-2 prey fast-slow dynamical system for rapid predator evolution

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Piltz, Sofia Helena; Veerman, Frits; Maini, Philip K.

2017-01-01

We consider adaptive change of diet of a predator population that switches its feeding between two prey populations. We develop a novel 1 fast-3 slow dynamical system to describe the dynamics of the three populations amidst continuous but rapid evolution of the predator's diet choice. The two ext...

Stability analysis of pest-predator interaction model with infectious disease in prey

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Suryanto, Agus; Darti, Isnani; Anam, Syaiful

2018-03-01

We consider an eco-epidemiological model based on a modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey model. Such eco-epidemiological model is proposed to describe the interaction between pest as the prey and its predator. We assume that the pest can be infected by a disease or pathogen and the predator only eats the susceptible prey. The dynamical properties of the model such as the existence and the stability of biologically feasible equilibria are studied. The model has six type of equilibria, but only three of them are conditionally stable. We find that the predator in this system cannot go extinct. However, the susceptible or the infective prey may disappear in the environment. To support our analytical results, we perform some numerical simulations with different scenario.

Direct identification of predator-prey dynamics in gyrokinetic simulations

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Kobayashi, Sumire, E-mail: sumire.kobayashi@lpp.polytechnique.fr; Gürcan, Özgür D [Laboratoire de Physique des Plasmas, CNRS, Paris-Sud, Ecole Polytechnique, UMR7648, F-91128 Palaiseau (France); Diamond, Patrick H. [University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093-0319 (United States)

2015-09-15

The interaction between spontaneously formed zonal flows and small-scale turbulence in nonlinear gyrokinetic simulations is explored in a shearless closed field line geometry. It is found that when clear limit cycle oscillations prevail, the observed turbulent dynamics can be quantitatively captured by a simple Lotka-Volterra type predator-prey model. Fitting the time traces of full gyrokinetic simulations by such a reduced model allows extraction of the model coefficients. Scanning physical plasma parameters, such as collisionality and density gradient, it was observed that the effective growth rates of turbulence (i.e., the prey) remain roughly constant, in spite of the higher and varying level of primary mode linear growth rates. The effective growth rate that was extracted corresponds roughly to the zonal-flow-modified primary mode growth rate. It was also observed that the effective damping of zonal flows (i.e., the predator) in the parameter range, where clear predator-prey dynamics is observed, (i.e., near marginal stability) agrees with the collisional damping expected in these simulations. This implies that the Kelvin-Helmholtz-like instability may be negligible in this range. The results imply that when the tertiary instability plays a role, the dynamics becomes more complex than a simple Lotka-Volterra predator prey.

Let's go beyond taxonomy in diet description: testing a trait-based approach to prey-predator relationships.

Science.gov (United States)

Spitz, Jérôme; Ridoux, Vincent; Brind'Amour, Anik

2014-09-01

Understanding 'Why a prey is a prey for a given predator?' can be facilitated through trait-based approaches that identify linkages between prey and predator morphological and ecological characteristics and highlight key functions involved in prey selection. Enhanced understanding of the functional relationships between predators and their prey is now essential to go beyond the traditional taxonomic framework of dietary studies and to improve our knowledge of ecosystem functioning for wildlife conservation and management. We test the relevance of a three-matrix approach in foraging ecology among a marine mammal community in the northeast Atlantic to identify the key functional traits shaping prey selection processes regardless of the taxonomy of both the predators and prey. Our study reveals that prey found in the diet of marine mammals possess functional traits which are directly and significantly linked to predator characteristics, allowing the establishment of a functional typology of marine mammal-prey relationships. We found prey selection of marine mammals was primarily shaped by physiological and morphological traits of both predators and prey, confirming that energetic costs of foraging strategies and muscular performance are major drivers of prey selection in marine mammals. We demonstrate that trait-based approaches can provide a new definition of the resource needs of predators. This framework can be used to anticipate bottom-up effects on marine predator population dynamics and to identify predators which are sensitive to the loss of key prey functional traits when prey availability is reduced. © 2014 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2014 British Ecological Society.

To dare or not to dare? Risk management by owls in a predator-prey foraging game.

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Embar, Keren; Raveh, Ashael; Burns, Darren; Kotler, Burt P

2014-07-01

In a foraging game, predators must catch elusive prey while avoiding injury. Predators manage their hunting success with behavioral tools such as habitat selection, time allocation, and perhaps daring-the willingness to risk injury to increase hunting success. A predator's level of daring should be state dependent: the hungrier it is, the more it should be willing to risk injury to better capture prey. We ask, in a foraging game, will a hungry predator be more willing to risk injury while hunting? We performed an experiment in an outdoor vivarium in which barn owls (Tyto alba) were allowed to hunt Allenby's gerbils (Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi) from a choice of safe and risky patches. Owls were either well fed or hungry, representing the high and low state, respectively. We quantified the owls' patch use behavior. We predicted that hungry owls would be more daring and allocate more time to the risky patches. Owls preferred to hunt in the safe patches. This indicates that owls manage risk of injury by avoiding the risky patches. Hungry owls doubled their attacks on gerbils, but directed the added effort mostly toward the safe patch and the safer, open areas in the risky patch. Thus, owls dared by performing a risky action-the attack maneuver-more times, but only in the safest places-the open areas. We conclude that daring can be used to manage risk of injury and owls implement it strategically, in ways we did not foresee, to minimize risk of injury while maximizing hunting success.

Seasonal and among-stream variation in predator encounter rates for fish prey

Science.gov (United States)

Bret C. Harvey; Rodney J. Nakamoto

2013-01-01

Recognition that predators have indirect effects on prey populations that may exceed their direct consumptive effects highlights the need for a better understanding of spatiotemporal variation in predator–prey interactions. We used photographic monitoring of tethered Rainbow Trout Oncorhynchus mykiss and Cutthroat Trout O. clarkii to quantify predator encounter rates...

Stationary Patterns in One-Predator Two-Prey Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Michael; Zhigui, Lin

1999-01-01

Weakly-coupled elliptic system decribing models of simple three-species food webs such as the one-predator, two-prey modelis discussed. We show thatthere is no non-constant solution if diffusions or inter-specific competitions are strong, or if the intrinsic growths of the prey are slow...

A community-level evaluation of the impact of prey behavioural and ecological characteristics on predator diet composition.

Science.gov (United States)

Shultz, Susanne; Noë, Ronald; McGraw, W Scott; Dunbar, R I M

2004-04-07

Although predation avoidance is the most commonly invoked explanation for vertebrate social evolution, there is little evidence that individuals in larger groups experience lower predation rates than those in small groups. We compare the morphological and behavioural traits of mammal prey species in the Taï forest, Ivory Coast, with the diet preferences of three of their non-human predators: leopards, chimpanzees and African crowned eagles. Individual predators show marked differences in their predation rates on prey species of different body sizes, but clear patterns with prey behaviour were apparent only when differences in prey habitat use were incorporated into the analyses. Leopard predation rates are highest for terrestrial species living in smaller groups, whereas eagle predation rates are negatively correlated with group size only among arboreal prey. When prey predation rates are summed over all three predators, terrestrial species incur higher predation rates than arboreal species and, within both categories, predation rates decline with increasing prey group size and decreasing density of groups in the habitat. These results reveal that it is necessary to consider anti-predator strategies in the context of a dynamic behavioural interaction between predators and prey.

Behavior of prey links midwater and demersal piscivorous reef fishes

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Peter J. Auster

Full Text Available Pelagic and demersal guilds of piscivorous fishes are linked by a variety of biological and physical processes that mediate interactions with common prey species. Understanding the behaviors of predators and prey can provide insight into the conditions that make such linkages possible. Here we report on the behaviors of mid-water piscivorous fishes and the responses of prey that produce feeding opportunities for demersal piscivorous fishes associated with "live bottom" ledge habitats off the coast of Georgia (northwest Atlantic Ocean. Prey taxa reduced nearest neighbor distances and retreated towards the seafloor during predatory attacks by mid-water fishes. Demersal fishes subsequently attacked and consumed prey in these ephemeral high density patches. No predation by demersal fishes was observed when prey species were at background densities. If the predator-prey interactions of demersal piscivorous fishes are commonly mediated by the predatory behavior of midwater piscivorous fishes and their prey, such indirect facilitative behaviors may be important in terms of the population processes (e.g., prey consumption and growth rates of these demersal fishes.

Extinction and Permanence of a General Predator-Prey System with Impulsive Perturbations

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xianning Liu

2012-01-01

Full Text Available A general predator-prey system is studied in a scheme where there is periodic impulsive perturbations. This scheme has the potential to protect the predator from extinction but under some conditions may also serve to lead to extinction of the prey. Conditions for extinction and permanence are obtained via the comparison methods involving monotone theory of impulsive systems and multiple Liapunov functions, which establish explicit bounds on solutions. The existence of a positive periodic solution is also studied by the bifurcation theory. Application is given to a Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system with periodic impulsive immigration of the predator. It is shown that the results are quite different from the corresponding system without impulsive immigration, where extinction of the prey can never be achieved. The prey will be extinct or permanent independent of whether the system without impulsive effect immigration is permanent or not. The model and its results suggest an approach of pest control which proves more effective than the classical one.

Stationary Patterns in One-Predator Two-Prey Models

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Pedersen, Michael; Zhigui, Lin

1999-01-01

Weakly-coupled elliptic system decribing models of simple three-species food webs such as the one-predator, two-prey model is discussed. We show that there is no non-constant solution if diffusions or inter-specific competitions are strong, or if the intrinsic growths of the prey are slow...

Toward a community ecology of landscapes: predicting multiple predator-prey interactions across geographic space.

Science.gov (United States)

Schmitz, Oswald J; Miller, Jennifer R B; Trainor, Anne M; Abrahms, Briana

2017-09-01

Community ecology was traditionally an integrative science devoted to studying interactions between species and their abiotic environments in order to predict species' geographic distributions and abundances. Yet for philosophical and methodological reasons, it has become divided into two enterprises: one devoted to local experimentation on species interactions to predict community dynamics; the other devoted to statistical analyses of abiotic and biotic information to describe geographic distribution. Our goal here is to instigate thinking about ways to reconnect the two enterprises and thereby return to a tradition to do integrative science. We focus specifically on the community ecology of predators and prey, which is ripe for integration. This is because there is active, simultaneous interest in experimentally resolving the nature and strength of predator-prey interactions as well as explaining patterns across landscapes and seascapes. We begin by describing a conceptual theory rooted in classical analyses of non-spatial food web modules used to predict species interactions. We show how such modules can be extended to consideration of spatial context using the concept of habitat domain. Habitat domain describes the spatial extent of habitat space that predators and prey use while foraging, which differs from home range, the spatial extent used by an animal to meet all of its daily needs. This conceptual theory can be used to predict how different spatial relations of predators and prey could lead to different emergent multiple predator-prey interactions such as whether predator consumptive or non-consumptive effects should dominate, and whether intraguild predation, predator interference or predator complementarity are expected. We then review the literature on studies of large predator-prey interactions that make conclusions about the nature of multiple predator-prey interactions. This analysis reveals that while many studies provide sufficient information

A predator-prey model with a holling type I functional response including a predator mutual interference

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Seo, G.; DeAngelis, D.L.

2011-01-01

The most widely used functional response in describing predator-prey relationships is the Holling type II functional response, where per capita predation is a smooth, increasing, and saturating function of prey density. Beddington and DeAngelis modified the Holling type II response to include interference of predators that increases with predator density. Here we introduce a predator-interference term into a Holling type I functional response. We explain the ecological rationale for the response and note that the phase plane configuration of the predator and prey isoclines differs greatly from that of the Beddington-DeAngelis response; for example, in having three possible interior equilibria rather than one. In fact, this new functional response seems to be quite unique. We used analytical and numerical methods to show that the resulting system shows a much richer dynamical behavior than the Beddington-DeAngelis response, or other typically used functional responses. For example, cyclic-fold, saddle-fold, homoclinic saddle connection, and multiple crossing bifurcations can all occur. We then use a smooth approximation to the Holling type I functional response with predator mutual interference to show that these dynamical properties do not result from the lack of smoothness, but rather from subtle differences in the functional responses. ?? 2011 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC.

Information theory and robotics meet to study predator-prey interactions

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Neri, Daniele; Ruberto, Tommaso; Cord-Cruz, Gabrielle; Porfiri, Maurizio

2017-07-01

Transfer entropy holds promise to advance our understanding of animal behavior, by affording the identification of causal relationships that underlie animal interactions. A critical step toward the reliable implementation of this powerful information-theoretic concept entails the design of experiments in which causal relationships could be systematically controlled. Here, we put forward a robotics-based experimental approach to test the validity of transfer entropy in the study of predator-prey interactions. We investigate the behavioral response of zebrafish to a fear-evoking robotic stimulus, designed after the morpho-physiology of the red tiger oscar and actuated along preprogrammed trajectories. From the time series of the positions of the zebrafish and the robotic stimulus, we demonstrate that transfer entropy correctly identifies the influence of the stimulus on the focal subject. Building on this evidence, we apply transfer entropy to study the interactions between zebrafish and a live red tiger oscar. The analysis of transfer entropy reveals a change in the direction of the information flow, suggesting a mutual influence between the predator and the prey, where the predator adapts its strategy as a function of the movement of the prey, which, in turn, adjusts its escape as a function of the predator motion. Through the integration of information theory and robotics, this study posits a new approach to study predator-prey interactions in freshwater fish.

Dynamics analysis of a predator-prey system with harvesting prey and disease in prey species.

Science.gov (United States)

Meng, Xin-You; Qin, Ni-Ni; Huo, Hai-Feng

2018-12-01

In this paper, a predator-prey system with harvesting prey and disease in prey species is given. In the absence of time delay, the existence and stability of all equilibria are investigated. In the presence of time delay, some sufficient conditions of the local stability of the positive equilibrium and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are obtained by analysing the corresponding characteristic equation, and the properties of Hopf bifurcation are given by using the normal form theory and centre manifold theorem. Furthermore, an optimal harvesting policy is investigated by applying the Pontryagin's Maximum Principle. Numerical simulations are performed to support our analytic results.

Coexistence in a One-Predator, Two-Prey System with Indirect Effects

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Renato Colucci

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We study the dynamics of a one-predator, two-prey system in which the predator has an indirect effect on the preys. We show that, in presence of the indirect effect term, the system admits coexistence of the three populations while, if we disregard it, at least one of the populations goes to extinction.

Trait-based diet selection: prey behaviour and morphology predict vulnerability to predation in reef fish communities.

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Green, Stephanie J; Côté, Isabelle M

2014-11-01

Understanding how predators select their prey can provide important insights into community structure and dynamics. However, the suite of prey species available to a predator is often spatially and temporally variable. As a result, species-specific selectivity data are of limited use for predicting novel predator-prey interactions because they are assemblage specific. We present a method for predicting diet selection that is applicable across prey assemblages, based on identifying general morphological and behavioural traits of prey that confer vulnerability to predation independent of species identity. We apply this trait-based approach to examining prey selection by Indo-Pacific lionfish (Pterois volitans and Pterois miles), invasive predators that prey upon species-rich reef fish communities and are rapidly spreading across the western Atlantic. We first generate hypotheses about morphological and behavioural traits recurring across fish species that could facilitate or deter predation by lionfish. Constructing generalized linear mixed-effects models that account for relatedness among prey taxa, we test whether these traits predict patterns of diet selection by lionfish within two independent data sets collected at different spatial scales: (i) in situ visual observations of prey consumption and availability for individual lionfish and (ii) comparisons of prey abundance in lionfish stomach contents to availability on invaded reefs at large. Both analyses reveal that a number of traits predicted to affect vulnerability to predation, including body size, body shape, position in the water column and aggregation behaviour, are important determinants of diet selection by lionfish. Small, shallow-bodied, solitary fishes found resting on or just above reefs are the most vulnerable. Fishes that exhibit parasite cleaning behaviour experience a significantly lower risk of predation than non-cleaning fishes, and fishes that are nocturnally active are at significantly

Assessing diet compositions of Lake Ontario predators using fatty acid profiles of prey fishes

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Happell, Austin; Pattridge, Robert; Rinchard, Jacques; Walsh, Maureen

2017-01-01

Fatty acid profiles are used in food web studies to assess trophic interactions between predator and prey. The present study provides the first comprehensive fatty acid dataset for important prey and predator species in Lake Ontario. Three major prey fish (alewife, rainbow smelt, and round goby) were collected at three sites along the southern shore of Lake Ontario during the spring and fall of 2013, and predator species were collected in similar locations during the summer of 2013. Fatty acid compositions were compared among all prey species, all predator species, and information from both predator and prey was used to infer foraging differences among predators. Seasonal differences in fatty acids were found within each prey species studied. Differences among prey species were greater than any spatio-temporal differences detected within species. Fatty acids of predators revealed species-specific differences that matched known foraging habits. Chinook and Coho salmon, which are known to select alewife as their dominant prey item, had relatively little variation in fatty acid profiles. Conversely, brown trout, lake trout, yellow perch and esocids had highly variable fatty acid profiles and likely highly variable diet compositions. In general, our data suggested three dominant foraging patterns: 1) diet composed of nearly exclusively alewife for Chinook and Coho Salmon; 2) a mixed diet of alewife and round goby for brown and lake trout, and both rock and smallmouth bass; 3) a diet that is likely comprised of forage fishes other than those included in our study for northern pike and chain pickerel.

Predator confusion is sufficient to evolve swarming behaviour.

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Olson, Randal S; Hintze, Arend; Dyer, Fred C; Knoester, David B; Adami, Christoph

2013-08-06

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.

Simulation and analysis of a model dinoflagellate predator-prey system

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Mazzoleni, M. J.; Antonelli, T.; Coyne, K. J.; Rossi, L. F.

2015-12-01

This paper analyzes the dynamics of a model dinoflagellate predator-prey system and uses simulations to validate theoretical and experimental studies. A simple model for predator-prey interactions is derived by drawing upon analogies from chemical kinetics. This model is then modified to account for inefficiencies in predation. Simulation results are shown to closely match the model predictions. Additional simulations are then run which are based on experimental observations of predatory dinoflagellate behavior, and this study specifically investigates how the predatory dinoflagellate Karlodinium veneficum uses toxins to immobilize its prey and increase its feeding rate. These simulations account for complex dynamics that were not included in the basic models, and the results from these computational simulations closely match the experimentally observed predatory behavior of K. veneficum and reinforce the notion that predatory dinoflagellates utilize toxins to increase their feeding rate.

Predator and prey perception in copepods due to hydromechanical signals

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kiørboe, Thomas; Visser, Andre

1999-01-01

of the different components of the fluid disturbance. We use this model to argue that prey perception depends on the absolute magnitude of the fluid velocity generated by the moving prey, while predator perception depends on the magnitude of one or several of the components of the fluid velocity gradients...... (deformation rate, vorticity, acceleration) generated by the predator. On the assumption that hydrodynamic disturbances are perceived through the mechanical bending of sensory setae, we estimate the magnitude of the signal strength due to each of the fluid disturbance components. We then derive equations...... for reaction distances as a function of threshold signal strength and the size and velocity of the prey or predator. We provide a conceptual framework for quantifying threshold signal strengths and, hence, perception distances. The model is illustrated by several examples, and we demonstrate, for example, (1...

Dynamical study of a chaotic predator-prey model with an omnivore

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Al-khedhairi, A.; Elsadany, A. A.; Elsonbaty, A.; Abdelwahab, A. G.

2018-01-01

In this paper, the dynamics and bifurcations of a three-species predator-prey model with an omnivore are further investigated. The food web considered in this work comprises prey, predator and a third species, which consumes the carcasses of the predator along with predation of the original prey. The conditions for existence, uniqueness and continuous dependence on initial conditions for the solution of the model are derived. Analytical and numerical bifurcation studies reveal that the system undergoes transcritical and Hopf bifurcations around its equilibrium points. Further, the Hopf bifurcation curves in the parameters' space along with codimension two bifurcations of equilibrium points and bifurcation of limit cycles that arise in the system are investigated. In particular, the occurrence of generalized Hopf, fold Hopf and Neimarck-Sacker bifurcations is unveiled and illustrates the rich dynamics of the model. Finally, bifurcation diagrams, phase portraits and Lyapunov exponents of the model are presented.

Are lemmings prey or predators?

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Turchin, P.; Oksanen, L.; Ekerholm, P.; Oksanen, T.; Henttonen, H.

2000-06-01

Large oscillations in the populations of Norwegian lemmings have mystified both professional ecologists and lay public. Ecologists suspect that these oscillations are driven by a trophic mechanism: either an interaction between lemmings and their food supply, or an interaction between lemmings and their predators. If lemming cycles are indeed driven by a trophic interaction, can we tell whether lemmings act as the resource (`prey') or the consumer (`predator')? In trophic interaction models, peaks of resource density generally have a blunt, rounded shape, whereas peaks of consumer density are sharp and angular. Here we have applied several statistical tests to three lemming datasets and contrasted them with comparable data for cyclic voles. We find that vole peaks are blunt, consistent with their cycles being driven by the interaction with predators. In contrast, the shape of lemming peaks is consistent with the hypothesis that lemmings are functional predators, that is, their cycles are driven by their interaction with food plants. Our findings suggest that a single mechanism, such as interaction between rodents and predators, is unlikely to provide the `universal' explanation of all cyclic rodent dynamics.

Relative Preference and Localized Food Affect Predator Space Use and Consumption of Incidental Prey.

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Tyler E Schartel

Full Text Available Abundant, localized foods can concentrate predators and their foraging efforts, thus altering both the spatial distribution of predation risk and predator preferences for prey that are encountered incidentally. However, few investigations have quantified the spatial scale over which localized foods affect predator foraging behavior and consumption of incidental prey. In spring 2010, we experimentally tested how point-source foods altered how generalist predators (white-footed mice, Peromyscus leucopus utilized space and depredated two incidental prey items: almonds (Prunus dulcis; highly profitable and maple seeds (Acer saccharum; less profitable. We estimated mouse population densities with trapping webs, quantified mouse consumption rates of these incidental prey items, and measured local mouse activity with track plates. We predicted that 1 mouse activity would be elevated near full feeders, but depressed at intermediate distances from the feeder, 2 consumption of both incidental prey would be high near feeders providing less-preferred food and, 3 consumption of incidental prey would be contingent on predator preference for prey relative to feeders providing more-preferred food. Mouse densities increased significantly from pre- to post-experiment. Mean mouse activity was unexpectedly greatest in control treatments, particularly <15 m from the control (empty feeder. Feeders with highly preferred food (sunflower seeds created localized refuges for incidental prey at intermediate distances (15 to 25m from the feeder. Feeders with less-preferred food (corn generated localized high risk for highly preferred almonds <10 m of the feeder. Our findings highlight the contingent but predictable effects of locally abundant food on risk experienced by incidental prey, which can be positive or negative depending on both spatial proximity and relative preference.

Senses & Sensibility: Predator-Prey Experiments Reveal How Fish Perceive & Respond to Threats

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Jones, Jason; Holloway, Barbara; Ketcham, Elizabeth; Long, John

2008-01-01

The predator-prey relationship is one of the most recognizable and well-studied animal relationships. One of the more striking aspects of this relationship is the differential natural selection pressure placed on predators and their prey. This differential pressure results from differing costs of failure, the so-called life-dinner principle. If a…

Dynamics of a Diffusive Predator-Prey Model with Allee Effect on Predator

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Xiaoqin Wang

2013-01-01

Full Text Available The reaction-diffusion Holling-Tanner prey-predator model considering the Allee effect on predator, under zero-flux boundary conditions, is discussed. Some properties of the solutions, such as dissipation and persistence, are obtained. Local and global stability of the positive equilibrium and Turing instability are studied. With the help of the numerical simulations, the rich Turing patterns, including holes, stripes, and spots patterns, are obtained.

Variation in predator foraging behavior changes predator-prey spatio-temporal dynamics

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1. Foraging underlies the ability of all animals to acquire essential resources and, thus, provides a critical link to understanding population dynamics. A key issue is how variation in foraging behavior affects foraging efficiency and predator-prey interactions in spatially-heterogeneous environmen...

Stabilization and complex dynamics in a predator-prey model with predator suffering from an infectious disease.

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Kooi, B.W.; van Voorn, G.A.K.; Pada Das, K.

2011-01-01

We study the effects of a non-specified infectious disease of the predator on the dynamics a predator-prey system, by evaluating the dynamics of a three-dimensional model. The predator population in this (PSI) model is split into a susceptible and an unrecoverable infected population, while all

Using process algebra to develop predator-prey models of within-host parasite dynamics.

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McCaig, Chris; Fenton, Andy; Graham, Andrea; Shankland, Carron; Norman, Rachel

2013-07-21

As a first approximation of immune-mediated within-host parasite dynamics we can consider the immune response as a predator, with the parasite as its prey. In the ecological literature of predator-prey interactions there are a number of different functional responses used to describe how a predator reproduces in response to consuming prey. Until recently most of the models of the immune system that have taken a predator-prey approach have used simple mass action dynamics to capture the interaction between the immune response and the parasite. More recently Fenton and Perkins (2010) employed three of the most commonly used prey-dependent functional response terms from the ecological literature. In this paper we make use of a technique from computing science, process algebra, to develop mathematical models. The novelty of the process algebra approach is to allow stochastic models of the population (parasite and immune cells) to be developed from rules of individual cell behaviour. By using this approach in which individual cellular behaviour is captured we have derived a ratio-dependent response similar to that seen in the previous models of immune-mediated parasite dynamics, confirming that, whilst this type of term is controversial in ecological predator-prey models, it is appropriate for models of the immune system. Copyright © 2013 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Prey items and predation behavior of killer whales (Orcinus orca) in Nunavut, Canada based on Inuit hunter interviews

Science.gov (United States)

2012-01-01

Background Killer whales (Orcinus orca) are the most widely distributed cetacean, occurring in all oceans worldwide, and within ocean regions different ecotypes are defined based on prey preferences. Prey items are largely unknown in the eastern Canadian Arctic and therefore we conducted a survey of Inuit Traditional Ecological Knowledge (TEK) to provide information on the feeding ecology of killer whales. We compiled Inuit observations on killer whales and their prey items via 105 semi-directed interviews conducted in 11 eastern Nunavut communities (Kivalliq and Qikiqtaaluk regions) from 2007-2010. Results Results detail local knowledge of killer whale prey items, hunting behaviour, prey responses, distribution of predation events, and prey capture techniques. Inuit TEK and published literature agree that killer whales at times eat only certain parts of prey, particularly of large whales, that attacks on large whales entail relatively small groups of killer whales, and that they hunt cooperatively. Inuit observations suggest that there is little prey specialization beyond marine mammals and there are no definitive observations of fish in the diet. Inuit hunters and elders also documented the use of sea ice and shallow water as prey refugia. Conclusions By combining TEK and scientific approaches we provide a more holistic view of killer whale predation in the eastern Canadian Arctic relevant to management and policy. Continuing the long-term relationship between scientists and hunters will provide for successful knowledge integration and has resulted in considerable improvement in understanding of killer whale ecology relevant to management of prey species. Combining scientists and Inuit knowledge will assist in northerners adapting to the restructuring of the Arctic marine ecosystem associated with warming and loss of sea ice. PMID:22520955

Turing-Hopf bifurcations in a predator-prey model with herd behavior, quadratic mortality and prey-taxis

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Liu, Xia; Zhang, Tonghua; Meng, Xinzhu; Zhang, Tongqian

2018-04-01

In this paper, we propose a predator-prey model with herd behavior and prey-taxis. Then, we analyze the stability and bifurcation of the positive equilibrium of the model subject to the homogeneous Neumann boundary condition. By using an abstract bifurcation theory and taking prey-tactic sensitivity coefficient as the bifurcation parameter, we obtain a branch of stable nonconstant solutions bifurcating from the positive equilibrium. Our results show that prey-taxis can yield the occurrence of spatial patterns.

Gluttonous predators: how to estimate prey size when there are too many prey

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MS. Araújo

Full Text Available Prey size is an important factor in food consumption. In studies of feeding ecology, prey items are usually measured individually using calipers or ocular micrometers. Among amphibians and reptiles, there are species that feed on large numbers of small prey items (e.g. ants, termites. This high intake makes it difficult to estimate prey size consumed by these animals. We addressed this problem by developing and evaluating a procedure for subsampling the stomach contents of such predators in order to estimate prey size. Specifically, we developed a protocol based on a bootstrap procedure to obtain a subsample with a precision error of at the most 5%, with a confidence level of at least 95%. This guideline should reduce the sampling effort and facilitate future studies on the feeding habits of amphibians and reptiles, and also provide a means of obtaining precise estimates of prey size.

Functional responses and scaling in predator-prey interactions of marine fishes: contemporary issues and emerging concepts.

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Hunsicker, Mary E; Ciannelli, Lorenzo; Bailey, Kevin M; Buckel, Jeffrey A; Wilson White, J; Link, Jason S; Essington, Timothy E; Gaichas, Sarah; Anderson, Todd W; Brodeur, Richard D; Chan, Kung-Sik; Chen, Kun; Englund, Göran; Frank, Kenneth T; Freitas, Vânia; Hixon, Mark A; Hurst, Thomas; Johnson, Darren W; Kitchell, James F; Reese, Doug; Rose, George A; Sjodin, Henrik; Sydeman, William J; van der Veer, Henk W; Vollset, Knut; Zador, Stephani

2011-12-01

Predator-prey interactions are a primary structuring force vital to the resilience of marine communities and sustainability of the world's oceans. Human influences on marine ecosystems mediate changes in species interactions. This generality is evinced by the cascading effects of overharvesting top predators on the structure and function of marine ecosystems. It follows that ecological forecasting, ecosystem management, and marine spatial planning require a better understanding of food web relationships. Characterising and scaling predator-prey interactions for use in tactical and strategic tools (i.e. multi-species management and ecosystem models) are paramount in this effort. Here, we explore what issues are involved and must be considered to advance the use of predator-prey theory in the context of marine fisheries science. We address pertinent contemporary ecological issues including (1) the approaches and complexities of evaluating predator responses in marine systems; (2) the 'scaling up' of predator-prey interactions to the population, community, and ecosystem level; (3) the role of predator-prey theory in contemporary fisheries and ecosystem modelling approaches; and (4) directions for the future. Our intent is to point out needed research directions that will improve our understanding of predator-prey interactions in the context of the sustainable marine fisheries and ecosystem management. 2011 Blackwell Publishing Ltd/CNRS.

Cellular automaton for migration in ecosystem: Application of traffic model to a predator-prey system

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Nagatani, Takashi; Tainaka, Kei-ichi

2018-01-01

In most cases, physicists have studied the migration of biospecies by the use of random walk. In the present article, we apply cellular automaton of traffic model. For simplicity, we deal with an ecosystem contains a prey and predator, and use one-dimensional lattice with two layers. Preys stay on the first layer, but predators uni-directionally move on the second layer. The spatial and temporal evolution is numerically explored. It is shown that the migration has the important effect on populations of both prey and predator. Without migration, the phase transition between a prey-phase and coexisting-phase occurs. In contrast, the phase transition disappears by migration. This is because predator can survive due to migration. We find another phase transition for spatial distribution: in one phase, prey and predator form a stripe pattern of condensation and rarefaction, while in the other phase, they uniformly distribute. The self-organized stripe may be similar to the migration patterns in real ecosystems.

A spatial theory for emergent multiple predator-prey interactions in food webs.

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Northfield, Tobin D; Barton, Brandon T; Schmitz, Oswald J

2017-09-01

Predator-prey interaction is inherently spatial because animals move through landscapes to search for and consume food resources and to avoid being consumed by other species. The spatial nature of species interactions necessitates integrating spatial processes into food web theory and evaluating how predators combine to impact their prey. Here, we present a spatial modeling approach that examines emergent multiple predator effects on prey within landscapes. The modeling is inspired by the habitat domain concept derived from empirical synthesis of spatial movement and interactions studies. Because these principles are motivated by synthesis of short-term experiments, it remains uncertain whether spatial contingency principles hold in dynamical systems. We address this uncertainty by formulating dynamical systems models, guided by core habitat domain principles, to examine long-term multiple predator-prey spatial dynamics. To describe habitat domains, we use classical niche concepts describing resource utilization distributions, and assume species interactions emerge from the degree of overlap between species. The analytical results generally align with those from empirical synthesis and present a theoretical framework capable of demonstrating multiple predator effects that does not depend on the small spatial or temporal scales typical of mesocosm experiments, and help bridge between empirical experiments and long-term dynamics in natural systems.

Modelling landscape-level numerical responses of predators to prey: the case of cats and rabbits.

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Jennyffer Cruz

Full Text Available Predator-prey systems can extend over large geographical areas but empirical modelling of predator-prey dynamics has been largely limited to localised scales. This is due partly to difficulties in estimating predator and prey abundances over large areas. Collection of data at suitably large scales has been a major problem in previous studies of European rabbits (Oryctolagus cuniculus and their predators. This applies in Western Europe, where conserving rabbits and predators such as Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus is important, and in other parts of the world where rabbits are an invasive species supporting populations of introduced, and sometimes native, predators. In pastoral regions of New Zealand, rabbits are the primary prey of feral cats (Felis catus that threaten native fauna. We estimate the seasonal numerical response of cats to fluctuations in rabbit numbers in grassland-shrubland habitat across the Otago and Mackenzie regions of the South Island of New Zealand. We use spotlight counts over 1645 km of transects to estimate rabbit and cat abundances with a novel modelling approach that accounts simultaneously for environmental stochasticity, density dependence and varying detection probability. Our model suggests that cat abundance is related consistently to rabbit abundance in spring and summer, possibly through increased rabbit numbers improving the fecundity and juvenile survival of cats. Maintaining rabbits at low abundance should therefore suppress cat numbers, relieving predation pressure on native prey. Our approach provided estimates of the abundance of cats and rabbits over a large geographical area. This was made possible by repeated sampling within each season, which allows estimation of detection probabilities. A similar approach could be applied to predator-prey systems elsewhere, and could be adapted to any method of direct observation in which there is no double-counting of individuals. Reliable estimates of numerical

Does small mammal prey guild affect the exposure of predators to anticoagulant rodenticides?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tosh, D.G.; McDonald, R.A.; Bearhop, S.; Lllewellyn, N.R.; Fee, S.; Sharp, E.A.; Barnett, E.A.; Shore, R.F.

2011-01-01

Ireland has a restricted small mammal prey guild but still includes species most likely to consume anticoagulant rodenticide (AR) baits. This may enhance secondary exposure of predators to ARs. We compared liver AR residues in foxes (Vulpes vulpes) in Northern Ireland (NI) with those in foxes from Great Britain which has a more diverse prey guild but similar agricultural use of ARs. Liver ARs were detected in 84% of NI foxes, more than in a comparable sample of foxes from Scotland and similar to that of suspected AR poisoned animals from England and Wales. High exposure in NI foxes is probably due to greater predation of commensal rodents and non-target species most likely to take AR baits, and may also partly reflect greater exposure to highly persistent brodifacoum and flocoumafen. High exposure is likely to enhance risk and Ireland may be a sentinel for potential effects on predator populations. - Highlights: → Exposure of a predator to anticoagulant rodenticides was compared in Britain and Ireland. → Exposure was higher in Ireland. → Differences driven by small mammal prey guilds. → Ireland a potential sentinel for predator exposure to anticoagulants. - Restriction of the small mammal prey guild is associated with enhanced exposure of predators to anticoagulant rodenticides.

Effects of degeneracy and response function in a diffusion predator-prey model

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Li, Shanbing; Wu, Jianhua; Dong, Yaying

2018-04-01

In this paper, we consider positive solutions of a diffusion predator-prey model with a degeneracy under the Dirichlet boundary conditions. We first obtain sufficient conditions of the existence of positive solutions by the Leray-Schauder degree theory, and then analyze the limiting behavior of positive solutions as the growth rate of the predator goes to infinity and the conversion rates of the predator goes to zero, respectively. It is shown that these results for Holling II response function (i.e. m  >  0) reveal interesting contrast with that for the classical Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model (i.e. m  =  0).

On the Gause predator-prey model with a refuge: a fresh look at the history.

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Křivan, Vlastimil

2011-04-07

This article re-analyses a prey-predator model with a refuge introduced by one of the founders of population ecology Gause and his co-workers to explain discrepancies between their observations and predictions of the Lotka-Volterra prey-predator model. They replaced the linear functional response used by Lotka and Volterra by a saturating functional response with a discontinuity at a critical prey density. At concentrations below this critical density prey were effectively in a refuge while at a higher densities they were available to predators. Thus, their functional response was of the Holling type III. They analyzed this model and predicted existence of a limit cycle in predator-prey dynamics. In this article I show that their model is ill posed, because trajectories are not well defined. Using the Filippov method, I define and analyze solutions of the Gause model. I show that depending on parameter values, there are three possibilities: (1) trajectories converge to a limit cycle, as predicted by Gause, (2) trajectories converge to an equilibrium, or (3) the prey population escapes predator control and grows to infinity. Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Plastic responses of a sessile prey to multiple predators: a field and experimental study.

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Philipp Emanuel Hirsch

Full Text Available Theory predicts that prey facing a combination of predators with different feeding modes have two options: to express a response against the feeding mode of the most dangerous predator, or to express an intermediate response. Intermediate phenotypes protect equally well against several feeding modes, rather than providing specific protection against a single predator. Anti-predator traits that protect against a common feeding mode displayed by all predators should be expressed regardless of predator combination, as there is no need for trade-offs.We studied phenotypic anti-predator responses of zebra mussels to predation threat from a handling-time-limited (crayfish and a gape-size-limited (roach predator. Both predators dislodge mussels from the substrate but diverge in their further feeding modes. Mussels increased expression of a non-specific defense trait (attachment strength against all combinations of predators relative to a control. In response to roach alone, mussels showed a tendency to develop a weaker and more elongated shell. In response to crayfish, mussels developed a harder and rounder shell. When exposed to either a combination of predators or no predator, mussels developed an intermediate phenotype. Mussel growth rate was positively correlated with an elongated weaker shell and negatively correlated with a round strong shell, indicating a trade-off between anti-predator responses. Field observations of prey phenotypes revealed the presence of both anti-predator phenotypes and the trade-off with growth, but intra-specific population density and bottom substrate had a greater influence than predator density.Our results show that two different predators can exert both functionally equivalent and inverse selection pressures on a single prey. Our field study suggests that abiotic factors and prey population density should be considered when attempting to explain phenotypic diversity in the wild.

The Dynamics of a Nonautonomous Predator-Prey Model with Infertility Control in the Prey

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Xiaomei Feng

2014-01-01

Full Text Available A nonautonomous predator-prey model with infertility control in the prey is formulated and investigated. Threshold conditions for the permanence and extinction of fertility prey and infertility prey are established. Some new threshold values of integral form are obtained. For the periodic cases, these threshold conditions act as sharp threshold values for the permanence and extinction of fertility prey and infertility prey. There are also mounting concerns that the quantity of biological sterile drug is obtained in the process of the prevention and control of pest in the grasslands and farmland. Finally, two examples are given to illustrate the main results of this paper. The numerical simulations shown that, when the pest population is permanet, different dynamic behaviors may be found in this model, such as the global attractivity and the chaotic attractor.

Are single odorous components of a predator sufficient to elicit defensive behaviors in prey species?

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Apfelbach, Raimund; Parsons, Michael H; Soini, Helena A; Novotny, Milos V

2015-01-01

When exposed to the odor of a sympatric predator, prey animals typically display escape or defensive responses. These phenomena have been well-documented, especially in rodents, when exposed to the odor of a cat, ferret, or fox. As a result of these experiments new discussions center on the following questions: (1) is a single volatile compound such as a major or a minor mixture constituent in urine or feces, emitted by the predator sufficient to cause defensive reactions in a potential prey species or (2) is a whole array of odors required to elicit a response and (3) will the relative size or escapability of the prey as compared to the predator influence responsiveness. Most predator-prey studies on this topic have been performed in the laboratory or under semi-natural conditions. Field studies could help to find answers to these questions. Australian mammals are completely naïve toward the introduced placental carnivores. That offers ideal opportunities to analyze in the field the responses of potential prey species to unknown predator odors. During the last decades researchers have accumulated an enormous amount of data exploring the effects of eutherian predator odors on native marsupial mammals. In this review, we will give a survey about the development of olfactory research, chemical signals and their influence on the behavior and-in some cases-physiology of prey species. In addition, we report on the effects of predator odor experiments performed under natural conditions in Australia. When studying all these literature we learned that data gained under controlled laboratory conditions elucidate the role of individual odors on brain structures and ultimately on a comparatively narrow range behaviors. In contrast to single odors odor arrays mimic much more the situation prey animals are confronted to in nature. Therefore, a broad range of methodology-from chemistry to ecology including anatomy, physiology, and behavior-is needed to understand all the

Stochastic analysis of a pulse-type prey-predator model

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Wu, Y.; Zhu, W. Q.

2008-04-01

A stochastic Lotka-Volterra model, a so-called pulse-type model, for the interaction between two species and their random natural environment is investigated. The effect of a random environment is modeled as random pulse trains in the birth rate of the prey and the death rate of the predator. The generalized cell mapping method is applied to calculate the probability distributions of the species populations at a state of statistical quasistationarity. The time evolution of the population densities is studied, and the probability of the near extinction time, from an initial state to a critical state, is obtained. The effects on the ecosystem behaviors of the prey self-competition term and of the pulse mean arrival rate are also discussed. Our results indicate that the proposed pulse-type model shows obviously distinguishable characteristics from a Gaussian-type model, and may confer a significant advantage for modeling the prey-predator system under discrete environmental fluctuations.

Dynamics of a prey-predator system under Poisson white noise excitation

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Pan, Shan-Shan; Zhu, Wei-Qiu

2014-10-01

The classical Lotka-Volterra (LV) model is a well-known mathematical model for prey-predator ecosystems. In the present paper, the pulse-type version of stochastic LV model, in which the effect of a random natural environment has been modeled as Poisson white noise, is investigated by using the stochastic averaging method. The averaged generalized Itô stochastic differential equation and Fokker-Planck-Kolmogorov (FPK) equation are derived for prey-predator ecosystem driven by Poisson white noise. Approximate stationary solution for the averaged generalized FPK equation is obtained by using the perturbation method. The effect of prey self-competition parameter ɛ2 s on ecosystem behavior is evaluated. The analytical result is confirmed by corresponding Monte Carlo (MC) simulation.

Changes in Alaskan soft-bottom prey communities along a gradient in sea otter predation

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Kvitek, R.G.; Oliver, J.S.; DeGange, A.R.; Anderson, B.S.

1992-01-01

Sea Otter (Enhydra lutris), well documented as "keystone" predators in rocky marine communities, were found to exert a strong influence on infaunal prey communities in soft-sediment habitats. Direct and indirect effects of sea otter predation on subtidal soft-bottom prey communities were evaluated along a temporal gradient of sea otter occupancy around the Kodiak Archipelago. The results indicate that Kodiak otters forage primarily on bivalve prey and dramatically reduce infaunal bivalve and green sea urchin (Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis) prey populations. Bivalve prey abundance, biomass, and size were inversely related to duration of sea otter occupancy. The relative conditions of shells discarded by otters in shallow ( 20 m) water at the same sites indicate that otters first exploited Saxidomus in shallow-water feeding areas, and later switched to Macoma spp. in deeper water. Otter-cracked shells of the deep-burrowing clam Tresus capax were rarely found, even at otter foraging sites where the clam accounted for the majority of available prey biomass, suggesting that it has a partial depth refuge from otter predation. The indirect effects of otter predation included substratum disturbance and the facilitation of sea star predation on infaunal prey. Sea stars, Pycnopodia helianthoides, were attracted to experimentally dug excavations as well as natural sea otter foraging pits, where the sea stars foraged on smaller size classes of infaunal bivalves than those eaten by otters. Otters also discard clam shells on the sediment surface and expose old, buried shells during excavation. Surface shells were found to provide attachment sites for large anemones and kelp. Our study shows that sea otters can affect soft-sediment communities, not only through predation, as in rocky habitats, but also through disturbance, and thus retain a high degree of influence in two very different habitat types.

Not So Fast: Swimming Behavior of Sailfish during Predator-Prey Interactions using High-Speed Video and Accelerometry.

Science.gov (United States)

Marras, Stefano; Noda, Takuji; Steffensen, John F; Svendsen, Morten B S; Krause, Jens; Wilson, Alexander D M; Kurvers, Ralf H J M; Herbert-Read, James; Boswell, Kevin M; Domenici, Paolo

2015-10-01

Billfishes are considered among the fastest swimmers in the oceans. Despite early estimates of extremely high speeds, more recent work showed that these predators (e.g., blue marlin) spend most of their time swimming slowly, rarely exceeding 2 m s(-1). Predator-prey interactions provide a context within which one may expect maximal speeds both by predators and prey. Beyond speed, however, an important component determining the outcome of predator-prey encounters is unsteady swimming (i.e., turning and accelerating). Although large predators are faster than their small prey, the latter show higher performance in unsteady swimming. To contrast the evading behaviors of their highly maneuverable prey, sailfish and other large aquatic predators possess morphological adaptations, such as elongated bills, which can be moved more rapidly than the whole body itself, facilitating capture of the prey. Therefore, it is an open question whether such supposedly very fast swimmers do use high-speed bursts when feeding on evasive prey, in addition to using their bill for slashing prey. Here, we measured the swimming behavior of sailfish by using high-frequency accelerometry and high-speed video observations during predator-prey interactions. These measurements allowed analyses of tail beat frequencies to estimate swimming speeds. Our results suggest that sailfish burst at speeds of about 7 m s(-1) and do not exceed swimming speeds of 10 m s(-1) during predator-prey interactions. These speeds are much lower than previous estimates. In addition, the oscillations of the bill during swimming with, and without, extension of the dorsal fin (i.e., the sail) were measured. We suggest that extension of the dorsal fin may allow sailfish to improve the control of the bill and minimize its yaw, hence preventing disturbance of the prey. Therefore, sailfish, like other large predators, may rely mainly on accuracy of movement and the use of the extensions of their bodies, rather than resorting

Impact of marine reserve on maximum sustainable yield in a traditional prey-predator system

Science.gov (United States)

Paul, Prosenjit; Kar, T. K.; Ghorai, Abhijit

2018-01-01

Multispecies fisheries management requires managers to consider the impact of fishing activities on several species as fishing impacts both targeted and non-targeted species directly or indirectly in several ways. The intended goal of traditional fisheries management is to achieve maximum sustainable yield (MSY) from the targeted species, which on many occasions affect the targeted species as well as the entire ecosystem. Marine reserves are often acclaimed as the marine ecosystem management tool. Few attempts have been made to generalize the ecological effects of marine reserve on MSY policy. We examine here how MSY and population level in a prey-predator system are affected by the low, medium and high reserve size under different possible scenarios. Our simulation works shows that low reserve area, the value of MSY for prey exploitation is maximum when both prey and predator species have fast movement rate. For medium reserve size, our analysis revealed that the maximum value of MSY for prey exploitation is obtained when prey population has fast movement rate and predator population has slow movement rate. For high reserve area, the maximum value of MSY for prey's exploitation is very low compared to the maximum value of MSY for prey's exploitation in case of low and medium reserve. On the other hand, for low and medium reserve area, MSY for predator exploitation is maximum when both the species have fast movement rate.

Stabilization and complex dynamics in a predator-prey model with predator suffering from an infectious disease

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kooi, B.W.; Voorn, van G.A.K.; Das, pada Krishna

2011-01-01

We study the effects of a non-specified infectious disease of the predator on the dynamics a predator–prey system, by evaluating the dynamics of a three-dimensional model. The predator population in this (PSI) model is split into a susceptible and an unrecoverable infected population, while all

Information Dynamics in the Interaction between a Prey and a Predator Fish

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Feng Hu

2015-10-01

Full Text Available Accessing information efficiently is vital for animals to make the optimal decisions, and it is particularly important when they are facing predators. Yet until now, very few quantitative conclusions have been drawn about the information dynamics in the interaction between animals due to the lack of appropriate theoretic measures. Here, we employ transfer entropy (TE, a new information-theoretic and model-free measure, to explore the information dynamics in the interaction between a predator and a prey fish. We conduct experiments in which a predator and a prey fish are confined in separate parts of an arena, but can communicate with each other visually and tactilely. TE is calculated on the pair’s coarse-grained state of the trajectories. We find that the prey’s TE is generally significantly bigger than the predator’s during trials, which indicates that the dominant information is transmitted from predator to prey. We then demonstrate that the direction of information flow is irrelevant to the parameters used in the coarse-grained procedures. We further calculate the prey’s TE at different distances between it and the predator. The resulted figure shows that there is a high plateau in the mid-range of the distance and that drops quickly at both the near and the far ends. This result reflects that there is a sensitive space zone where the prey is highly vigilant of the predator’s position.

Foraging behavior and prey interactions by a guild of predators on various lifestages of Bemisia tabaci

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James R. Hagler

2004-01-01

Full Text Available The sweetpotato whitefly, Bemisia tabaci (Gennadius is fed on by a wide variety of generalist predators, but there is little information on these predator-prey interactions. A laboratory investigation was conducted to quantify the foraging behavior of the adults of five common whitefly predators presented with a surfeit of whitefly eggs, nymphs, and adults. The beetles, Hippodamia convergens Guérin-Méneville and Collops vittatus (Say fed mostly on whitefly eggs, but readily and rapidly preyed on all of the whitefly lifestages. The true bugs, Geocoris punctipes (Say and Orius tristicolor (Say preyed almost exclusively on adult whiteflies, while Lygus hesperus Knight preyed almost exclusively on nymphs. The true bugs had much longer prey handling times than the beetles and spent much more of their time feeding (35-42% than the beetles (6-7%. These results indicate that generalist predators vary significantly in their interaction with this host, and that foraging behavior should be considered during development of a predator-based biological control program for B. tabaci.

Diversity in thermal affinity among key piscivores buffers impacts of ocean warming on predator-prey interactions.

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Selden, Rebecca L; Batt, Ryan D; Saba, Vincent S; Pinsky, Malin L

2018-01-01

Asymmetries in responses to climate change have the potential to alter important predator-prey interactions, in part by altering the location and size of spatial refugia for prey. We evaluated the effect of ocean warming on interactions between four important piscivores and four of their prey in the U.S. Northeast Shelf by examining species overlap under historical conditions (1968-2014) and with a doubling in CO 2 . Because both predator and prey shift their distributions in response to changing ocean conditions, the net impact of warming or cooling on predator-prey interactions was not determined a priori from the range extent of either predator or prey alone. For Atlantic cod, an historically dominant piscivore in the region, we found that both historical and future warming led to a decline in the proportion of prey species' range it occupied and caused a potential reduction in its ability to exert top-down control on these prey. In contrast, the potential for overlap of spiny dogfish with prey species was enhanced by warming, expanding their importance as predators in this system. In sum, the decline in the ecological role for cod that began with overfishing in this ecosystem will likely be exacerbated by warming, but this loss may be counteracted by the rise in dominance of other piscivores with contrasting thermal preferences. Functional diversity in thermal affinity within the piscivore guild may therefore buffer against the impact of warming on marine ecosystems, suggesting a novel mechanism by which diversity confers resilience. © 2017 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.

The curse of the prey: Sarcoptes mite molecular analysis reveals potential prey-to-predator parasitic infestation in wild animals from Masai Mara, Kenya

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Soriguer Ramón C

2011-10-01

Full Text Available Abstract Background Recently, there have been attempts to understand the molecular epidemiology of Sarcoptes scabiei, to evaluate the gene flow between isolates of S. scabiei from different hosts and geographic regions. However, to our knowledge, a molecular study has not been carried out to assess the molecular diversity and gene flow of Sarcoptes mite in a predator/prey ecosystem. Results Our study revealed an absence of gene flow between the two herbivore (Thomson's gazelle and wildebeest- and between the two carnivore (lion and cheetah-derived Sarcoptes populations from Masai Mara (Kenya, which is in discrepancy with the host-taxon law described for wild animals in Europe. Lion- and wildebeest-derived Sarcoptes mite populations were similar yet different from the Thomson's gazelle-derived Sarcoptes population. This could be attributed to Sarcoptes cross-infestation from wildebeest ("favourite prey" of the lion, but not from Thomson's gazelle. The cheetah-derived Sarcoptes population had different subpopulations: one is cheetah-private, one similar to the wildebeest- and lion-derived Sarcoptes populations, and another similar to the Thomson's gazelle-derived Sarcoptes mite population, where both wildebeest and Thomson's gazelle are "favourite preys" for the cheetah. Conclusions In a predator/prey ecosystem, like Masai Mara in Kenya, it seems that Sarcoptes infestation in wild animals is prey-to-predator-wise, depending on the predator's "favourite prey". More studies on the lion and cheetah diet and behaviour could be of great help to clarify the addressed hypotheses. This study could have further ramification in the epidemiological studies and the monitoring protocols of the neglected Sarcoptes mite in predator/prey ecosystems.

Mammal predator and prey species richness are strongly linked at macroscales

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Sandom, Christopher James; Dalby, Lars; Fløjgaard, Camilla

2013-01-01

Predator–prey interactions play an important role for species composition and community dynamics at local scales, but their importance in shaping large-scale gradients of species richness remains unexplored. Here, we use global range maps, structural equation models (SEM), and comprehensive...... databases of dietary preferences and body masses of all terrestrial, non-volant mammals worldwide, to test whether (1) prey-bottom-up or predator- top-down relationships are important drivers of broad-scale species richness gradients once the environment and human influence has been accounted for, (2...... between them (e.g., large prey to small predators), suggesting that mass-related energetic and physiological constraints influence broad-scale richness links, especially for large-bodied mammals. Overall, our results support the idea that trophic interactions can be important drivers of large...

Influence of local carrying capacity restrictions on stochastic predator-prey models

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Washenberger, Mark J; Mobilia, Mauro; Taeuber, Uwe C

2007-01-01

We study a stochastic lattice predator-prey system by means of Monte Carlo simulations that do not impose any restrictions on the number of particles per site, and discuss the similarities and differences of our results with those obtained for site-restricted model variants. In accord with the classic Lotka-Volterra mean-field description, both species always coexist in two dimensions. Yet competing activity fronts generate complex, correlated spatio-temporal structures. As a consequence, finite systems display transient erratic population oscillations with characteristic frequencies that are renormalized by fluctuations. For large reaction rates, when the processes are rendered more local, these oscillations are suppressed. In contrast with the site-restricted predator-prey model, we also observe species coexistence in one dimension. In addition, we report results on the steady-state prey age distribution

Ultrasonic predator-prey interactions in water-convergent evolution with insects and bats in air?

Science.gov (United States)

Wilson, Maria; Wahlberg, Magnus; Surlykke, Annemarie; Madsen, Peter Teglberg

2013-01-01

Toothed whales and bats have independently evolved biosonar systems to navigate and locate and catch prey. Such active sensing allows them to operate in darkness, but with the potential cost of warning prey by the emission of intense ultrasonic signals. At least six orders of nocturnal insects have independently evolved ears sensitive to ultrasound and exhibit evasive maneuvers when exposed to bat calls. Among aquatic prey on the other hand, the ability to detect and avoid ultrasound emitting predators seems to be limited to only one subfamily of Clupeidae: the Alosinae (shad and menhaden). These differences are likely rooted in the different physical properties of air and water where cuticular mechanoreceptors have been adapted to serve as ultrasound sensitive ears, whereas ultrasound detection in water have called for sensory cells mechanically connected to highly specialized gas volumes that can oscillate at high frequencies. In addition, there are most likely differences in the risk of predation between insects and fish from echolocating predators. The selection pressure among insects for evolving ultrasound sensitive ears is high, because essentially all nocturnal predation on flying insects stems from echolocating bats. In the interaction between toothed whales and their prey the selection pressure seems weaker, because toothed whales are by no means the only marine predators placing a selection pressure on their prey to evolve specific means to detect and avoid them. Toothed whales can generate extremely intense sound pressure levels, and it has been suggested that they may use these to debilitate prey. Recent experiments, however, show that neither fish with swim bladders, nor squid are debilitated by such signals. This strongly suggests that the production of high amplitude ultrasonic clicks serve the function of improving the detection range of the toothed whale biosonar system rather than debilitation of prey.

Ultrasonic predator-prey interactions in water– convergent evolution with insects and bats in air?

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Maria eWilson

2013-06-01

Full Text Available Toothed whales and bats have independently evolved biosonar systems to navigate and locate and catch prey. Such active sensing allows them to operate in darkness, but with the potential cost of warning prey by the emission of intense ultrasonic signals. At least six orders of nocturnal insects have independently evolved ears sensitive to ultrasound and exhibit evasive maneuvers when exposed to bat calls. Among aquatic prey on the other hand, the ability to detect and avoid ultrasound emitting predators seems to be limited to only one subfamily of Clupeidae: the Alosinae (shad and menhaden. These differences are likely rooted in the different physical properties of air and water where cuticular mechanoreceptors have been adapted to serve as ultrasound sensitive ears, whereas ultrasound detection in water have called for sensory cells mechanically connected to highly specialized gas volumes that can oscillate at high frequencies. In addition, there are most likely differences in the risk of predation between insects and fish from echolocating predators. The selection pressure among insects for evolving ultrasound sensitive ears is high, because essentially all nocturnal predation on flying insects stems from echolocating bats. In the interaction between toothed whales and their prey the selection pressure seems weaker, because toothed whales are by no means the only marine predators placing a selection pressure on their prey to evolve specific means to detect and avoid them.Toothed whales can generate extremely intense sound pressure levels, and it has been suggested that they may use these to debilitate prey. Recent experiments however, show that neither fish with swim bladder, nor squid are debilitated by such signals. This strongly suggests that the production of high amplitude ultrasonic clicks serve the function of improving the detection range of the toothed whale biosonar system rather than debilitation of prey.

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

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Marc Weissburg

2015-11-01

Full Text Available 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 crabs Panopeus herbstii (intermediate prey, and oysters Crassostrea 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.

Experimental and observational evidence reveals that predators in natural environments do not regulate their prey: They are passengers, not drivers

Science.gov (United States)

White, T. C. R.

2013-11-01

Among both ecologists and the wider community there is a tacit assumption that predators regulate populations of their prey. But there is evidence from a wide taxonomic and geographic range of studies that predators that are adapted to co-evolved prey generally do not regulate their prey. This is because predators either cannot reproduce as fast as their prey and/or are inefficient hunters unable to catch enough prey to sustain maximum reproduction. The greater capacity of herbivores to breed successfully is, however, normally restricted by a lack of enough food of sufficient quality to support reproduction. But whenever this shortage is alleviated by a large pulse of food, herbivores increase their numbers to outbreak levels. Their predators are unable to contain this increase, but their numbers, too, surge in response to this increase in food. Eventually both their populations will crash once the food supply runs out, first for the herbivores and then for the predators. Then an “over-run” of predators will further depress the already declining prey population, appearing to be controlling its abundance. This latter phenomenon has led many ecologists to conclude that predators are regulating the numbers of their prey. However, it is the same process that is revealed during outbreaks that limits populations of both predator and prey in “normal” times, although this is usually not readily apparent. Nevertheless, as all the diverse cases discussed here attest, the abundance of predators and their co-evolved prey are both limited by their food: the predators are passengers, not drivers.

Presence of Native Prey Does Not Divert Predation on Exotic Pests by Harmonia axyridis in Its Indigenous Range

Science.gov (United States)

Zhang, Gui Fen; Lövei, Gábor L; Wu, Xia; Wan, Fang Hao

2016-01-01

In China, two invasive pests, Bemisia tabaci MEAM1 (Gennadius) and Frankliniella occidentalis (Pergande), often co-occur with the native pest, Aphis gossypii (Glover), on plants of Malvaceae and Cucurbitaceae. All three are preyed on by the native ladybird, Harmonia axyridis (Pallas); however, the native predator might be expected to prefer native prey to the exotic ones due to a shared evolutionary past. In order to clarify whether the presence of native prey affected the consumption of these two invasive species by the native predator, field-cage experiments were conducted. A duplex qPCR was used to simultaneously detect both non-native pests within the gut of the predator. H. axyridis readily accepted both invasive prey species, but preferred B. tabaci. With all three prey species available, H. axyridis consumption of B. tabaci was 39.3±2.2% greater than consumption of F. occidentalis. The presence of A. gossypii reduced (by 59.9% on B. tabaci, and by 60.6% on F. occidentalis), but did not stop predation on the two exotic prey when all three were present. The consumption of B. tabaci was similar whether it was alone or together with A. gossypii. However, the presence of aphids reduced predation on the invasive thrips. Thus, some invasive prey may be incorporated into the prey range of a native generalist predator even in the presence of preferred native prey. PMID:27391468

Are single odorous components of a predator sufficient to elicit defensive behaviors in prey species?

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Raimund eApfelbach

2015-07-01

Full Text Available When exposed to the odor of a sympatric predator, prey animals typically display escape or defensive responses. These phenomena have been well-documented, especially in rodents, when exposed to the odor of a cat, ferret or fox. As a result of these experiments new discussions center on the following questions: 1 is a single volatile compound such as a major or a minor mixture constituent in urine or feces, emitted by the predator sufficient to cause defensive reactions in a potential prey species or 2 is a whole array of odors required to elicit a response and 3 will the relative size or escapability of the prey as compared to the predator influence responsiveness. Most predator-prey studies on this topic have been performed in the laboratory or under semi-natural conditions. Field studies could help to find answers to these questions. Australian mammals are completely naïve towards the introduced placental carnivores. That offers ideal opportunities to analyze in the field the responses of potential prey species to unknown predator odors. During the last decades researchers have accumulated an enormous amount of data exploring the effects of eutherian predator odors on native marsupial mammals. In this review, we will give a survey about the development of olfactory research, chemical signals and their influence on the behavior and - in some cases - physiology of prey species. In addition, we report on the effects of predator odor experiments performed under natural conditions in Australia. When studying all these literature we learned that data gained under controlled laboratory conditions elucidate the role of individual odors on brain structures and ultimately on a comparatively narrow range behaviors. In contrast to single odors odor arrays mimic much more the situation prey animals are confronted to in nature. Therefore, a broad range of methodology — from chemistry to ecology including anatomy, physiology and behavior — is needed to

Bifurcation Behavior Analysis in a Predator-Prey Model

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Nan Wang

2016-01-01

Full Text Available A predator-prey model is studied mathematically and numerically. The aim is to explore how some key factors influence dynamic evolutionary mechanism of steady conversion and bifurcation behavior in predator-prey model. The theoretical works have been pursuing the investigation of the existence and stability of the equilibria, as well as the occurrence of bifurcation behaviors (transcritical bifurcation, saddle-node bifurcation, and Hopf bifurcation, which can deduce a standard parameter controlled relationship and in turn provide a theoretical basis for the numerical simulation. Numerical analysis ensures reliability of the theoretical results and illustrates that three stable equilibria will arise simultaneously in the model. It testifies the existence of Bogdanov-Takens bifurcation, too. It should also be stressed that the dynamic evolutionary mechanism of steady conversion and bifurcation behavior mainly depend on a specific key parameter. In a word, all these results are expected to be of use in the study of the dynamic complexity of ecosystems.

Allee effect in a discrete-time predator-prey system

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celik, Canan; Duman, Oktay

2009-01-01

In this paper, we study the stability of a discrete-time predator-prey system with and without Allee effect. By analyzing both systems, we first obtain local stability conditions of the equilibrium points without the Allee effect and then exhibit the impact of the Allee effect on stability when it is imposed on prey population. We also show the stabilizing effect of Allee effect by numerical simulations and verify that when the prey population is subject to an Allee effect, the trajectory of the solutions approximates to the corresponding equilibrium point much faster. Furthermore, for some fixed parameter values satisfying necessary conditions, we show that the corresponding equilibrium point moves from instability to stability under the Allee effect on prey population.

Seasonal patterns of predation for gray wolves in the multi-prey system of Yellowstone National Park.

Science.gov (United States)

Metz, Matthew C; Smith, Douglas W; Vucetich, John A; Stahler, Daniel R; Peterson, Rolf O

2012-05-01

1. For large predators living in seasonal environments, patterns of predation are likely to vary among seasons because of related changes in prey vulnerability. Variation in prey vulnerability underlies the influence of predators on prey populations and the response of predators to seasonal variation in rates of biomass acquisition. Despite its importance, seasonal variation in predation is poorly understood. 2. We assessed seasonal variation in prey composition and kill rate for wolves Canis lupus living on the Northern Range (NR) of Yellowstone National Park. Our assessment was based on data collected over 14 winters (1995-2009) and five spring-summers between 2004 and 2009. 3. The species composition of wolf-killed prey and the age and sex composition of wolf-killed elk Cervus elaphus (the primary prey for NR wolves) varied among seasons. 4. One's understanding of predation depends critically on the metric used to quantify kill rate. For example, kill rate was greatest in summer when quantified as the number of ungulates acquired per wolf per day, and least during summer when kill rate was quantified as the biomass acquired per wolf per day. This finding contradicts previous research that suggests that rates of biomass acquisition for large terrestrial carnivores tend not to vary among seasons. 5. Kill rates were not well correlated among seasons. For example, knowing that early-winter kill rate is higher than average (compared with other early winters) provides little basis for anticipating whether kill rates a few months later during late winter will be higher or lower than average (compared with other late winters). This observation indicates how observing, for example, higher-than-average kill rates throughout any particular season is an unreliable basis for inferring that the year-round average kill rate would be higher than average. 6. Our work shows how a large carnivore living in a seasonal environment displays marked seasonal variation in

Benefits of Group Foraging Depend on Prey Type in a Small Marine Predator, the Little Penguin.

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Sutton, Grace J; Hoskins, Andrew J; Arnould, John P Y

2015-01-01

Group foraging provides predators with advantages in over-powering prey larger than themselves or in aggregating small prey for efficient exploitation. For group-living predatory species, cooperative hunting strategies provide inclusive fitness benefits. However, for colonial-breeding predators, the benefit pay-offs of group foraging are less clear due to the potential for intra-specific competition. We used animal-borne cameras to determine the prey types, hunting strategies, and success of little penguins (Eudyptula minor), a small, colonial breeding air-breathing marine predator that has recently been shown to display extensive at-sea foraging associations with conspecifics. Regardless of prey type, little penguins had a higher probability of associating with conspecifics when hunting prey that were aggregated than when prey were solitary. In addition, success was greater when individuals hunted schooling rather than solitary prey. Surprisingly, however, success on schooling prey was similar or greater when individuals hunted on their own than when with conspecifics. These findings suggest individuals may be trading-off the energetic gains of solitary hunting for an increased probability of detecting prey within a spatially and temporally variable prey field by associating with conspecifics.

Nowhere to hide: Effects of linear features on predator-prey dynamics in a large mammal system.

Science.gov (United States)

DeMars, Craig A; Boutin, Stan

2018-01-01

Rapid landscape alteration associated with human activity is currently challenging the evolved dynamical stability of many predator-prey systems by forcing species to behaviourally respond to novel environmental stimuli. In many forested systems, linear features (LFs) such as roads, pipelines and resource exploration lines (i.e. seismic lines) are a ubiquitous form of landscape alteration that have been implicated in altering predator-prey dynamics. One hypothesized effect is that LFs facilitate predator movement into and within prey refugia, thereby increasing predator-prey spatial overlap. We evaluated this hypothesis in a large mammal system, focusing on the interactions between boreal woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) and their two main predators, wolves (Canis lupus) and black bears (Ursus americanus), during the calving season of caribou. In this system, LFs extend into and occur within peatlands (i.e. bogs and nutrient-poor fens), a habitat type highly used by caribou due to its refugia effects. Using resource selection analyses, we found that LFs increased predator selection of peatlands. Female caribou appeared to respond by avoiding LFs and areas with high LF density. However, in our study area, most caribou cannot completely avoid exposure to LFs and variation in female response had demographic effects. In particular, increasing proportional use of LFs by females negatively impacted survival of their neonate calves. Collectively, these results demonstrate how LFs can reduce the efficacy of prey refugia. Mitigating such effects will require limiting or restoring LFs within prey refugia, although the effectiveness of mitigation efforts will depend upon spatial scale, which in turn will be influenced by the life-history traits of predator and prey. © 2017 The Authors. Journal of Animal Ecology © 2017 British Ecological Society.

Outrun or Outmaneuver: Predator-Prey Interactions as a Model System for Integrating Biomechanical Studies in a Broader Ecological and Evolutionary Context.

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Moore, Talia Y; Biewener, Andrew A

2015-12-01

Behavioral studies performed in natural habitats provide a context for the development of hypotheses and the design of experiments relevant both to biomechanics and to evolution. In particular, predator-prey interactions are a model system for integrative study because success or failure of predation has a direct effect on fitness and drives the evolution of specialized performance in both predator and prey. Although all predators share the goal of capturing prey, and all prey share the goal of survival, the behavior of predators and prey are diverse in nature. This article presents studies of some predator-prey interactions sharing common predation strategies that reveal general principles governing the behaviors of predator and prey, even in distantly related taxa. Studies of predator-prey interactions also reveal that maximal performance observed in a laboratory setting is not necessarily the performance that determines fitness. Thus, considering locomotion in the context of predation ecology can aid in evolutionarily relevant experimental design. Classification by strategy reveals that displaying unpredictable trajectories is a relevant anti-predator behavior in response to multiple predation strategies. A predator's perception and pursuit of prey can be affected indirectly by divergent locomotion of similar animals that share an ecosystem. Variation in speed and direction of locomotion that directly increases the unpredictability of a prey's trajectory can be increased through genetic mutation that affects locomotor patterns, musculoskeletal changes that affect maneuverability, and physical interactions between an animal and the environment. By considering the interconnectedness of ecology, physical constraints, and the evolutionary history of behavior, studies in biomechanics can be designed to inform each of these fields. © The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology. All rights

Effects of dams on downstream molluscan predator-prey interactions in the Colorado River estuary.

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Smith, Jansen A; Handley, John C; Dietl, Gregory P

2018-05-30

River systems worldwide have been modified for human use and the downstream ecological consequences are often poorly understood. In the Colorado River estuary, where upstream water diversions have limited freshwater input during the last century, mollusc remains from the last several hundred years suggest widespread ecological change. The once abundant clam Mulinia modesta has undergone population declines of approximately 94% and populations of predators relying on this species as a food source have probably declined, switched to alternative prey species or both. We distinguish between the first two hypotheses using a null model of predation preference to test whether M. modesta was preyed upon selectively by the naticid snail, Neverita reclusiana , along the estuary's past salinity gradient. To evaluate the third hypothesis, we estimate available prey biomass today and in the past, assuming prey were a limiting resource. Data on the frequency of drill holes-identifiable traces of naticid predation on prey shells-showed several species, including M. modesta , were preferred prey. Neverita reclusiana was probably able to switch prey. Available prey biomass also declined, suggesting the N. reclusiana population probably also declined. These results indicate a substantial change to the structure of the benthic food web. Given the global scale of water management, such changes have probably also occurred in many of the world's estuaries. © 2018 The Author(s).

Predators and resources influence phosphorus transfer along an invertebrate food web through changes in prey behaviour.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Edoardo Calizza

Full Text Available Predators play a fundamental role in prey trophic behaviour, with indirect consequences for species coexistence and ecosystem functioning. Resource quality and availability also influence prey trophic behaviour, with potential effects on predator-prey dynamics. Although many studies have addressed these topics, little attention has been paid to the combined effects of predators and resources on prey species coexistence and nutrient transfer along food chains, especially in detritus-based systems. To determine the influence of predators and resource quality on the movement and P uptake of detritivores, we carried out a field experiment on the River Kelvin (Scotland using (32P to test the hypothesis of reduced prey vagility among resource patches as a strategy to avoid predation. Thirty leaf sacks containing alder leaves and two detritivore prey populations (Asellus aquaticus and Lymnaea peregra were placed in cages, half of them with two predator species (Dendrocoelum lacteum and Erpobdella octoculata and the other half without predators. Five alder leaf bags, each individually inoculated with a different fungus strain to simulate a patchy habitat, were placed inside each leaf sack. One bag in each sack was labelled with (32P, in order to assess the proportion of detritivores using it as food and thus their movement among the five resource patches. Three replicates for each labelled fungus and each predation treatment (i.e. with and without predators were left on the riverbed for 7 days. The presence of predators had negligible effects on the number of detritivores in the leaf bags, but it did reduce the proportion of (32P-labelled detritivores and their P uptake. The most strongly affected species was A. aquaticus, whose vagility, trophic overlap with L. peregra and P uptake were all reduced. The results confirm the importance of bottom-up and top-down forces acting simultaneously to regulate nutrient transfer along food chains in patchy

Ultimate predators: lionfish have evolved to circumvent prey risk assessment abilities.

Science.gov (United States)

Lönnstedt, Oona M; McCormick, Mark I

2013-01-01

Invasive species cause catastrophic alterations to communities worldwide by changing the trophic balance within ecosystems. Ever since their introduction in the mid 1980's common red lionfish, Pterois volitans, are having dramatic impacts on the Caribbean ecosystem by displacing native species and disrupting food webs. Introduced lionfish capture prey at extraordinary rates, altering the composition of benthic communities. Here we demonstrate that the extraordinary success of the introduced lionfish lies in its capacity to circumvent prey risk assessment abilities as it is virtually undetectable by prey species in its native range. While experienced prey damselfish, Chromis viridis, respond with typical antipredator behaviours when exposed to a common predatory rock cod (Cephalopholis microprion) they fail to visibly react to either the scent or visual presentation of the red lionfish, and responded only to the scent (not the visual cue) of a lionfish of a different genus, Dendrochirus zebra. Experienced prey also had much higher survival when exposed to the two non-invasive predators compared to P. volitans. The cryptic nature of the red lionfish has enabled it to be destructive as a predator and a highly successful invasive species.

Ultimate predators: lionfish have evolved to circumvent prey risk assessment abilities.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Oona M Lönnstedt

Full Text Available Invasive species cause catastrophic alterations to communities worldwide by changing the trophic balance within ecosystems. Ever since their introduction in the mid 1980's common red lionfish, Pterois volitans, are having dramatic impacts on the Caribbean ecosystem by displacing native species and disrupting food webs. Introduced lionfish capture prey at extraordinary rates, altering the composition of benthic communities. Here we demonstrate that the extraordinary success of the introduced lionfish lies in its capacity to circumvent prey risk assessment abilities as it is virtually undetectable by prey species in its native range. While experienced prey damselfish, Chromis viridis, respond with typical antipredator behaviours when exposed to a common predatory rock cod (Cephalopholis microprion they fail to visibly react to either the scent or visual presentation of the red lionfish, and responded only to the scent (not the visual cue of a lionfish of a different genus, Dendrochirus zebra. Experienced prey also had much higher survival when exposed to the two non-invasive predators compared to P. volitans. The cryptic nature of the red lionfish has enabled it to be destructive as a predator and a highly successful invasive species.

Temperature and prey capture: opposite relationships in two predator taxa

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Kruse, Peter Dalgas; Toft, Søren; Sunderland, Keith

2008-01-01

to catch swiftly moving prey. 2. The first experiment examined the spontaneous locomotor activity of the predators and of fruit flies at different temperatures (5, 10, 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C) and light conditions (light, dark). A second experiment examined the effect of temperature and light...... different prey groups within the set of potential prey at different times of the day or at different seasons. The ability of many carabid beetles to forage at low temperatures may have nutritional benefits and increases the diversity of interactions in terrestrial food webs....

Predator-prey-subsidy population dynamics on stepping-stone domains with dispersal delays.

Science.gov (United States)

Eide, Ragna M; Krause, Andrew L; Fadai, Nabil T; Van Gorder, Robert A

2018-08-14

We examine the role of the travel time of a predator along a spatial network on predator-prey population interactions, where the predator is able to partially or fully sustain itself on a resource subsidy. The impact of access to food resources on the stability and behaviour of the predator-prey-subsidy system is investigated, with a primary focus on how incorporating travel time changes the dynamics. The population interactions are modelled by a system of delay differential equations, where travel time is incorporated as discrete delay in the network diffusion term in order to model time taken to migrate between spatial regions. The model is motivated by the Arctic ecosystem, where the Arctic fox consumes both hunted lemming and scavenged seal carcass. The fox travels out on sea ice, in addition to quadrennially migrating over substantial distances. We model the spatial predator-prey-subsidy dynamics through a "stepping-stone" approach. We find that a temporal delay alone does not push species into extinction, but rather may stabilize or destabilize coexistence equilibria. We are able to show that delay can stabilize quasi-periodic or chaotic dynamics, and conclude that the incorporation of dispersal delay has a regularizing effect on dynamics, suggesting that dispersal delay can be proposed as a solution to the paradox of enrichment. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Stability and Optimal Harvesting of Modified Leslie-Gower Predator-Prey Model

Science.gov (United States)

Toaha, S.; Azis, M. I.

2018-03-01

This paper studies a modified of dynamics of Leslie-Gower predator-prey population model. The model is stated as a system of first order differential equations. The model consists of one predator and one prey. The Holling type II as a predation function is considered in this model. The predator and prey populations are assumed to be beneficial and then the two populations are harvested with constant efforts. Existence and stability of the interior equilibrium point are analysed. Linearization method is used to get the linearized model and the eigenvalue is used to justify the stability of the interior equilibrium point. From the analyses, we show that under a certain condition the interior equilibrium point exists and is locally asymptotically stable. For the model with constant efforts of harvesting, cost function, revenue function, and profit function are considered. The stable interior equilibrium point is then related to the maximum profit problem as well as net present value of revenues problem. We show that there exists a certain value of the efforts that maximizes the profit function and net present value of revenues while the interior equilibrium point remains stable. This means that the populations can live in coexistence for a long time and also maximize the benefit even though the populations are harvested with constant efforts.

Preference for cannibalism and ontogenetic constraints in competitive ability of piscivorous top predators.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pär Byström

Full Text Available Occurrence of cannibalism and inferior competitive ability of predators compared to their prey have been suggested to promote coexistence in size-structured intraguild predation (IGP systems. The intrinsic size-structure of fish provides the necessary prerequisites to test whether the above mechanisms are general features of species interactions in fish communities where IGP is common. We first experimentally tested whether Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus were more efficient as a cannibal than as an interspecific predator on the prey fish ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius and whether ninespine stickleback were a more efficient competitor on the shared zooplankton prey than its predator, Arctic char. Secondly, we performed a literature survey to evaluate if piscivores in general are more efficient as cannibals than as interspecific predators and whether piscivores are inferior competitors on shared resources compared to their prey fish species. Both controlled pool experiments and outdoor pond experiments showed that char imposed a higher mortality on YOY char than on ninespine sticklebacks, suggesting that piscivorous char is a more efficient cannibal than interspecific predator. Estimates of size dependent attack rates on zooplankton further showed a consistently higher attack rate of ninespine sticklebacks compared to similar sized char on zooplankton, suggesting that ninespine stickleback is a more efficient competitor than char on zooplankton resources. The literature survey showed that piscivorous top consumers generally selected conspecifics over interspecific prey, and that prey species are competitively superior compared to juvenile piscivorous species in the zooplankton niche. We suggest that the observed selectivity for cannibal prey over interspecific prey and the competitive advantage of prey species over juvenile piscivores are common features in fish communities and that the observed selectivity for cannibalism over

Preference for cannibalism and ontogenetic constraints in competitive ability of piscivorous top predators.

Science.gov (United States)

Byström, Pär; Ask, Per; Andersson, Jens; Persson, Lennart

2013-01-01

Occurrence of cannibalism and inferior competitive ability of predators compared to their prey have been suggested to promote coexistence in size-structured intraguild predation (IGP) systems. The intrinsic size-structure of fish provides the necessary prerequisites to test whether the above mechanisms are general features of species interactions in fish communities where IGP is common. We first experimentally tested whether Arctic char (Salvelinus alpinus) were more efficient as a cannibal than as an interspecific predator on the prey fish ninespine stickleback (Pungitius pungitius) and whether ninespine stickleback were a more efficient competitor on the shared zooplankton prey than its predator, Arctic char. Secondly, we performed a literature survey to evaluate if piscivores in general are more efficient as cannibals than as interspecific predators and whether piscivores are inferior competitors on shared resources compared to their prey fish species. Both controlled pool experiments and outdoor pond experiments showed that char imposed a higher mortality on YOY char than on ninespine sticklebacks, suggesting that piscivorous char is a more efficient cannibal than interspecific predator. Estimates of size dependent attack rates on zooplankton further showed a consistently higher attack rate of ninespine sticklebacks compared to similar sized char on zooplankton, suggesting that ninespine stickleback is a more efficient competitor than char on zooplankton resources. The literature survey showed that piscivorous top consumers generally selected conspecifics over interspecific prey, and that prey species are competitively superior compared to juvenile piscivorous species in the zooplankton niche. We suggest that the observed selectivity for cannibal prey over interspecific prey and the competitive advantage of prey species over juvenile piscivores are common features in fish communities and that the observed selectivity for cannibalism over interspecific prey has

Foraging efficiency of a predator flock for randomly moving prey: A simulation study

Science.gov (United States)

Lee, Sang-Hee; Kwon, Ohsung

2016-03-01

Flocking behavior of animals is highly advantageous for taking food resources. The degree of the advantage is related to the ability of flock members to detect their prey and the mobility of prey individuals. In this study, to explore the relation, we constructed a model to simulate a predator flock and its randomly moving prey. The predator members have the prey detection ability, which was characterized as sensing distance, R, and a sensing angle, θ. The mobility of the prey individuals was characterized as the maximum traveling distance of an iteration time step, L. The relative flock foraging efficiency, ɛ, was defined as ɛ = 1 - (Td/Tup). Tup and Td represent the spent time for the flock to eat all prey individuals and to uptake the last remaining 10% prey, respectively. Simulation results showed that ɛ increased, maximized, and decreased with the increase of R, regardless of L. As the number of prey, N, increased, the tendency of the increasing and decreasing was diluted. The result was briefly discussed in relation to the flock foraging behavior and the development of the model toward applications for real ecosystems.

Indirect Allee effect, bistability and chaotic oscillations in a predator-prey discrete model of logistic type

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Lopez-Ruiz, Ricardo; Fournier-Prunaret, Daniele

2005-01-01

A cubic discrete coupled logistic equation is proposed to model the predator-prey problem. The coupling depends on the population size of both species and on a positive constant λ, which could depend on the prey reproduction rate and on the predator hunting strategy. Different dynamical regimes are obtained when λ is modified. For small λ, the species become extinct. For a bigger λ, the preys survive but the predators extinguish. Only when the prey population reaches a critical value then predators can coexist with preys. For increasing λ, a bistable regime appears where the populations apart of being stabilized in fixed quantities can present periodic, quasiperiodic and chaotic oscillations. Finally, bistability is lost and the system settles down in a steady state, or, for the biggest permitted λ, in an invariant curve. We also present the basins for the different regimes. The use of the critical curves lets us determine the influence of the zones with different number of first rank preimages in the bifurcation mechanisms of those basins

Predator confusion is sufficient to evolve swarming behavior

OpenAIRE

Olson, Randal S.; Hintze, Arend; Dyer, Fred C.; Knoester, David B.; Adami, Christoph

2012-01-01

Swarming behaviors in animals have been extensively studied due 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 favor 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...

The effect of habitat structure on prey mortality depends on predator and prey microhabitat use

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Klečka, Jan; Boukal S., David

2014-01-01

Roč. 176, č. 1 (2014), s. 183-191 ISSN 0029-8549 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP505/10/0096 Grant - others:GA JU(CZ) 145/2010/P; EU Marie Curie European Grant(CZ) PERG04-GA-2008-239543 Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : predation * predator-prey interactions * habitat complexity Subject RIV: EH - Ecology , Behaviour Impact factor: 3.093, year: 2014 http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00442-014-3007-6

Mixed-mode oscillations and chaos in a prey-predator system with dormancy of predators.

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Kuwamura, Masataka; Chiba, Hayato

2009-12-01

It is shown that the dormancy of predators induces mixed-mode oscillations and chaos in the population dynamics of a prey-predator system under certain conditions. The mixed-mode oscillations and chaos are shown to bifurcate from a coexisting equilibrium by means of the theory of fast-slow systems. These results may help to find experimental conditions under which one can demonstrate chaotic population dynamics in a simple phytoplankton-zooplankton (-resting eggs) community in a microcosm with a short duration.

Permanence of a predator-prey discrete system with Holling-IV functional response and distributed delays.

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Zhang, X; Wu, Z; Zhou, T

2016-01-01

A predator-prey discrete-time model with Holling-IV functional response and distributed delays is investigated in this paper. By using the comparison theorem of the difference equation and some analysis technique, some sufficient conditions are obtained for the permanence of the discrete predator-prey system. Two examples are given to illustrate the feasibility of the obtained result.

Culling prey promotes predator recovery - Alternative states in a whole-lake experiment

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Persson, L.; Amundsen, P.A.; de Roos, A.M.; Klemetsen, A.; Knudsen, R.; Primicerio, R.

2007-01-01

Many top-predator fish stocks in both freshwater and marine systems have collapsed as a result of overharvesting. Consequently, some of these communities have shifted into seemingly irreversible new states. We showed, for predators feeding on prey that exhibit food-dependent growth, that culling of

The diffusive Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system with delay.

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Al Noufaey, K S; Marchant, T R; Edwards, M P

2015-12-01

Semi-analytical solutions for the diffusive Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system with delay are considered in one and two-dimensional domains. The Galerkin method is applied, which approximates the spatial structure of both the predator and prey populations. This approach is used to obtain a lower-order, ordinary differential delay equation model for the system of governing delay partial differential equations. Steady-state and transient solutions and the region of parameter space, in which Hopf bifurcations occur, are all found. In some cases simple linear expressions are found as approximations, to describe steady-state solutions and the Hopf parameter regions. An asymptotic analysis for the periodic solution near the Hopf bifurcation point is performed for the one-dimensional domain. An excellent agreement is shown in comparisons between semi-analytical and numerical solutions of the governing equations. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Environmental fluctuations restrict eco-evolutionary dynamics in predator-prey system.

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Hiltunen, Teppo; Ayan, Gökçe B; Becks, Lutz

2015-06-07

Environmental fluctuations, species interactions and rapid evolution are all predicted to affect community structure and their temporal dynamics. Although the effects of the abiotic environment and prey evolution on ecological community dynamics have been studied separately, these factors can also have interactive effects. Here we used bacteria-ciliate microcosm experiments to test for eco-evolutionary dynamics in fluctuating environments. Specifically, we followed population dynamics and a prey defence trait over time when populations were exposed to regular changes of bottom-up or top-down stressors, or combinations of these. We found that the rate of evolution of a defence trait was significantly lower in fluctuating compared with stable environments, and that the defence trait evolved to lower levels when two environmental stressors changed recurrently. The latter suggests that top-down and bottom-up changes can have additive effects constraining evolutionary response within populations. The differences in evolutionary trajectories are explained by fluctuations in population sizes of the prey and the predator, which continuously alter the supply of mutations in the prey and strength of selection through predation. Thus, it may be necessary to adopt an eco-evolutionary perspective on studies concerning the evolution of traits mediating species interactions. © 2015 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

A method for in situ estimation of prey selectivity and predation rate in large plankton, exemplified with the jellyfish Aurelia aurita (L.)

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Hansson, L.J.

2006-01-01

, predation rate can be calculated as increase in gut content over time. Clearance rates for different prey can be calculated from predation rates and prey concentrations in the water, allowing accurate estimates of prey selectivity. Thus, the problem of unknown feeding history and feeding environment, which...... of a specific individual plankton predator in situ.After prey has been evacuated from the gut of an individual predator, the predator is incubated in situ, and observed by SCUBA-divers who recapture the individual after a defined time. Given that this incubation time is shorter than prey digestion time...... among individual jellyfish and among the various oral arms and gastric pouches within individuals. Clearance rates varied strongly with prey type. The medusae selected large crustacean prey (cladocerans and copepods/copepodites) over echinoderm larvae and copepod nauplii. Prey distribution within...

Predator size and the suitability of a common prey.

Science.gov (United States)

Erickson, Kristin S; Morse, D H

1997-02-01

 Although a predator's mass should influence the suitability of its prey, this subject has received little direct attention. We studied the capture and processing of an abundant syrphid fly Toxomerus marginatus (c. 4 mg) by 0.6- to 40-mg juvenile crab spiders Misumena vatia (Thomisidae) to determine how profitability, relative profitability (profitability/predator mass), overall gain in mass, and relative gain in mass differed with predator mass, and whether foraging changed concurrently. In multi-prey experiments, the smallest successful spiders (0.6-3.0 mg) extracted less mass from flies, and did so more slowly, than large spiders. This gain was proportionately similar to that of 10- to 40-mg spiders with access to many Toxomerus. However, many small spiders failed to capture flies. When we gave spiders only a single Toxomerus, the smallest ones again extracted mass more slowly than the large ones and increased in mass less than the large ones, but increased in mass proportionately more than large ones. Relative gain in mass from a single prey decreased with increasing spider mass. Spiders larger than 10 mg all extracted similar amounts of mass from a single Toxomerus at similar rates, but varied in time spent between captures. Thus, Toxomerus changes with spider mass from a large, hard-to-capture bonanza to a small, easy-to-capture item of low per capita value. However, Toxomerus is common enough that large spiders can capture it en masse, thereby compensating for its decline in per capita value.

Extinction and permanence in delayed stage-structure predator-prey system with impulsive effects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Pang Guoping; Wang Fengyan; Chen Lansun

2009-01-01

Based on the classical stage-structured model and Lotka-Volterra predator-prey model, an impulsive delayed differential equation to model the process of periodically releasing natural enemies at fixed times for pest control is proposed and investigated. We show that the conditions for global attractivity of the 'pest-extinction' ('prey-eradication') periodic solution and permanence of the population of the model depend on time delay. We also show that constant maturation time delay and impulsive releasing for the predator can bring great effects on the dynamics of system by numerical analysis. As a result, the pest maturation time delay is considered to establish a procedure to maintain the pests at an acceptably low level in the long term. In this paper, the main feature is that we introduce time delay and pulse into the predator-prey (natural enemy-pest) model with age structure, exhibit a new modelling method which is applied to investigate impulsive delay differential equations, and give some reasonable suggestions for pest management.

Matching allele dynamics and coevolution in a minimal predator-prey replicator model

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Sardanyes, Josep; Sole, Ricard V.

2008-01-01

A minimal Lotka-Volterra type predator-prey model describing coevolutionary traits among entities with a strength of interaction influenced by a pair of haploid diallelic loci is studied with a deterministic time continuous model. We show a Hopf bifurcation governing the transition from evolutionary stasis to periodic Red Queen dynamics. If predator genotypes differ in their predation efficiency the more efficient genotype asymptotically achieves lower stationary concentrations

Limit Cycles in Predator-Prey Models

OpenAIRE

Puchuri Medina, Liliana

2017-01-01

The classic Lotka-Volterra model belongs to a family of differential equations known as “Generalized Lotka-Volterra”, which is part of a classification of four models of quadratic fields with center. These models have been studied to address the Hilbert infinitesimal problem, which consists in determine the number of limit cycles of a perturbed hamiltonian system with center. In this work, we first present an alternative proof of the existence of centers in Lotka-Volterra predator-prey models...

Predators indirectly control vector-borne disease: linking predator-prey and host-pathogen models.

Science.gov (United States)

Moore, Sean M; Borer, Elizabeth T; Hosseini, Parviez R

2010-01-06

Pathogens transmitted by arthropod vectors are common in human populations, agricultural systems and natural communities. Transmission of these vector-borne pathogens depends on the population dynamics of the vector species as well as its interactions with other species within the community. In particular, predation may be sufficient to control pathogen prevalence indirectly via the vector. To examine the indirect effect of predators on vectored-pathogen dynamics, we developed a theoretical model that integrates predator-prey and host-pathogen theory. We used this model to determine whether predation can prevent pathogen persistence or alter the stability of host-pathogen dynamics. We found that, in the absence of predation, pathogen prevalence in the host increases with vector fecundity, whereas predation on the vector causes pathogen prevalence to decline, or even become extinct, with increasing vector fecundity. We also found that predation on a vector may drastically slow the initial spread of a pathogen. The predator can increase host abundance indirectly by reducing or eliminating infection in the host population. These results highlight the importance of studying interactions that, within the greater community, may alter our predictions when studying disease dynamics. From an applied perspective, these results also suggest situations where an introduced predator or the natural enemies of a vector may slow the rate of spread of an emerging vector-borne pathogen.

A modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey interaction model and parameter identifiability

Science.gov (United States)

Tripathi, Jai Prakash; Meghwani, Suraj S.; Thakur, Manoj; Abbas, Syed

2018-01-01

In this work, bifurcation and a systematic approach for estimation of identifiable parameters of a modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey system with Crowley-Martin functional response and prey refuge is discussed. Global asymptotic stability is discussed by applying fluctuation lemma. The system undergoes into Hopf bifurcation with respect to parameters intrinsic growth rate of predators (s) and prey reserve (m). The stability of Hopf bifurcation is also discussed by calculating Lyapunov number. The sensitivity analysis of the considered model system with respect to all variables is performed which also supports our theoretical study. To estimate the unknown parameter from the data, an optimization procedure (pseudo-random search algorithm) is adopted. System responses and phase plots for estimated parameters are also compared with true noise free data. It is found that the system dynamics with true set of parametric values is similar to the estimated parametric values. Numerical simulations are presented to substantiate the analytical findings.

Behavioural responses of two-spotted spider mites induced by predator-borne and prey-borne cues.

Science.gov (United States)

Gyuris, Enikő; Szép, Erna; Kontschán, Jenő; Hettyey, Attila; Tóth, Zoltán

2017-11-01

Applying predatory mites as biological control agents is a well established method against spider mites which are major pests worldwide. Although antipredator responses can influence the outcome of predator-prey interactions, we have limited information about what cues spider mites use to adjust their behavioural antipredator responses. We experimentally exposed two-spotted spider mites (Tetranychus urticae) to different predator-borne cues (using a specialist predator, Phytoseiulus persimilis, or a generalist predator, Amblyseius swirskii), conspecific prey-borne cues, or both, and measured locomotion and egg-laying activity. The reactions to predator species compared to each other manifested in reversed tendencies: spider mites increased their locomotion activity in the presence of P. persimilis, whereas they decreased it when exposed to A. swirskii. The strongest response was triggered by the presence of a killed conspecific: focal spider mites decreased their locomotion activity compared to the control group. Oviposition activity was not affected by either treatment. Our results point out that spider mites may change their behaviour in response to predators, and also to the presence of killed conspecifics, but these effects were not enhanced when both types of cues were present. The effect of social contacts among prey conspecifics on predator-induced behavioural defences is discussed. Copyright © 2017 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Demographic consequences of predators on prey: trait and density mediated effects on mosquito larvae in containers.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Barry W Alto

Full Text Available Predators may affect prey population growth and community diversity through density mediated lethal and trait mediated non-lethal effects that influence phenotypic traits of prey. We tested experimentally the roles of thinning the density of prey (lethality in the absence of predator cues and density and trait mediated effects (lethality + intimidation of predatory midge Corethrella appendiculata on competing native and invasive mosquito prey. Predator-mediated reductions in prey and density reductions in the absence of C. appendiculata resulted in lower percent survivorship to adulthood and estimates of the finite rate of increase (λ' for invasive mosquito Aedes albopictus relative to that of controls. In most instances, thinning the density of prey in the absence, but not in the presence, of C. appendiculata cues resulted in lower survivorship to adulthood and λ' for native mosquito Aedes triseriatus relative to that of controls. Together, these results suggested trait mediated effects of C. appendiculata specific to each species of mosquito prey. Release from intraspecific competition attributable to density reductions in the absence, but not in the presence, of C. appendiculata enhanced growth and lengthened adult lifespan relative to that of controls for A. albopictus but not A. triseriatus. These results show the importance of predator-mediated density and trait mediated effects on phenotypic traits and populations of invasive and native mosquitoes. Species-specific differences in the phenotypic responses of prey may be due, in part, to longer evolutionary history of C. appendiculata with A. triseriatus than A. albopictus.

Feeding rates in the chaetognath Sagitta elegans : effects of prey size, prey swimming behaviour and small-scale turbulence

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Saito, H.; Kiørboe, Thomas

2001-01-01

distances. We develop a simple prey encounter rate model by describing the swimming prey as a 'force dipole' and assuming that a critical signal strength is required to elicit an attack. By fitting the model to the observations, a critical signal strength of 10(-2) cm s(-1) is estimated; this is very...... at rates up to an order of magnitude higher than similarly sized females, probably owing to differences in swimming behaviour. Sagitta elegans is an ambush predator that perceives its prey by hydromechanical signals. Faster swimming prey generates stronger signals and is, hence, perceived at longer...

Diet choice of a predator in the wild: overabundance of prey and missed opportunities along the prey capture sequence

OpenAIRE

Brechbühl, Rolf; Casas, Jérôme; Bacher, Sven

2012-01-01

Optimal diet theory (ODT) postulates that predators adjust their foraging decisions by calculating a prey value from the potential biomass gain, handling time, prey vulnerability and encounter rate. Tests of ODT have however so far mainly been restricted to laboratory settings. By video surveillance, we gathered a large data set of more than 2000 field observations of crab spider (Misumena vatia) encounters with potential prey. We then tested whether the complex ODT or two simpler models (pre...

Killer whales attack on South American sea lion associated with a fishing vessel: predator and prey tactics Ataque de orcas a un lobo marino sudamericano asociado a un barco pesquero: tácticas del predador y la presa

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

M. Florencia Grandi

2012-11-01

Full Text Available Interactions between killer whales and sea lions are widely known. This work describes the predator-prey behaviour of killer whales and South American sea lion associated with a trawling fishery. In Argentina the predatory behaviours of killer whales and anti-predatory behaviours of South American sea lions have been described from costal based observations, but predator-prey behaviour of these species is poorly known at open waters. Here we describe a killer whale group attack on an individual sea lion, using a video recorded from a trawling vessel and an interview of the ship captain. This predator-prey behaviour represents an example of the complexity of interactions between marine mammals and fisheries along the Patagonian coast.Las interacciones entre orcas y lobos marinos son ampliamente conocidas. Este trabajo describe el comportamiento predador-presa entre orcas y un lobo marino sudamericano asociados a un barco pesquero de arrastre. Particularmente en Argentina el comportamiento predatorio de las orcas y el anti-predatorio de los lobos marinos comunes fueron descriptos mediante observaciones costeras, pero se sabe poco sobre el comportamiento de estas especies en aguas abiertas. En este trabajo, a partir de un video grabado desde un barco de pesca arrastrero, junto con la entrevista del capitán del barco, se describe cómo un grupo de orcas ataca a un lobo marino Sudamericano. Este comportamiento predador-presa representa un ejemplo sobre la complejidad de las interacciones entre mamíferos marinos y las pesquerías a lo largo de la costa patagónica.

Making inference from wildlife collision data: inferring predator absence from prey strikes

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Peter Caley

2017-02-01

Full Text Available Wildlife collision data are ubiquitous, though challenging for making ecological inference due to typically irreducible uncertainty relating to the sampling process. We illustrate a new approach that is useful for generating inference from predator data arising from wildlife collisions. By simply conditioning on a second prey species sampled via the same collision process, and by using a biologically realistic numerical response functions, we can produce a coherent numerical response relationship between predator and prey. This relationship can then be used to make inference on the population size of the predator species, including the probability of extinction. The statistical conditioning enables us to account for unmeasured variation in factors influencing the runway strike incidence for individual airports and to enable valid comparisons. A practical application of the approach for testing hypotheses about the distribution and abundance of a predator species is illustrated using the hypothesized red fox incursion into Tasmania, Australia. We estimate that conditional on the numerical response between fox and lagomorph runway strikes on mainland Australia, the predictive probability of observing no runway strikes of foxes in Tasmania after observing 15 lagomorph strikes is 0.001. We conclude there is enough evidence to safely reject the null hypothesis that there is a widespread red fox population in Tasmania at a population density consistent with prey availability. The method is novel and has potential wider application.

Making inference from wildlife collision data: inferring predator absence from prey strikes.

Science.gov (United States)

Caley, Peter; Hosack, Geoffrey R; Barry, Simon C

2017-01-01

Wildlife collision data are ubiquitous, though challenging for making ecological inference due to typically irreducible uncertainty relating to the sampling process. We illustrate a new approach that is useful for generating inference from predator data arising from wildlife collisions. By simply conditioning on a second prey species sampled via the same collision process, and by using a biologically realistic numerical response functions, we can produce a coherent numerical response relationship between predator and prey. This relationship can then be used to make inference on the population size of the predator species, including the probability of extinction. The statistical conditioning enables us to account for unmeasured variation in factors influencing the runway strike incidence for individual airports and to enable valid comparisons. A practical application of the approach for testing hypotheses about the distribution and abundance of a predator species is illustrated using the hypothesized red fox incursion into Tasmania, Australia. We estimate that conditional on the numerical response between fox and lagomorph runway strikes on mainland Australia, the predictive probability of observing no runway strikes of foxes in Tasmania after observing 15 lagomorph strikes is 0.001. We conclude there is enough evidence to safely reject the null hypothesis that there is a widespread red fox population in Tasmania at a population density consistent with prey availability. The method is novel and has potential wider application.

The dynamical complexity of a Ivlev-type prey-predator system with impulsive effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang Hailing; Wang Weiming

2008-01-01

Based on the classical predator-prey system with Ivlev-type functional response, an impulsive differential equations to model the process of periodic perturbations on the predator at different fixed time is established. It proves that there exists a locally asymptotically stable prey-eradication periodic solution when the impulse period is less than some critical value, and otherwise, the system can be permanent. Numerical results show that the system considered has more complicated dynamics. such as quasi-periodic oscillation, narrow periodic window, wide periodic window, chaotic bands, symmetry-breaking pitchfork bifurcation and crises, etc

Traveling waves in a diffusive predator-prey model with holling type-III functional response

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Wantong; Wu Shiliang

2008-01-01

We establish the existence of traveling wave solutions and small amplitude traveling wave train solutions for a reaction-diffusion system based on a predator-prey model with Holling type-III functional response. The analysis is in the three-dimensional phase space of the nonlinear ordinary differential equation system given by the diffusive predator-prey system in the traveling wave variable. The methods used to prove the results are the shooting argument, invariant manifold theory and the Hopf bifurcation theorem

Permanence of a Semi-Ratio-Dependent Predator-Prey System with Nonmonotonic Functional Response and Time Delay

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xuepeng Li

2009-01-01

Full Text Available Sufficient conditions for permanence of a semi-ratio-dependent predator-prey system with nonmonotonic functional response and time delay ̇1(=1([1(−11(1(−(−12(2(/(2+21(],  ̇2(=2([2(−21(2(/1(], are obtained, where 1( and 2( stand for the density of the prey and the predator, respectively, and ≠0 is a constant. (≥0 stands for the time delays due to negative feedback of the prey population.

Intra-seasonal Strategies Based on Energy Budgets in a Dynamic Predator-Prey Game

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Staňková, K.; Abate, A.; Sabelis, M.W.; Křivan, V.; Zaccour, G.

2013-01-01

We propose a game-theoretical model to describe intra-seasonal predator-prey interactions between predatory mites (Acari: Phytoseiidae) and prey mites (also called fruit-tree red spider mites) (Acari: Tetranychidae) that feed on leaves of apple trees. Its parameters have been instantiated based on

A predator from East Africa that chooses malaria vectors as preferred prey.

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Ximena J Nelson

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: All vectors of human malaria, a disease responsible for more than one million deaths per year, are female mosquitoes from the genus Anopheles. Evarcha culicivora is an East African jumping spider (Salticidae that feeds indirectly on vertebrate blood by selecting blood-carrying female mosquitoes as preferred prey. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: By testing with motionless lures made from mounting dead insects in lifelike posture on cork discs, we show that E. culicivora selects Anopheles mosquitoes in preference to other mosquitoes and that this predator can identify Anopheles by static appearance alone. Tests using active (grooming virtual mosquitoes rendered in 3-D animation show that Anopheles' characteristic resting posture is an important prey-choice cue for E. culicivora. Expression of the spider's preference for Anopheles varies with the spider's size, varies with its prior feeding condition and is independent of the spider gaining a blood meal. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: This is the first experimental study to show that a predator of any type actively chooses Anopheles as preferred prey, suggesting that specialized predators having a role in the biological control of disease vectors is a realistic possibility.

Encounter success of free-ranging marine predator movements across a dynamic prey landscape.

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Sims, David W; Witt, Matthew J; Richardson, Anthony J; Southall, Emily J; Metcalfe, Julian D

2006-05-22

Movements of wide-ranging top predators can now be studied effectively using satellite and archival telemetry. However, the motivations underlying movements remain difficult to determine because trajectories are seldom related to key biological gradients, such as changing prey distributions. Here, we use a dynamic prey landscape of zooplankton biomass in the north-east Atlantic Ocean to examine active habitat selection in the plankton-feeding basking shark Cetorhinus maximus. The relative success of shark searches across this landscape was examined by comparing prey biomass encountered by sharks with encounters by random-walk simulations of 'model' sharks. Movements of transmitter-tagged sharks monitored for 964 days (16754 km estimated minimum distance) were concentrated on the European continental shelf in areas characterized by high seasonal productivity and complex prey distributions. We show movements by adult and sub-adult sharks yielded consistently higher prey encounter rates than 90% of random-walk simulations. Behavioural patterns were consistent with basking sharks using search tactics structured across multiple scales to exploit the richest prey areas available in preferred habitats. Simple behavioural rules based on learned responses to previously encountered prey distributions may explain the high performances. This study highlights how dynamic prey landscapes enable active habitat selection in large predators to be investigated from a trophic perspective, an approach that may inform conservation by identifying critical habitat of vulnerable species.

Do top predators cue on sound production by mesopelagic prey?

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Baumann-Pickering, S.; Checkley, D. M., Jr.; Demer, D. A.

2016-02-01

Deep-scattering layer (DSL) organisms, comprising a variety of mesopelagic fishes, and squids, siphonophores, crustaceans, and other invertebrates, are preferred prey for numerous large marine predators, e.g. cetaceans, seabirds, and fishes. Some of the DSL species migrate from depth during daylight to feed near the surface at night, transitioning during dusk and dawn. We investigated if any DSL organisms create sound, particularly during the crepuscular periods. Over several nights in summer 2015, underwater sound was recorded in the San Diego Trough using a high-frequency acoustic recording package (HARP, 10 Hz to 100 kHz), suspended from a drifting surface float. Acoustic backscatter from the DSL was monitored nearby using a calibrated multiple-frequency (38, 70, 120, and 200 kHz) split-beam echosounder (Simrad EK60) on a small boat. DSL organisms produced sound, between 300 and 1000 Hz, and the received levels were highest when the animals migrated past the recorder during ascent and descent. The DSL are globally present, so the observed acoustic phenomenon, if also ubiquitous, has wide-reaching implications. Sound travels farther than light or chemicals and thus can be sensed at greater distances by predators, prey, and mates. If sound is a characteristic feature of pelagic ecosystems, it likely plays a role in predator-prey relationships and overall ecosystem dynamics. Our new finding inspires numerous questions such as: Which, how, and why have DSL organisms evolved to create sound, for what do they use it and under what circumstances? Is sound production by DSL organisms truly ubiquitous, or does it depend on the local environment and species composition? How may sound production and perception be adapted to a changing environment? Do predators react to changes in sound? Can sound be used to quantify the composition of mixed-species assemblages, component densities and abundances, and hence be used in stock assessment or predictive modeling?

Parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk affect prey offspring behaviour and performance.

Science.gov (United States)

Donelan, Sarah C; Trussell, Geoffrey C

2018-03-14

Because phenotypic plasticity can operate both within and between generations, phenotypic outcomes are often shaped by a complex history of environmental signals. For example, parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk can both independently and interactively influence prey offspring traits early in their life. Parental and embryonic risk experiences can also independently shape offspring phenotypes throughout an offspring's ontogeny, but the persistence of their interactive effects throughout offspring ontogeny is unknown. We examined the effects of parental and embryonic experiences with predation risk on the response of 1-year-old prey (the carnivorous snail, Nucella lapillus ) offspring to current predation risk. We found that parental and embryonic risk experiences had largely independent effects on offspring performance and that these effects were context dependent. Parental experience with risk had strong impacts on multiple offspring traits in the presence of current risk that generally improved offspring performance under risk, but embryonic risk experience had relatively weaker effects and only operated in the absence of current risk to reduce offspring growth. These results illustrate that past environmental experiences can dynamically shape organism phenotypes across ontogeny and that attention to these effects is key to a better understanding of predator/prey dynamics in natural systems. © 2018 The Author(s).

Stable oscillations of a predator-prey probabilistic cellular automaton: a mean-field approach

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tome, Tania; Carvalho, Kelly C de

2007-01-01

We analyze a probabilistic cellular automaton describing the dynamics of coexistence of a predator-prey system. The individuals of each species are localized over the sites of a lattice and the local stochastic updating rules are inspired by the processes of the Lotka-Volterra model. Two levels of mean-field approximations are set up. The simple approximation is equivalent to an extended patch model, a simple metapopulation model with patches colonized by prey, patches colonized by predators and empty patches. This approximation is capable of describing the limited available space for species occupancy. The pair approximation is moreover able to describe two types of coexistence of prey and predators: one where population densities are constant in time and another displaying self-sustained time oscillations of the population densities. The oscillations are associated with limit cycles and arise through a Hopf bifurcation. They are stable against changes in the initial conditions and, in this sense, they differ from the Lotka-Volterra cycles which depend on initial conditions. In this respect, the present model is biologically more realistic than the Lotka-Volterra model

Phytophagy of the predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas, 1851 (Hemiptera: Pentatomidae fed on prey and Brassicaceae

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J. F. J. Grigolli

2017-03-01

Full Text Available Abstract The purpose of this study was to investigate the development and reproduction of the zoophytophagous predator Podisus nigrispinus (Dallas (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae fed kale, broccoli and cabbage affects its. Nymphs and adults of this predator were fed on larvae of Plutella xylostella (L. (Lepidoptera: Plutellidae as prey with kale, cabbage, or broccoli. In the nymph period, the duration and prey consumption were similar with all the Brassicacea cultivar. However, nymph viability was higher for predators with broccoli leaves. The mean weight of 5th-instar nymphs, newly emerged females and the sex ratio were similar among the Brassicacea cultivars, while newly emerged males were heavier with kale and broccoli leaves. The supply of broccoli leaves resulted in greater oviposition, higher number of eggs per egg mass and longer longevity of P. nigrispinus males and females. Furthermore, the consumption of P. xylostella larvae by adult predators was higher with these cultivars. The net reproductive rate (R0 and mean generation time (T were highest for predators with prey and broccoli leaves. The reproductive parameters of P. nigrispinus were enhanced when fed on P. xylostella larvae with and broccoli leaves, which can be an alternative diet in laboratory rearing of this predator.

Ambush frequency should increase over time during optimal predator search for prey.

Science.gov (United States)

Alpern, Steve; Fokkink, Robbert; Timmer, Marco; Casas, Jérôme

2011-11-07

We advance and apply the mathematical theory of search games to model the problem faced by a predator searching for prey. Two search modes are available: ambush and cruising search. Some species can adopt either mode, with their choice at a given time traditionally explained in terms of varying habitat and physiological conditions. We present an additional explanation of the observed predator alternation between these search modes, which is based on the dynamical nature of the search game they are playing: the possibility of ambush decreases the propensity of the prey to frequently change locations and thereby renders it more susceptible to the systematic cruising search portion of the strategy. This heuristic explanation is supported by showing that in a new idealized search game where the predator is allowed to ambush or search at any time, and the prey can change locations at intermittent times, optimal predator play requires an alternation (or mixture) over time of ambush and cruise search. Thus, our game is an extension of the well-studied 'Princess and Monster' search game. Search games are zero sum games, where the pay-off is the capture time and neither the Searcher nor the Hider knows the location of the other. We are able to determine the optimal mixture of the search modes when the predator uses a mixture which is constant over time, and also to determine how the mode mixture changes over time when dynamic strategies are allowed (the ambush probability increases over time). In particular, we establish the 'square root law of search predation': the optimal proportion of active search equals the square root of the fraction of the region that has not yet been explored.

Tests for attraction to prey and predator avoidance by chemical cues in spiders of the beech forest floor

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Wetter, Melissa B.

2012-07-01

Full Text Available Spiders leave draglines, faeces and other secretions behind when traveling through their microhabitat. The presence of these secretions may unintentionally inform other animals, prey as well as predators, about a recent and possible current predation risk or food availability. For a wolf spider, other spiders including smaller conspecifics, form a substantial part of their prey, and larger wolf spiders, again including conspecifics, are potential predators. We tested two hypotheses: that large wolf spiders may locate patches of potential spider prey through the presence of silk threads and/or other secretions; and that prey spiders may use secretions from large wolf spiders to avoid patches with high predation risk. We used large (subadult or adult Pardosa saltans to provide predator cues and mixed dwarf spiders or small (juvenile P. saltans to provide prey cues. Subadult wolf spiders were significantly attracted to litter contaminated by dwarf spiders or small conspecifics after 6 hours but no longer after 24 hours. In contrast, neither dwarf spiders nor small P. saltans showed significant avoidance of substrate contaminated by adult P. saltans. However, small P. saltans showed different activity patterns on the two substrates. The results indicate that wolf spiders are able to increase the efficiency of foraging by searching preferentially in patches with the presence of intraguild prey. The lack of a clear patch selection response of the prey in spite of a modified activity pattern may possibly be associated with the vertical stratification of the beech litter habitat: the reduced volume of spaces in the deeper layers could make downward rather than horizontal movement a fast and safe tactic against a large predator that cannot enter these spaces.

Predicting the effects of ocean acidification on predator-prey interactions: a conceptual framework based on coastal molluscs.

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Kroeker, Kristy J; Sanford, Eric; Jellison, Brittany M; Gaylord, Brian

2014-06-01

The influence of environmental change on species interactions will affect population dynamics and community structure in the future, but our current understanding of the outcomes of species interactions in a high-CO2 world is limited. Here, we draw upon emerging experimental research examining the effects of ocean acidification on coastal molluscs to provide hypotheses of the potential impacts of high-CO2 on predator-prey interactions. Coastal molluscs, such as oysters, mussels, and snails, allocate energy among defenses, growth, and reproduction. Ocean acidification increases the energetic costs of physiological processes such as acid-base regulation and calcification. Impacted molluscs can display complex and divergent patterns of energy allocation to defenses and growth that may influence predator-prey interactions; these include changes in shell properties, body size, tissue mass, immune function, or reproductive output. Ocean acidification has also been shown to induce complex changes in chemoreception, behavior, and inducible defenses, including altered cue detection and predator avoidance behaviors. Each of these responses may ultimately alter the susceptibility of coastal molluscs to predation through effects on predator handling time, satiation, and search time. While many of these effects may manifest as increases in per capita predation rates on coastal molluscs, the ultimate outcome of predator-prey interactions will also depend on how ocean acidification affects the specified predators, which also exhibit complex responses to ocean acidification. Changes in predator-prey interactions could have profound and unexplored consequences for the population dynamics of coastal molluscs in a high-CO2 ocean. © 2014 Marine Biological Laboratory.

Biologically meaningful scents: a framework for understanding predator-prey research across disciplines.

Science.gov (United States)

Parsons, Michael H; Apfelbach, Raimund; Banks, Peter B; Cameron, Elissa Z; Dickman, Chris R; Frank, Anke S K; Jones, Menna E; McGregor, Ian S; McLean, Stuart; Müller-Schwarze, Dietland; Sparrow, Elisa E; Blumstein, Daniel T

2018-02-01

Fear of predation is a universal motivator. Because predators hunt using stealth and surprise, there is a widespread ability among prey to assess risk from chemical information - scents - in their environment. Consequently, scents often act as particularly strong modulators of memory and emotions. Recent advances in ecological research and analytical technology are leading to novel ways to use this chemical information to create effective attractants, repellents and anti-anxiolytic compounds for wildlife managers, conservation biologists and health practitioners. However, there is extensive variation in the design, results, and interpretation of studies of olfactory-based risk discrimination. To understand the highly variable literature in this area, we adopt a multi-disciplinary approach and synthesize the latest findings from neurobiology, chemical ecology, and ethology to propose a contemporary framework that accounts for such disparate factors as the time-limited stability of chemicals, highly canalized mechanisms that influence prey responses, and the context within which these scents are detected (e.g. availability of alternative resources, perceived shelter, and ambient physical parameters). This framework helps to account for the wide range of reported responses by prey to predator scents, and explains, paradoxically, how the same individual predator scent can be interpreted as either safe or dangerous to a prey animal depending on how, when and where the cue was deposited. We provide a hypothetical example to illustrate the most common factors that influence how a predator scent (from dingoes, Canis dingo) may both attract and repel the same target organism (kangaroos, Macropus spp.). This framework identifies the catalysts that enable dynamic scents, odours or odorants to be used as attractants as well as deterrents. Because effective scent tools often relate to traumatic memories (fear and/or anxiety) that cause future avoidance, this information may

The threshold of coexistence and critical behaviour of a predator-prey cellular automaton

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Arashiro, Everaldo; Tome, Tania

2007-01-01

We study a probabilistic cellular automaton to describe two population biology problems: the threshold of species coexistence in a predator-prey system and the spreading of an epidemic in a population. By carrying out mean-field approximations and numerical simulations we obtain the phase boundaries (thresholds) related to the transition between an active state, where prey and predators present a stable coexistence, and a prey absorbing state. The numerical estimates for the critical exponents show that the transition belongs to the directed percolation universality class. In the limit where the cellular automaton maps into a model for the spreading of an epidemic with immunization we observe a crossover from directed percolation class to the dynamic percolation class. Patterns of growing clusters related to species coexistence and spreading of epidemic are shown and discussed

Stochastic Predator-Prey Dynamics of Transposons in the Human Genome

Science.gov (United States)

Xue, Chi; Goldenfeld, Nigel

2016-11-01

Transposable elements, or transposons, are DNA sequences that can jump from site to site in the genome during the life cycle of a cell, usually encoding the very enzymes which perform their excision. However, some transposons are parasitic, relying on the enzymes produced by the regular transposons. In this case, we show that a stochastic model, which takes into account the small copy numbers of the active transposons in a cell, predicts noise-induced predator-prey oscillations with a characteristic time scale that is much longer than the cell replication time, indicating that the state of the predator-prey oscillator is stored in the genome and transmitted to successive generations. Our work demonstrates the important role of the number fluctuations in the expression of mobile genetic elements, and shows explicitly how ecological concepts can be applied to the dynamics and fluctuations of living genomes.

Chaos in periodically forced Holling type IV predator-prey system with impulsive perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Shuwen; Tan Dejun; Chen Lansun

2006-01-01

The effect of periodic forcing and impulsive perturbations on predator-prey model with Holling type IV functional response is investigated. The periodic forcing is affected by assuming a periodic variation in the intrinsic growth rate of the prey. The impulsive perturbations are affected by introducing periodic constant impulsive immigration of predator. The dynamical behavior of the system is simulated and bifurcation diagrams are obtained for different parameters. The results show that periodic forcing and impulsive perturbation can easily give rise to complex dynamics, including (1) quasi-periodic oscillating, (2) period doubling cascade, (3) chaos, (4) period halfing cascade

Chaos in periodically forced Holling type II predator-prey system with impulsive perturbations

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Shuwen; Tan Dejun; Chen Lansun

2006-01-01

The effect of periodic forcing and impulsive perturbations on predator-prey model with Holling type II functional response is investigated. The periodic forcing is affected by assuming a periodic variation in the intrinsic growth rate of prey. The impulsive perturbation is affected by introducing periodic constant impulsive immigration of predator. The dynamical behavior of the system is simulated and bifurcation diagrams are obtained for different parameters. The results show that periodic forcing and impulsive perturbation can very easily give rise to complex dynamics, including (1) quasi-periodic oscillating, (2) period doubling cascade, (3) chaos, (4) period halfing cascade, (5) non-unique dynamics

The effect of water level in a prey-predator interactions: A nonlinear analysis study

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Chiboub Fellah, N.; Bouguima, S.M.; Moussaoui, A.

2012-01-01

Highlights: ► A new model describing the interaction between predator and prey in Parloup Lake. ► Existence of periodic solution is proved. ► Seasonal variation in water level is an important factor for persitence. - Abstract: Water level may influence local community dynamics. We examine how seasonal variations in water level affect the outcome of prey-predator interactions in Parloup Lake in the south of France. We propose a new model to describe the annual cycle of persistence by using continuation theorem of coincidence degree.

The effect of chrysanthemum leaf trichome density and prey spatial distribution on predation of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) by Phytoseiulus persimilis (Acari: Phytoseiidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Skirvin, D J; Stavrinides, M C; Skirvin, D J

2003-08-01

The effect of plant architecture, in terms of leaf hairiness, and prey spatial arrangement, on predation rate of eggs of the spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, by the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot was examined on cut stems of chrysanthemums. Three levels of leaf hairiness (trichome density) were obtained using two different chrysanthemum cultivars and two ages within one of the cultivars. The number of prey consumed by P. persimilis was inversely related to trichome density. At low prey densities (less than ten eggs per stem), prey consumption did not differ in a biologically meaningful way between treatments. The effect of prey spatial arrangement on the predation rate of P. persimilis was also examined. Predation rates were higher in prey patches on leaves adjacent to the release point of P. persimilis, but significantly greater numbers of prey were consumed in higher density prey patches compared to low density patches. The predators exhibited non-random searching behaviour, spending more time on leaves closest to the release point. The implications of these findings for biological control and predator-prey dynamics are discussed.

How do brent geese (Branta b. bernicla) cope with evil?; complex relationships between predators and prey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Ebbinge, B.S.; Spaans, B.

2002-01-01

Actual predation is rarely observed in the field, and therefore the role of predators is often severely underestimated. Species are limited in their distribution, which is caused not only by predation but also by the anti-predator behaviour that prey-species have developed under the continuous

Competition and Facilitation between a Disease and a Predator in a Stunted Prey Population.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Maarten C Boerlijst

Full Text Available The role of diseases and parasites has received relatively little attention in modelling ecological dynamics despite mounting evidence of their importance in structuring communities. In contrast to predators, parasites do not necessarily kill their host but instead they may change host life history. Here, we study the impact of a parasite that selectively infects juvenile prey individuals and prevents them from maturing into adults. The model is inspired by the Ligula intestinalis tape worm and its cyprinid fish host Rutilis rutilis. We demonstrate that the parasite can promote as well as demote the so-called stunting in its host population, that is, the accumulation of juvenile prey, which leads to strong exploitation competition and consequently to a bottleneck in maturation. If competition between infected and uninfected individuals is strong, stunting will be enhanced and bistability between a stunted and non-stunted prey population occurs. In this case, the disease competes with the predator of its host species, possibly leading to predator extinction. In contrast, if the competition between infected and uninfected individuals is weak, the stunting is relieved, and epi-zoonotic cycles will occur, with recurrent epidemic outbreaks. Here, the disease facilitates the predator, and predator density will be substantially increased. We discuss the implications of our results for the dynamics and structure of the natural Ligula-Roach system.

Sabretoothed carnivores and the killing of large prey.

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Ki Andersson

Full Text Available Sabre-like canines clearly have the potential to inflict grievous wounds leading to massive blood loss and rapid death. Hypotheses concerning sabretooth killing modes include attack to soft parts such as the belly or throat, where biting deep is essential to generate strikes reaching major blood vessels. Sabretoothed carnivorans are widely interpreted as hunters of larger and more powerful prey than that of their present-day nonsabretoothed relatives. However, the precise functional advantage of the sabretooth bite, particularly in relation to prey size, is unknown. Here, we present a new point-to-point bite model and show that, for sabretooths, depth of the killing bite decreases dramatically with increasing prey size. The extended gape of sabretooths only results in considerable increase in bite depth when biting into prey with a radius of less than ∼10 cm. For sabretooths, this size-reversed functional advantage suggests predation on species within a similar size range to those attacked by present-day carnivorans, rather than "megaherbivores" as previously believed. The development of the sabretooth condition appears to represent a shift in function and killing behaviour, rather than one in predator-prey relations. Furthermore, our results demonstrate how sabretoothed carnivorans are likely to have evolved along a functionally continuous trajectory: beginning as an extension of a jaw-powered killing bite, as adopted by present-day pantherine cats, followed by neck-powered biting and thereafter shifting to neck-powered shear-biting. We anticipate this new insight to be a starting point for detailed study of the evolution of pathways that encompass extreme specialisation, for example, understanding how neck-powered biting shifts into shear-biting and its significance for predator-prey interactions. We also expect that our model for point-to-point biting and bite depth estimations will yield new insights into the behaviours of a broad range of

Testing for Camouflage Using Virtual Prey and Human "Predators"

Science.gov (United States)

Todd, Peter A.

2009-01-01

Camouflage is a prevalent feature of the natural world and as such has a ready appeal to students; however, it is a difficult subject to study using real predators and prey. This paper focuses how one fundamental type of camouflage, disruptive colouration (bold markings that break up the outline of the organism), can be tested using paper…

Nonlinearities Lead to Qualitative Differences in Population Dynamics of Predator-Prey Systems

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Ameixa, Olga; Messelink, G. J.; Kindlmann, Pavel

2013-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 4 (2013), e62530-e62530 E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) ED1.1.00/02.0073; GA ČR(CZ) GEVOL/11/E036 Institutional support: RVO:67179843 Keywords : nonlinear system * population density * population dynamics * predator * predator prey interaction * qualitative analysis Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour Impact factor: 3.534, year: 2013

Hopf bifurcation of a ratio-dependent predator-prey system with time delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Celik, Canan

2009-01-01

In this paper, we consider a ratio dependent predator-prey system with time delay where the dynamics is logistic with the carrying capacity proportional to prey population. By considering the time delay as bifurcation parameter, we analyze the stability and the Hopf bifurcation of the system based on the normal form approach and the center manifold theory. Finally, we illustrate our theoretical results by numerical simulations.

Swimming and escape behavior of copepod nauplii: implications for predator-prey interactions among copepods

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Titelman, Josefin

2001-01-01

This study focuses on how prey behavior may affect predation risk through encounter rates and the escape success of the prey given an encounter. Temora longicornis nauplii require stronger hydrodynamic signals to elicit escape than Acartia tonsa nauplii (critical fluid deformation rates, Delta......* of 2.8 to 4.0 and 1.2 to 2.5 s(-1), respectively) suggesting that T. longicornis may be more susceptible to predation. Quantification of naupliar motility behavior and subsequent estimation of the hydrodynamic signals which the nauplii generate suggest that an adult female Centropages typicus may......, the behavior of A. tonsa acts predominantly at the post-encounter stage where its sensitivity to hydrodynamic signals (i,e., low Delta*) effectively compensates for the high predator encounter rate generated by its motility....

Examining predator-prey body size, trophic level and body mass across marine and terrestrial mammals.

Science.gov (United States)

Tucker, Marlee A; Rogers, Tracey L

2014-12-22

Predator-prey relationships and trophic levels are indicators of community structure, and are important for monitoring ecosystem changes. Mammals colonized the marine environment on seven separate occasions, which resulted in differences in species' physiology, morphology and behaviour. It is likely that these changes have had a major effect upon predator-prey relationships and trophic position; however, the effect of environment is yet to be clarified. We compiled a dataset, based on the literature, to explore the relationship between body mass, trophic level and predator-prey ratio across terrestrial (n = 51) and marine (n = 56) mammals. We did not find the expected positive relationship between trophic level and body mass, but we did find that marine carnivores sit 1.3 trophic levels higher than terrestrial carnivores. Also, marine mammals are largely carnivorous and have significantly larger predator-prey ratios compared with their terrestrial counterparts. We propose that primary productivity, and its availability, is important for mammalian trophic structure and body size. Also, energy flow and community structure in the marine environment are influenced by differences in energy efficiency and increased food web stability. Enhancing our knowledge of feeding ecology in mammals has the potential to provide insights into the structure and functioning of marine and terrestrial communities. © 2014 The Author(s) Published by the Royal Society. All rights reserved.

Rank One Strange Attractors in Periodically Kicked Predator-Prey System with Time-Delay

Science.gov (United States)

Yang, Wenjie; Lin, Yiping; Dai, Yunxian; Zhao, Huitao

2016-06-01

This paper is devoted to the study of the problem of rank one strange attractor in a periodically kicked predator-prey system with time-delay. Our discussion is based on the theory of rank one maps formulated by Wang and Young. Firstly, we develop the rank one chaotic theory to delayed systems. It is shown that strange attractors occur when the delayed system undergoes a Hopf bifurcation and encounters an external periodic force. Then we use the theory to the periodically kicked predator-prey system with delay, deriving the conditions for Hopf bifurcation and rank one chaos along with the results of numerical simulations.

Permanence for a class of periodic time-dependent predator-prey system with dispersal in a patchy-environment

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Long; Teng Zhidong

2008-01-01

In this paper, we study two species predator-prey Lotka-Volterra type dispersal system with periodic coefficients in two patches, in which both the prey and predator species can disperse between two patches. By utilizing analytic method, sufficient and realistic conditions on permanence and the existence of periodic solution are established. The theoretical results are confirmed by a special example and numerical simulations

Parasites as prey in aquatic food webs: implications for predator infection and parasite transmission

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Thieltges, D.W.; Amundsen, P.-A.; Hechinger, R.F.; Johnson, P.T.J.; Lafferty, K.D.; Mouritsen, K.N.; Preston, D.L.; Reise, K.; Zander, C.D.; Poulin, R.

2013-01-01

While the recent inclusion of parasites into food-web studies has highlighted the role of parasites as consumers, there is accumulating evidence that parasites can also serve as prey for predators. Here we investigated empirical patterns of predation on parasites and their relationships with

Consequences of a refuge for the predator-prey dynamics of a wolf-elk system in Banff National Park, Alberta, Canada.

Science.gov (United States)

Goldberg, Joshua F; Hebblewhite, Mark; Bardsley, John

2014-01-01

Refugia can affect predator-prey dynamics via movements between refuge and non-refuge areas. We examine the influence of a refuge on population dynamics in a large mammal predator-prey system. Wolves (Canis lupus) have recolonized much of their former range in North America, and as a result, ungulate prey have exploited refugia to reduce predation risk with unknown impacts on wolf-prey dynamics. We examined the influence of a refuge on elk (Cervus elaphus) and wolf population dynamics in Banff National Park. Elk occupy the Banff townsite with little predation, whereas elk in the adjoining Bow Valley experience higher wolf predation. The Banff refuge may influence Bow Valley predator-prey dynamics through source-sink movements. To test this hypothesis, we used 26 years of wolf and elk population counts and the Delayed Rejection Adaptive Metropolis Markov chain Monte Carlo method to fit five predator-prey models: 1) with no source-sink movements, 2) with elk density-dependent dispersal from the refuge to the non-refuge, 3) with elk predation risk avoidance movements from the non-refuge to the refuge, 4) with differential movement rates between refuge and non-refuge, and 5) with short-term, source-sink wolf movements. Model 1 provided the best fit of the data, as measured by Akaike Information Criterion (AIC). In the top model, Banff and Bow Valley elk had median growth rates of 0.08 and 0.03 (95% credibility intervals [CIs]: 0.027-0.186 and 0.001-0.143), respectively, Banff had a median carrying capacity of 630 elk (95% CI: 471.9-2676.9), Bow Valley elk had a median wolf encounter rate of 0.02 (95% CI: 0.013-0.030), and wolves had a median death rate of 0.23 (95% CI: 0.146-0.335) and a median conversion efficiency of 0.07 (95% CI: 0.031-0.124). We found little evidence for potential source-sink movements influencing the predator-prey dynamics of this system. This result suggests that the refuge was isolated from the non-refuge.

Perch, Perca fluviatilis show a directional preference for, but do not increase attacks toward, prey in response to water-borne cortisol

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Lindsay J. Henderson

2017-10-01

Full Text Available In freshwater environments, chemosensory cues play an important role in predator-prey interactions. Prey use a variety of chemosensory cues to detect and avoid predators. However, whether predators use the chemical cues released by disturbed or stressed prey has received less attention. Here we tested the hypothesis that the disturbance cue cortisol, in conjunction with visual cues of prey, elevates predatory behavior. We presented predators (perch, Perca fluviatilis with three chemosensory choice tests and recorded their location, orientation, and aggressive behavior. We compared the responses of predators when provided with (i visual cues of prey only (two adjacent tanks containing sticklebacks; (ii visual and natural chemical cues of prey vs. visual cues only; and (iii visual cues of prey with cortisol vs. visual cues only. Perch spent a significantly higher proportion of time in proximity to prey, and orientated toward prey more, when presented with a cortisol stimulus plus visual cues, relative to presentations of visual and natural chemical cues of prey, or visual cues of prey only. There was a trend that perch directed a higher proportion of predatory behaviors (number of lunges toward sticklebacks when presented with a cortisol stimulus plus visual cues, relative to the other chemosensory conditions. But they did not show a significant increase in total predatory behavior in response to cortisol. Therefore, it is not clear whether water-borne cortisol, in conjunction with visual cues of prey, affects predatory behavior. Our results provide evidence that cortisol could be a source of public information about prey state and/or disturbance, but further work is required to confirm this.

Maximum sustainable yield and species extinction in a prey-predator system: some new results.

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Ghosh, Bapan; Kar, T K

2013-06-01

Though the maximum sustainable yield (MSY) approach has been legally adopted for the management of world fisheries, it does not provide any guarantee against from species extinction in multispecies communities. In the present article, we describe the appropriateness of the MSY policy in a Holling-Tanner prey-predator system with different types of functional responses. It is observed that for both type I and type II functional responses, harvesting of either prey or predator species at the MSY level is a sustainable fishing policy. In the case of combined harvesting, both the species coexist at the maximum sustainable total yield (MSTY) level if the biotic potential of the prey species is greater than a threshold value. Further, increase of the biotic potential beyond the threshold value affects the persistence of the system.

Predator-prey interaction reveals local effects of high-altitude insect migration

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High-altitude nocturnal insect migrations represent significant pulses of resources, yet are difficult to study and poorly understood. Predator-prey interactions, specifically migratory moth consumption by high-flying bats, potentially reveal flows of migratory insects across a landscape. In North...

Evolution determines how global warming and pesticide exposure will shape predator‐prey interactions with vector mosquitoes

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Tran, Tam H.; Janssens, Lizanne; Dinh, Khuong Van

2016-01-01

How evolution may mitigate the effects of global warming and pesticide exposure on predator–prey interactions is directly relevant for vector control. Using a space-for-time substitution approach, we addressed how 4°C warming and exposure to the pesticide endosulfan shape the predation on Culex...... pipiens mosquitoes by damselfly predators from replicated low- and high-latitude populations. Although warming was only lethal for the mosquitoes, it reduced predation rates on these prey. Possibly, under warming escape speeds of the mosquitoes increased more than the attack efficiency of the predators...... at the high latitude will be reduced under warming unless predators evolve toward the current low-latitude phenotype or low-latitude predators move poleward...

Linking anti-predator behaviour to prey demography reveals limited risk effects of an actively hunting large carnivore.

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Middleton, Arthur D; Kauffman, Matthew J; McWhirter, Douglas E; Jimenez, Michael D; Cook, Rachel C; Cook, John G; Albeke, Shannon E; Sawyer, Hall; White, P J

2013-08-01

Ecological theory predicts that the diffuse risk cues generated by wide-ranging, active predators should induce prey behavioural responses but not major, population- or community-level consequences. We evaluated the non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of an active predator, the grey wolf (Canis lupus), by simultaneously tracking wolves and the behaviour, body fat, and pregnancy of elk (Cervus elaphus), their primary prey in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem. When wolves approached within 1 km, elk increased their rates of movement, displacement and vigilance. Even in high-risk areas, however, these encounters occurred only once every 9 days. Ultimately, despite 20-fold variation in the frequency of encounters between wolves and individual elk, the risk of predation was not associated with elk body fat or pregnancy. Our findings suggest that the ecological consequences of actively hunting large carnivores, such as the wolf, are more likely transmitted by consumptive effects on prey survival than NCEs on prey behaviour. © 2013 John Wiley & Sons Ltd/CNRS.

How does the presence of a conspecific individual change the behavioral game that a predator plays with its prey?

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Vardi, Reut; Abramsky, Zvika; Kotler, Burt P; Altstein, Ofir; Rosenzweig, Michael L

2017-07-01

Behavioral games predators play among themselves may have profound effects on behavioral games predators play with their prey. We studied the behavioral game between predators and prey within the framework of social foraging among predators. We tested how conspecific interactions among predators (little egret) change the predator-prey behavioral game and foraging success. To do so, we examined foraging behavior of egrets alone and in pairs (male and female) in a specially designed aviary consisting of three equally spaced pools with identical initial prey (comet goldfish) densities. Each pool was comprised of a risky microhabitat, rich with food, and a safe microhabitat with no food, forcing the fish to trade off food and safety. When faced with two versus one egret, we found that fish significantly reduced activity in the risky habitat. Egrets in pairs suffered reduced foraging success (negative intraspecific density dependence) and responded to fish behavior and to their conspecific by changing their visiting regime at the different pools-having shorter, more frequent visits. The time egret spent on each visit allowed them to match their long-term capture success rate across the environment to their capture success rate in the pool, which satisfies one aspect of optimality. Overall, egrets in pairs allocated more time for foraging and changed their foraging tactics to focus more on fish under cover and fish 'peeping' out from their shelter. These results suggest that both prey and predator show behavioral flexibility and can adjust to changing conditions as needed in this foraging game.

Attracting predators without falling prey: chemical camouflage protects honeydew-producing treehoppers from ant predation.

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Silveira, Henrique C P; Oliveira, Paulo S; Trigo, José R

2010-02-01

Predaceous ants are dominant organisms on foliage and represent a constant threat to herbivorous insects. The honeydew of sap-feeding hemipterans has been suggested to appease aggressive ants, which then begin tending activities. Here, we manipulated the cuticular chemical profiles of freeze-dried insect prey to show that chemical background matching with the host plant protects Guayaquila xiphias treehoppers against predaceous Camponotus crassus ants, regardless of honeydew supply. Ant predation is increased when treehoppers are transferred to a nonhost plant with which they have low chemical similarity. Palatable moth larvae manipulated to match the chemical background of Guayaquila's host plant attracted lower numbers of predatory ants than unchanged controls. Although aggressive tending ants can protect honeydew-producing hemipterans from natural enemies, they may prey on the trophobionts under shortage of alternative food resources. Thus chemical camouflage in G. xiphias allows the trophobiont to attract predaceous bodyguards at reduced risk of falling prey itself.

Dynamical phase diagrams of a love capacity constrained prey-predator model

Science.gov (United States)

Simin, P. Toranj; Jafari, Gholam Reza; Ausloos, Marcel; Caiafa, Cesar Federico; Caram, Facundo; Sonubi, Adeyemi; Arcagni, Alberto; Stefani, Silvana

2018-02-01

One interesting question in love relationships is: finally, what and when is the end of this love relationship? Using a prey-predator Verhulst-Lotka-Volterra (VLV) model we imply cooperation and competition tendency between people in order to describe a "love dilemma game". We select the most simple but immediately most complex case for studying the set of nonlinear differential equations, i.e. that implying three persons, being at the same time prey and predator. We describe four different scenarios in such a love game containing either a one-way love or a love triangle. Our results show that it is hard to love more than one person simultaneously. Moreover, to love several people simultaneously is an unstable state. We find some condition in which persons tend to have a friendly relationship and love someone in spite of their antagonistic interaction. We demonstrate the dynamics by displaying flow diagrams.

Behavioural and physiological responses of limpet prey to a seastar predator and their transmission to basal trophic levels.

Science.gov (United States)

Manzur, Tatiana; Vidal, Francisco; Pantoja, José F; Fernández, Miriam; Navarrete, Sergio A

2014-07-01

Besides the well-documented behavioural changes induced by predators on prey, predator-induced stress can also include a suite of biochemical, neurological and metabolic changes that may represent important energetic costs and have long-lasting effects on individuals and on the demography of prey populations. The rapid transmission of prey behavioural changes to lower trophic levels, usually associated with alteration of feeding rates, can substantially change and even reverse direction over the long term as prey cope with the energetic costs associated with predation-induced stress. It is therefore critical to evaluate different aspects and assess the costs of non-consumptive predator effects on prey. We investigated the behavioural and physiological responses of an herbivorous limpet, Fissurella limbata, to the presence of chemical cues and direct non-lethal contact by the common seastar predator, Heliaster helianthus. We also evaluated whether the limpets feeding behaviour was modified by the predator and whether this translated into positive or negative effects on biomass of the green alga, Ulva sp. Our experimental results show the presence of Heliaster led to increased movement activity, increased distances travelled, changes in time budget over different environmental conditions and increased feeding rate in the keyhole limpets. Moreover, additional experiments showed that, beyond the increased metabolic rate associated with limpet increased activity, predator chemical cues heighten metabolic rate as part of the induced stress response. Changes in individual movement and displacement distances observed through the 9-day experiment can be interpreted as part of the escape response exhibited by limpets to reduce the risk of being captured by the predator. Increased limpet feeding rate on algae can be visualized as a way individuals compensate for the elevated energetic costs of movement and heightened metabolic rates produced by the predator-induced stress

Deimatic display in the European swallowtail butterfly as a secondary defence against attacks from great tits.

Science.gov (United States)

Olofsson, Martin; Eriksson, Stephan; Jakobsson, Sven; Wiklund, Christer

2012-01-01

Many animals reduce the risk of being attacked by a predator through crypsis, masquerade or, alternatively, by advertising unprofitability by means of aposematic signalling. Behavioural attributes in prey employed after discovery, however, signify the importance of also having an effective secondary defence if a predator uncovers, or is immune to, the prey's primary defence. In butterflies, as in most animals, secondary defence generally consists of escape flights. However, some butterfly species have evolved other means of secondary defence such as deimatic displays/startle displays. The European swallowtail, Papilio machaon, employs what appears to be a startle display by exposing its brightly coloured dorsal wing surface upon disturbance and, if the disturbance continues, by intermittently protracting and relaxing its wing muscles generating a jerky motion of the wings. This display appears directed towards predators but whether it is effective in intimidating predators so that they refrain from attacks has never been tested experimentally. In this study we staged encounters between a passerine predator, the great tit, Parus major, and live and dead swallowtail butterflies in a two-choice experiment. Results showed that the dead butterfly was virtually always attacked before the live butterfly, and that it took four times longer before a bird attacked the live butterfly. When the live butterfly was approached by a bird this generally elicited the butterfly's startle display, which usually caused the approaching bird to flee. We also performed a palatability test of the butterflies and results show that the great tits seemed to find them palatable. We conclude that the swallowtail's startle display of conspicuous coloration and jerky movements is an efficient secondary defence against small passerines. We also discuss under what conditions predator-prey systems are likely to aid the evolution of deimatic behaviours in harmless and palatable prey.

Deimatic display in the European swallowtail butterfly as a secondary defence against attacks from great tits.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Olofsson

Full Text Available Many animals reduce the risk of being attacked by a predator through crypsis, masquerade or, alternatively, by advertising unprofitability by means of aposematic signalling. Behavioural attributes in prey employed after discovery, however, signify the importance of also having an effective secondary defence if a predator uncovers, or is immune to, the prey's primary defence. In butterflies, as in most animals, secondary defence generally consists of escape flights. However, some butterfly species have evolved other means of secondary defence such as deimatic displays/startle displays. The European swallowtail, Papilio machaon, employs what appears to be a startle display by exposing its brightly coloured dorsal wing surface upon disturbance and, if the disturbance continues, by intermittently protracting and relaxing its wing muscles generating a jerky motion of the wings. This display appears directed towards predators but whether it is effective in intimidating predators so that they refrain from attacks has never been tested experimentally.In this study we staged encounters between a passerine predator, the great tit, Parus major, and live and dead swallowtail butterflies in a two-choice experiment. Results showed that the dead butterfly was virtually always attacked before the live butterfly, and that it took four times longer before a bird attacked the live butterfly. When the live butterfly was approached by a bird this generally elicited the butterfly's startle display, which usually caused the approaching bird to flee. We also performed a palatability test of the butterflies and results show that the great tits seemed to find them palatable.We conclude that the swallowtail's startle display of conspicuous coloration and jerky movements is an efficient secondary defence against small passerines. We also discuss under what conditions predator-prey systems are likely to aid the evolution of deimatic behaviours in harmless and palatable prey.

Complex dynamics of a stochastic discrete modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey model with Michaelis-Menten type prey harvesting

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

A. Elhassanein

2014-06-01

Full Text Available This paper introduced a stochastic discretized version of the modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey model with Michaelis-Menten type prey harvesting. The dynamical behavior of the proposed model was investigated. The existence and stability of the equilibria of the skeleton were studied. Numerical simulations were employed to show the model's complex dynamics by means of the largest Lyapunov exponents, bifurcations, time series diagrams and phase portraits. The effects of noise intensity on its dynamics and the intermittency phenomenon were also discussed via simulation.

Using accelerometry to quantify prey attack and handling behaviours in piscivorous pike Esox lucius

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Deurs, Mikael van; Andersson, A.; Vinterstare, J.

2017-01-01

Accelerometer technology was used to evaluate behaviours in the teleost ambush predator pike Esox lucius foraging on crucian carp Carassius carassius. Automated rule-based estimates of prey-size determined handling time were obtained and are compared with video-recorded behaviours. Solutions to t...... attachment and the limitations imposed by battery-time and data-logging capacities are evaluated......Accelerometer technology was used to evaluate behaviours in the teleost ambush predator pike Esox lucius foraging on crucian carp Carassius carassius. Automated rule-based estimates of prey-size determined handling time were obtained and are compared with video-recorded behaviours. Solutions to tag...

Complex bifurcation patterns in a discrete predator-prey model with periodic environmental modulation

Science.gov (United States)

Harikrishnan, K. P.

2018-02-01

We consider the simplest model in the family of discrete predator-prey system and introduce for the first time an environmental factor in the evolution of the system by periodically modulating the natural death rate of the predator. We show that with the introduction of environmental modulation, the bifurcation structure becomes much more complex with bubble structure and inverse period doubling bifurcation. The model also displays the peculiar phenomenon of coexistence of multiple limit cycles in the domain of attraction for a given parameter value that combine and finally gets transformed into a single strange attractor as the control parameter is increased. To identify the chaotic regime in the parameter plane of the model, we apply the recently proposed scheme based on the correlation dimension analysis. We show that the environmental modulation is more favourable for the stable coexistence of the predator and the prey as the regions of fixed point and limit cycle in the parameter plane increase at the expense of chaotic domain.

Qualitative analysis on a cubic predator-prey system with diffusion

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Qunyi Bie

2011-04-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we study a cubic predator-prey model with diffusion. We first establish the global stability of the trivial and nontrivial constant steady states for the reaction diffusion system, and then prove the existence and non-existence results concerning non-constant positive stationary solutions by using topological argument and the energy method, respectively.

Turing patterns induced by cross-diffusion in a predator-prey system in presence of habitat complexity

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Ghorai, Santu; Poria, Swarup

2016-01-01

In this paper, we have investigated the phenomena of Turing pattern formation in a predator-prey model with habitat complexity in presence of cross diffusion. Using the linear stability analysis, the conditions for the existence of stationary pattern and the existence of Hopf bifurcation are obtained. It is shown analytically that the presence of cross diffusion in the system supports the formation of Turing pattern. Two parameter bifurcation analysis are done analytically and corresponding bifurcation diagrams are presented numerically. A series of simulation results are plotted for different biologically meaningful parameter values. Effects of variation of habitat complexity and the predator mortality rate and birth rate of prey on pattern formation are also reported. It is shown that cross-diffusion can lead to a wide variety of spatial and spatiotemporal pattern formation. It is found that the model exhibits spot and stripe pattern, and coexistence of both spot and strip patterns under the zero flux boundary condition. It is observed that cross-diffusion, habitat complexity, birth rate of prey and predator’s mortality rate play a significant role in the pattern formation of a distributed population system of predator-prey type.

Dynamic complexity of a two-prey one-predator system with impulsive effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhang Yujuan; Xiu Zhilong; Chen Lansun

2005-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the dynamic complexity of a two-prey one-predator system with impulsive perturbation on predator at fixed moments. With the increase of the predation rate for the super competitor, the system displays complicated phenomena including a sequence of direct and inverse cascade of periodic-doubling, chaos, and symmetry breaking bifurcation. Moreover, we discuss the effect of the period of releasing predator on the dynamical behaviors of the unforced continuous system, and find that periodically releasing predator at fixed moments change the properties of the unforced continuous system. We suggest a highly effective method in pest control. The target pest population can be driven to extinction and the non-target pest (or harmless insect) can be permanent by choosing impulsive period, while classical method cannot emulate

Stress triangle: do introduced predators exert indirect costs on native predators and prey?

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jennifer R Anson

Full Text Available Non-consumptive effects of predators on each other and on prey populations often exceed the effects of direct predation. These effects can arise from fear responses elevating glucocorticoid (GC hormone levels (predator stress hypothesis or from increased vigilance that reduces foraging efficiency and body condition (predator sensitive foraging hypothesis; both responses can lead to immunosuppression and increased parasite loads. Non-consumptive effects of invasive predators have been little studied, even though their direct impacts on local species are usually greater than those of their native counterparts. To address this issue, we explored the non-consumptive effects of the invasive red fox Vulpes vulpes on two native species in eastern Australia: a reptilian predator, the lace monitor Varanus varius and a marsupial, the ringtail possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus. In particular, we tested predictions derived from the above two hypotheses by comparing the basal glucocorticoid levels, foraging behaviour, body condition and haemoparasite loads of both native species in areas with and without fox suppression. Lace monitors showed no GC response or differences in haemoparasite loads but were more likely to trade safety for higher food rewards, and had higher body condition, in areas of fox suppression than in areas where foxes remained abundant. In contrast, ringtails showed no physiological or behavioural differences between fox-suppressed and control areas. Predator sensitive foraging is a non-consumptive cost for lace monitors in the presence of the fox and most likely represents a response to competition. The ringtail's lack of response to the fox potentially represents complete naiveté or strong and rapid selection to the invasive predator. We suggest evolutionary responses are often overlooked in interactions between native and introduced species, but must be incorporated if we are to understand the suite of forces that shape community

Oscillations and chaos behind predator-prey invasion: mathematical artifact or ecological reality?

Science.gov (United States)

Sherratt, J. A.; Eagan, B. T.; Lewis, M. A.

1997-01-01

A constant dilemma in theoretical ecology is knowing whether model predictions corrspond to real phenomena or whether they are artifacts of the modelling framework. The frequent absence of detailed ecological data against which models can be tested gives this issue particular importance. We address this question in the specific case of invasion in a predator-prey system with oscillatory population kinetics, in which both species exhibit local random movement. Given only these two basic qualitative features, we consider whether we can deduce any properties of the behaviour following invasion. To do this we study four different types of mathematical model, which have no formal relationship, but which all reflect our two qualitative ingredients. The models are: reaction-diffusion equations, coupled map lattices, deterministic cellular automata, and integrodifference equations. We present results of numerical simulations of the invasion of prey by predators for each model, and show that although there are certain differences, the main qualitative features of the behaviour behind invasion are the same for all the models. Specifically, there are either irregular spatiotemporal oscillations behind the invasion, or regular spatiotemporal oscillations with the form of a periodic travelling 'wake', depending on parameter values. The observation of this behaviour in all types of model strongly suggests that it is a direct consequence of our basic qualitative assumptions, and as such is an ecological reality which will always occur behind invasion in actual oscillatory predator-prey systems.

An impulsive predator-prey system with modified Leslie-Gower and Holling type II schemes

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Guo Hongjian; Song Xinyu

2008-01-01

An impulsive predator-prey system with modified Leslie-Gower and Holling-type II schemes is presented. By using the Floquet theory of impulsive equation and small amplitude perturbation method, the globally asymptotical stability of prey-free positive periodic solution and the permanence of system are discussed. The corresponding threshold conditions are obtained respectively. Finally, numerical simulations are given

Chaotic behavior of a Watt-type predator-prey system with impulsive control strategy

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Wang, Xiaoqin; Wang Weiming; Lin Xiaolin

2008-01-01

In this paper, by using theories and methods of ecology and ODE, a predator-prey system with Watt-type functional response and impulsive perturbations on the predator is established. It proves that there exists a locally asymptotically stable prey-eradication periodic solution when the impulse period is less than some critical value, otherwise, the system can be permanent. Further, by using the method of computer simulation, the influences of the impulsive perturbations on the inherent oscillation are investigated, which shows the more complex dynamics of the system we considered, such as quasi-periodic oscillation, narrow periodic window, wide periodic window, chaotic bands, period doubling bifurcation, symmetry-breaking pitchfork bifurcation, period-halving bifurcation and crisis, etc. It will be useful for studying the dynamical complexity of ecosystems

The adaptation of generalist predators' diet in a multi-prey context: insights from new functional responses.

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Baudrot, Virgile; Perasso, Antoine; Fritsch, Clémentine; Giraudoux, Patrick; Raoul, Francis

2016-07-01

The ability for a generalist consumer to adapt its foraging strategy (the multi-species functional response, MSFR) is a milestone in ecology as it contributes to the structure of food webs. The trophic interaction between a generalist predator, as the red fox or the barn owl, and its prey community, mainly composed of small mammals, has been empirically and theoretically widely studied. However, the extent to which these predators adapt their diet according to both multi-annual changes in multiple prey species availability (frequency dependence) and the variation of the total prey density (density dependence) is unexplored.We provide a new general model of MSFR disentangling changes in prey preference according to variation of prey frequency (switching) and of total prey density (we propose the new concept of "rank switching"). We apply these models to two large data sets of red fox and barn owl foraging. We show that both frequency-dependent and density-dependent switching are critical properties of these two systems, suggesting that barn owl and red fox have an accurate image of the prey community in terms of frequency and absolute density. Moreover, we show that negative switching, which can lead to prey instability, is a strong property of the two systems. © 2016 by the Ecological Society of America.

Top predators, mesopredators and their prey: interference ecosystems along bioclimatic productivity gradients.

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Elmhagen, B; Ludwig, G; Rushton, S P; Helle, P; Lindén, H

2010-07-01

1. The Mesopredator Release Hypothesis (MRH) suggests that top predator suppression of mesopredators is a key ecosystem function with cascading impacts on herbivore prey, but it remains to be shown that this top-down cascade impacts the large-scale structure of ecosystems. 2. The Exploitation Ecosystems Hypothesis (EEH) predicts that regional ecosystem structures are determined by top-down exploitation and bottom-up productivity. In contrast to MRH, EEH assumes that interference among predators has a negligible impact on the structure of ecosystems with three trophic levels. 3. We use the recolonization of a top predator in a three-level boreal ecosystem as a natural experiment to test if large-scale biomass distributions and population trends support MRH. Inspired by EEH, we also test if top-down interference and bottom-up productivity impact regional ecosystem structures. 4. We use data from the Finnish Wildlife Triangle Scheme which has monitored top predator (lynx, Lynx lynx), mesopredator (red fox, Vulpes vulpes) and prey (mountain hare, Lepus timidus) abundance for 17 years in a 200 000 km(2) study area which covers a distinct productivity gradient. 5. Fox biomass was lower than expected from productivity where lynx biomass was high, whilst hare biomass was lower than expected from productivity where fox biomass was high. Hence, where interference controlled fox abundance, lynx had an indirect positive impact on hare abundance as predicted by MRH. The rates of change indicated that lynx expansion gradually suppressed fox biomass. 6. Lynx status caused shifts between ecosystem structures. In the 'interference ecosystem', lynx and hare biomass increased with productivity whilst fox biomass did not. In the 'mesopredator release ecosystem', fox biomass increased with productivity but hare biomass did not. Thus, biomass controlled top-down did not respond to changes in productivity. This fulfils a critical prediction of EEH. 7. We conclude that the cascade

The king of snakes: performance and morphology of intraguild predators (Lampropeltis) and their prey (Pantherophis).

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Penning, David A; Moon, Brad R

2017-03-15

Across ecosystems and trophic levels, predators are usually larger than their prey, and when trophic morphology converges, predators typically avoid predation on intraguild competitors unless the prey is notably smaller in size. However, a currently unexplained exception occurs in kingsnakes in the genus Lampropeltis Kingsnakes are able to capture, constrict and consume other snakes that are not only larger than themselves but that are also powerful constrictors (such as ratsnakes in the genus Pantherophis ). Their mechanisms of success as intraguild predators on other constrictors remain unknown. To begin addressing these mechanisms, we studied the scaling of muscle cross-sectional area, pulling force and constriction pressure across the ontogeny of six species of snakes ( Lampropeltis californiae , L. getula , L. holbrooki , Pantherophis alleghaniensis , P. guttatus and P. obsoletus ). Muscle cross-sectional area is an indicator of potential force production, pulling force is an indicator of escape performance, and constriction pressure is a measure of prey-handling performance. Muscle cross-sectional area scaled similarly for all snakes, and there was no significant difference in maximum pulling force among species. However, kingsnakes exerted significantly higher pressures on their prey than ratsnakes. The similar escape performance among species indicates that kingsnakes win in predatory encounters because of their superior constriction performance, not because ratsnakes have inferior escape performance. The superior constriction performance by kingsnakes results from their consistent and distinctive coil posture and perhaps from additional aspects of muscle structure and function that need to be tested in future research. © 2017. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd.

Moth tails divert bat attack: evolution of acoustic deflection.

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Barber, Jesse R; Leavell, Brian C; Keener, Adam L; Breinholt, Jesse W; Chadwell, Brad A; McClure, Christopher J W; Hill, Geena M; Kawahara, Akito Y

2015-03-03

Adaptations to divert the attacks of visually guided predators have evolved repeatedly in animals. Using high-speed infrared videography, we show that luna moths (Actias luna) generate an acoustic diversion with spinning hindwing tails to deflect echolocating bat attacks away from their body and toward these nonessential appendages. We pit luna moths against big brown bats (Eptesicus fuscus) and demonstrate a survival advantage of ∼ 47% for moths with tails versus those that had their tails removed. The benefit of hindwing tails is equivalent to the advantage conferred to moths by bat-detecting ears. Moth tails lured bat attacks to these wing regions during 55% of interactions between bats and intact luna moths. We analyzed flight kinematics of moths with and without hindwing tails and suggest that tails have a minimal role in flight performance. Using a robust phylogeny, we find that long spatulate tails have independently evolved four times in saturniid moths, further supporting the selective advantage of this anti-bat strategy. Diversionary tactics are perhaps more common than appreciated in predator-prey interactions. Our finding suggests that focusing on the sensory ecologies of key predators will reveal such countermeasures in prey.

Ambush frequency should increase over time during optimal predator search for prey

OpenAIRE

Alpern, Steve; Fokkink, Robbert; Timmer, Marco; Casas, Jérôme

2011-01-01

We advance and apply the mathematical theory of search games to model the problem faced by a predator searching for prey. Two search modes are available: ambush and cruising search. Some species can adopt either mode, with their choice at a given time traditionally explained in terms of varying habitat and physiological conditions. We present an additional explanation of the observed predator alternation between these search modes, which is based on the dynamical nature of the search game the...

From complex spatial dynamics to simple Markov chain models: do predators and prey leave footprints?

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Nachman, Gøsta Støger; Borregaard, Michael Krabbe

2010-01-01

to another, are then depicted in a state transition diagram, constituting the "footprints" of the underlying population dynamics. We investigate to what extent changes in the population processes modeled in the complex simulation (i.e. the predator's functional response and the dispersal rates of both......In this paper we present a concept for using presence-absence data to recover information on the population dynamics of predator-prey systems. We use a highly complex and spatially explicit simulation model of a predator-prey mite system to generate simple presence-absence data: the number...... of transition probabilities on state variables, and combine this information in a Markov chain transition matrix model. Finally, we use this extended model to predict the long-term dynamics of the system and to reveal its asymptotic steady state properties....

When attempts at robbing prey turn fatal

Science.gov (United States)

Dejean, Alain; Corbara, Bruno; Azémar, Frédéric; Carpenter, James M.

2012-07-01

Because group-hunting arboreal ants spread-eagle insect prey for a long time before retrieving them, these prey can be coveted by predatory flying insects. Yet, attempting to rob these prey is risky if the ant species is also an effective predator. Here, we show that trying to rob prey from Azteca andreae workers is a fatal error as 268 out of 276 potential cleptobionts (97.1 %) were captured in turn. The ant workers hunt in a group and use the "Velcro®" principle to cling firmly to the leaves of their host tree, permitting them to capture very large prey. Exceptions were one social wasp, plus some Trigona spp. workers and flies that landed directly on the prey and were able to take off immediately when attacked. We conclude that in this situation, previously captured prey attract potential cleptobionts that are captured in turn in most of the cases.

Bells, bomas and beefsteak: complex patterns of human-predator conflict at the wildlife-agropastoral interface in Zimbabwe

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Andrew J. Loveridge

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Reports of livestock depredation by large predators were systematically collected at three study sites in northwestern Zimbabwe from 2008–2013. We recorded 1,527 incidents (2,039 animals killed and 306 injured. Lions (Panthera leo and spotted hyaenas (Crocuta crocuta were mostly responsible, and cattle and donkeys most frequently attacked. Patterns of predation were variable among study sites. Nevertheless, some overall patterns were apparent. Predators selected livestock close to the size of their preferred wild prey, suggesting behaviours evolved to optimise foraging success may determine the domestic species primarily preyed upon. Most attacks occurred when livestock were roaming outside and away from their ‘home’ protective enclosures at night. Hyaena attacks were largely nocturnal; lions and leopards (Panthera pardus were more flexible, with attacks occurring by day and at night. Livestock fitted with bells suffered a disproportionate number of attacks; the sound of bells appears to have conditioned predators to associate the sound with foraging opportunities. Lion and hyaena attacks on cattle were more frequent in the wet season suggesting that seasonal herding practices may result in cattle vulnerability. Only a small proportion of conflict incidents were reported to wildlife management officials with a bias towards lion predation events, potentially prejudicing conflict management policies. Predation on domestic stock involves an intricate interplay between predator behaviour and ecology on the one hand and human behaviour and husbandry practices on the other. Our data suggest that improved livestock husbandry (supervision of grazing animals, protection at night in strong enclosures would greatly reduce livestock depredation.

Bells, bomas and beefsteak: complex patterns of human-predator conflict at the wildlife-agropastoral interface in Zimbabwe.

Science.gov (United States)

Loveridge, Andrew J; Kuiper, Timothy; Parry, Roger H; Sibanda, Lovemore; Hunt, Jane Hunt; Stapelkamp, Brent; Sebele, Lovelater; Macdonald, David W

2017-01-01

Reports of livestock depredation by large predators were systematically collected at three study sites in northwestern Zimbabwe from 2008-2013. We recorded 1,527 incidents (2,039 animals killed and 306 injured). Lions ( Panthera leo ) and spotted hyaenas ( Crocuta crocuta ) were mostly responsible, and cattle and donkeys most frequently attacked. Patterns of predation were variable among study sites. Nevertheless, some overall patterns were apparent. Predators selected livestock close to the size of their preferred wild prey, suggesting behaviours evolved to optimise foraging success may determine the domestic species primarily preyed upon. Most attacks occurred when livestock were roaming outside and away from their 'home' protective enclosures at night. Hyaena attacks were largely nocturnal; lions and leopards ( Panthera pardus ) were more flexible, with attacks occurring by day and at night. Livestock fitted with bells suffered a disproportionate number of attacks; the sound of bells appears to have conditioned predators to associate the sound with foraging opportunities. Lion and hyaena attacks on cattle were more frequent in the wet season suggesting that seasonal herding practices may result in cattle vulnerability. Only a small proportion of conflict incidents were reported to wildlife management officials with a bias towards lion predation events, potentially prejudicing conflict management policies. Predation on domestic stock involves an intricate interplay between predator behaviour and ecology on the one hand and human behaviour and husbandry practices on the other. Our data suggest that improved livestock husbandry (supervision of grazing animals, protection at night in strong enclosures) would greatly reduce livestock depredation.

Noise-induced extinction for a ratio-dependent predator-prey model with strong Allee effect in prey

Science.gov (United States)

Mandal, Partha Sarathi

2018-04-01

In this paper, we study a stochastically forced ratio-dependent predator-prey model with strong Allee effect in prey population. In the deterministic case, we show that the model exhibits the stable interior equilibrium point or limit cycle corresponding to the co-existence of both species. We investigate a probabilistic mechanism of the noise-induced extinction in a zone of stable interior equilibrium point. Computational methods based on the stochastic sensitivity function technique are applied for the analysis of the dispersion of random states near stable interior equilibrium point. This method allows to construct a confidence domain and estimate the threshold value of the noise intensity for a transition from the coexistence to the extinction.

Passeriformes: nest predators and prey in a Neotropical Savannah in Central Brazil

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Leonardo F. França

2009-12-01

Full Text Available The identification of predators of birds' nests, crucial to a better understanding of predator-prey interactions, remains poorly known. Here we provide evidence that birds, and especially passerines, may depredate birds' nests in the Cerrado (Neotropical Savannah of Central Brazil. Data was collected primarily in a Conservation Unit (Estação Ecológica de Águas Emendadas during the breeding season, between 2003 and 2007. We report and discuss details on 14 events of nest predation, 12 of which by passerines, mostly by curl-crested jays - Cyanocorax cristatellus (Temminck, 1823. The results of our study suggest that the role of birds as nest predators in the Cerrado has been underestimated and needs to be further investigated.

An unprecedented role reversal: ground beetle larvae (Coleoptera: Carabidae lure amphibians and prey upon them.

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Gil Wizen

Full Text Available Amphibians often feed on beetle larvae, including those of ground beetles (Carabidae. Preliminary reports have detailed an unusual trophic interaction in which, in contrast, larvae of the ground beetle Epomis prey upon juvenile and adult amphibians. While it is known that these larvae feed exclusively on amphibians, how the predator-prey encounter occurs to the advantage of the beetle larvae had been unknown to date. Using laboratory observations and controlled experiments, we recorded the feeding behavior of Epomis larvae, as well as the behavior of their amphibian prey. Here we reveal that larvae of two species of Epomis (E. circumscriptus and E. dejeani lure their potential predator, taking advantage of the amphibian's predation behavior. The Epomis larva combines a sit-and-wait strategy with unique movements of its antennae and mandibles to draw the attention of the amphibian to the presence of a potential prey. The intensity of this enticement increases with decreasing distance between the larva and the amphibian. When the amphibian attacks, the larva almost always manages to avoid the predator's protracted tongue, exploiting the opportunity to attach itself to the amphibian's body and initiate feeding. Our findings suggest that the trophic interaction between Epomis larvae and amphibians is one of the only natural cases of obligatory predator-prey role reversal. Moreover, this interaction involves a small insect larva that successfully lures and preys on a larger vertebrate. Such role reversal is exceptional in the animal world, extending our perspective of co-evolution in the arms race between predator and prey, and suggesting that counterattack defense behavior has evolved into predator-prey role reversal.

An individual-based evolving predator-prey ecosystem simulation using a fuzzy cognitive map as the behavior model

OpenAIRE

Gras , Robin; Devaurs , Didier; Wozniak , Adrianna; Aspinall , Adam

2009-01-01

International audience; This paper presents an individual-based predator-prey model with, for the first time, each agent behavior being modeled by a Fuzzy Cognitive Map (FCM), allowing the evolution of the agent behavior through the epochs of the simulation. The FCM enables the agent to evaluate its environment (e.g., distance to predator/prey, distance to potential breeding partner, distance to food, energy level), its internal state (e.g., fear, hunger, curiosity) with memory and choosing s...

Toxicity tests based on predator-prey and competitive interactions between freshwater macroinvertebrates

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Taylor, E.J.; Blockwell, S.J.; Pascoe, D. [Univ. of Wales Coll. of Cardiff (United Kingdom)

1994-12-31

Simple multi-species toxicity tests based on the predation of Daphnia magna Straus by Hydra oligactis (Pallas) and competition between Gammarus pulex (L.) and Asellus aquaticus (L.) were used to determine the effects of three reference chemicals. Criteria examined included functional responses; time to first captures; handling times (predator/prey systems) and co-existence and growth. The tests which proved most practicable and sensitive (lowest observed effects 0.1, 21, and 80 {micro}g/l for lindane, copper and 3,4 dichloroaniline, respectively) were: (1) predator-prey tests: determining changes in the size-structure of predated D. magna populations and (2) competition tests: measuring the feeding rate of G. pulex competing with A. aquaticus, using a bioassay based on the time-response analysis of the consumption of Artemia salina eggs. The concentration of a chemical which affected particular response criteria was fond to depend on the test system employed. Results of the tests indicated that effects were often not dose-related and that a given criterion could be variously affected by different test concentrations. The complex pattern of responses may be explained in terms of the differential sensitivity of the interacting species and perhaps subtle alteration in strategies. The sensitivity of the bioassay endpoints is compared to those of a range of single species tests, and their value for predicting the impact pollutants may have upon natural freshwater ecosystems is discussed.

Predation of Ladybird Beetles (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) by Amphibians.

Science.gov (United States)

Sloggett, John J

2012-07-18

Studies of predation of ladybird beetles (Coccinellidae) have focused on a limited number of predator taxa, such as birds and ants, while other potential predators have received limited attention. I here consider amphibians as predators of ladybirds. Published amphibian gut analyses show that ladybirds are quite often eaten by frogs and toads (Anura), with recorded frequencies reaching up to 15% of dietary items. Salamanders (Caudata) eat ladybirds less frequently, probably as their habits less often bring them into contact with the beetles. Amphibians do not appear to be deleteriously affected by the potentially toxic alkaloids that ladybirds possess. Amphibians, especially frogs and toads, use primarily prey movement as a release cue to attack their food; it is thus likely that their ability to discriminate against ladybirds and other chemically defended prey is limited. Because of this poor discriminatory power, amphibians have apparently evolved non-specific resistance to prey defensive chemicals, including ladybird alkaloids. Although amphibian-related ladybird mortality is limited, in certain habitats it could outweigh mortality from more frequently studied predators, notably birds. The gut analyses from the herpetological literature used in this study, suggest that in studying predation of insects, entomologists should consider specialized literature on other animal groups.

Sperm whale predator-prey interactions involve chasing and buzzing, but no acoustic stunning

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Fais, Andrea; Johnson, M.; Wilson, Maria

2016-01-01

The sperm whale carries a hypertrophied nose that generates powerful clicks for long-range echolocation. However, it remains a conundrum how this bizarrely shaped apex predator catches its prey. Several hypotheses have been advanced to propose both active and passive means to acquire prey......, including acoustic debilitation of prey with very powerful clicks. Here we test these hypotheses by using sound and movement recording tags in a fine-scale study of buzz sequences to relate the acoustic behaviour of sperm whales with changes in acceleration in their head region during prey capture attempts....... We show that in the terminal buzz phase, sperm whales reduce inter-click intervals and estimated source levels by 1-2 orders of magnitude. As a result, received levels at the prey are more than an order of magnitude below levels required for debilitation, precluding acoustic stunning to facilitate...

Sea urchins, their predators and prey in SW Portugal

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Nuno Mamede

2014-06-01

Full Text Available Sea urchins play a key role structuring benthic communities of rocky shores through an intense herbivory. The most abundant sea urchin species on shallow rocky subtidal habitats of the SW coast of Portugal is Paracentrotus lividus (Echinodermata: Echinoidea. It is considered a key species in various locations throughout its geographical distribution by affecting the structure of macroalgae communities and may cause the abrupt transformation of habitats dominated by foliose algae to habitats dominated by encrusting algae - the urchin barrens. The removal of P. lividus predators by recreational and commercial fishing is considered a major cause of this phenomenon by affecting the trophic relationships between predators, sea urchins and algae communities. Marine protected areas (MPAs usually lead to the recovery of important predator species that control sea urchin populations and restore habitats dominated by foliose macroalgae. Therefore, MPAs provide a good opportunity to test cascading effects and indirect impacts of fishing at the ecosystem level. The ecological role of P. lividus was studied on rocky subtidal habitats of the SW coast of Portugal (Alentejo considering three trophic levels: population of P. lividus, their predators (fish and shellfish and their prey (macroalgae communities. Several studies were conducted: (1 a non-destructive observational study on the abundance and distribution patterns of P. lividus, their predators and preys, comparing areas with different protection; (2 a manipulative in situ study with cages to assess the role of P. lividus as an herbivore and the influence of predation; (3 a descriptive study of P. lividus predators based on underwater filming; (4 and a study of human perception on these trophic relationships and other issues on sea urchin ecology and fishery, based on surveys made to fishermen and divers. Subtidal studies were performed with SCUBA diving at 3-12 m deep. Results indicate that in the

Stochastic population dynamics in spatially extended predator-prey systems

Science.gov (United States)

Dobramysl, Ulrich; Mobilia, Mauro; Pleimling, Michel; Täuber, Uwe C.

2018-02-01

Spatially extended population dynamics models that incorporate demographic noise serve as case studies for the crucial role of fluctuations and correlations in biological systems. Numerical and analytic tools from non-equilibrium statistical physics capture the stochastic kinetics of these complex interacting many-particle systems beyond rate equation approximations. Including spatial structure and stochastic noise in models for predator-prey competition invalidates the neutral Lotka-Volterra population cycles. Stochastic models yield long-lived erratic oscillations stemming from a resonant amplification mechanism. Spatially extended predator-prey systems display noise-stabilized activity fronts that generate persistent correlations. Fluctuation-induced renormalizations of the oscillation parameters can be analyzed perturbatively via a Doi-Peliti field theory mapping of the master equation; related tools allow detailed characterization of extinction pathways. The critical steady-state and non-equilibrium relaxation dynamics at the predator extinction threshold are governed by the directed percolation universality class. Spatial predation rate variability results in more localized clusters, enhancing both competing species’ population densities. Affixing variable interaction rates to individual particles and allowing for trait inheritance subject to mutations induces fast evolutionary dynamics for the rate distributions. Stochastic spatial variants of three-species competition with ‘rock-paper-scissors’ interactions metaphorically describe cyclic dominance. These models illustrate intimate connections between population dynamics and evolutionary game theory, underscore the role of fluctuations to drive populations toward extinction, and demonstrate how space can support species diversity. Two-dimensional cyclic three-species May-Leonard models are characterized by the emergence of spiraling patterns whose properties are elucidated by a mapping onto a complex

The “Destabilizing” Effect of Cannibalism in a Spatially Explicit Three-Species Age Structured Predator-Prey Model

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Aladeen Al Basheer

2017-01-01

Full Text Available Cannibalism, the act of killing and consumption of conspecifics, is generally considered to be a stabilising process in ODE models of predator-prey systems. On the other hand, Sun et al. were the first to show that cannibalism can cause Turing instability, in the classical Rosenzweig-McArthur two-species PDE model, which is an impossibility without cannibalism. Magnússon’s classic work is the first to show that cannibalism in a structured three-species predator-prey ODE model can actually be destabilising. In the current manuscript we consider the PDE form of the three-species model proposed in Magnússon’s classic work. We prove that, in the absence of cannibalism, Turing instability is an impossibility in this model, for any range of parameters. However, the inclusion of cannibalism can cause Turing instability. Thus, to the best of our knowledge, we report the first cannibalism induced Turing instability result, in spatially explicit three-species age structured predator-prey systems. We also show that, in the classical ODE model proposed by Magnússon, cannibalism can act as a life boat mechanism, for the prey.

The effects of prey patchiness, predator aggregation, and mutual interference on the functional response of Phytoseiulus persimilis feeding on Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Phytoseiidae, Tetranychidae).

Science.gov (United States)

Nachman, Gösta

2006-01-01

The spatial distributions of two-spotted spider mites Tetranychus urticae and their natural enemy, the phytoseiid predator Phytoseiulus persimilis, were studied on six full-grown cucumber plants. Both mite species were very patchily distributed and P. persimilis tended to aggregate on leaves with abundant prey. The effects of non-homogenous distributions and degree of spatial overlap between prey and predators on the per capita predation rate were studied by means of a stage-specific predation model that averages the predation rates over all the local populations inhabiting the individual leaves. The empirical predation rates were compared with predictions assuming random predator search and/or an even distribution of prey. The analysis clearly shows that the ability of the predators to search non-randomly increases their predation rate. On the other hand, the prey may gain if it adopts a more even distribution when its density is low and a more patchy distribution when density increases. Mutual interference between searching predators reduces the predation rate, but the effect is negligible. The stage-specific functional response model was compared with two simpler models without explicit stage structure. Both unstructured models yielded predictions that were quite similar to those of the stage-structured model.

Winter wolf predation in a multiple ungulate prey system, Gates of the Arctic National Park, Alaska

Science.gov (United States)

Dale, Bruce W.; Adams, Layne G.; Bowyer, R. Terry; Carbyn, Ludwig N.; Fritts, Steven H.; Seip, Dale R.

1995-01-01

We investigated patterns of winter wolf predation, including prey selection, prey switching, kill rates, carcass utilization, and consumption rates for four wolf packs during three different study periods (March 1989, March 1990, and November 1990) in Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve, Alaska. Wolves killed predominantly caribou (165 caribou, seven moose, and five Dall sheep) even when moose and sheep were more abundant. Prey selection varied between study periods. More moose were killed in march 1989, a particularly deep snow year, and more sheep were killed in November 1990 than during other periods. Overall kill rates ranged from 0-8 days/ungulate killed (x̅ = 2.0, SD = 1.6) and did not vary between study periods.  Pack size and species killed explained significant variation in the length of time intervals between kills. Although caribou density varied nearly 40-fold between pack territories, it had little influence on predation characteristics except at low densities, when kill rates may have declined. Caribou distribution had marked effects on wolf predation rate.

Preference alters consumptive effects of predators: top-down effects of a native crab on a system of native and introduced prey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Emily W Grason

Full Text Available Top-down effects of predators in systems depend on the rate at which predators consume prey, and on predator preferences among available prey. In invaded communities, these parameters might be difficult to predict because ecological relationships are typically evolutionarily novel. We examined feeding rates and preferences of a crab native to the Pacific Northwest, Cancer productus, among four prey items: two invasive species of oyster drill (the marine whelks Urosalpinx cinerea and Ocenebra inornata and two species of oyster (Crassostrea gigas and Ostrea lurida that are also consumed by U. cinerea and O. inornata. This system is also characterized by intraguild predation because crabs are predators of drills and compete with them for prey (oysters. When only the oysters were offered, crabs did not express a preference and consumed approximately 9 juvenile oysters crab(-1 day(-1. We then tested whether crabs preferred adult drills of either U. cinerea or O. inornata, or juvenile oysters (C. gigas. While crabs consumed drills and oysters at approximately the same rate when only one type of prey was offered, they expressed a strong preference for juvenile oysters over drills when they were allowed to choose among the three prey items. This preference for oysters might negate the positive indirect effects that crabs have on oysters by crabs consuming drills (trophic cascade because crabs have a large negative direct effect on oysters when crabs, oysters, and drills co-occur.

Selenium assimilation and loss by an insect predator and its relationship to Se subcellular partitioning in two prey types

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Dubois, Maitee [Institut national de la recherche scientifique - Eau, Terre et Environnement, Universite du Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec, G1K 9A9 (Canada); Hare, Landis [Institut national de la recherche scientifique - Eau, Terre et Environnement, Universite du Quebec, Quebec City, Quebec, G1K 9A9 (Canada)], E-mail: landis@ete.inrs.ca

2009-03-15

Subcellular selenium (Se) distributions in the oligochaete Tubifex tubifex and in the insect Chironomus riparius did not vary with Se exposure duration, which was consistent with the observations that the duration of prey Se exposure had little influence on either Se assimilation or loss by a predatory insect (the alderfly Sialis velata). However, these two prey types differed in how Se was distributed in their cells. Overall, the predator assimilated a mean of 66% of the Se present in its prey, which was similar to the mean percentage of Se in prey cells (62%) that was theoretically available for uptake (that is, Se in the protein and organelle fractions). Likewise, data for cadmium, nickel and thallium suggest that predictions of trace element transfer between prey and predator are facilitated by considering the subcellular partitioning of these contaminants in prey cells. - Selenium assimilation by a predatory aquatic insect depends on Se availability in the cells of its prey.

Selenium assimilation and loss by an insect predator and its relationship to Se subcellular partitioning in two prey types

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Dubois, Maitee; Hare, Landis

2009-01-01

Subcellular selenium (Se) distributions in the oligochaete Tubifex tubifex and in the insect Chironomus riparius did not vary with Se exposure duration, which was consistent with the observations that the duration of prey Se exposure had little influence on either Se assimilation or loss by a predatory insect (the alderfly Sialis velata). However, these two prey types differed in how Se was distributed in their cells. Overall, the predator assimilated a mean of 66% of the Se present in its prey, which was similar to the mean percentage of Se in prey cells (62%) that was theoretically available for uptake (that is, Se in the protein and organelle fractions). Likewise, data for cadmium, nickel and thallium suggest that predictions of trace element transfer between prey and predator are facilitated by considering the subcellular partitioning of these contaminants in prey cells. - Selenium assimilation by a predatory aquatic insect depends on Se availability in the cells of its prey

Predator confusion is sufficient to evolve swarming behaviour

OpenAIRE

Olson, Randal S.; Hintze, Arend; Dyer, Fred C.; Knoester, David B.; Adami, Christoph

2013-01-01

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 mo...

Hopf bifurcation in a partial dependent predator-prey system with delay

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Zhao Huitao; Lin Yiping

2009-01-01

In this paper, a partial dependent predator-prey model with time delay is studied by using the theory of functional differential equation and Hassard's method, the condition on which positive equilibrium exists and Hopf bifurcation occurs are given. Finally, numerical simulations are performed to support the analytical results, and the chaotic behaviors are observed.

Cost of living dictates what whales, dolphins and porpoises eat: the importance of prey quality on predator foraging strategies.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Jérôme Spitz

Full Text Available Understanding the mechanisms that drive prey selection is a major challenge in foraging ecology. Most studies of foraging strategies have focused on behavioural costs, and have generally failed to recognize that differences in the quality of prey may be as important to predators as the costs of acquisition. Here, we tested whether there is a relationship between the quality of diets (kJ · g(-1 consumed by cetaceans in the North Atlantic and their metabolic costs of living as estimated by indicators of muscle performance (mitochondrial density, n = 60, and lipid content, n = 37. We found that the cost of living of 11 cetacean species is tightly coupled with the quality of prey they consume. This relationship between diet quality and cost of living appears to be independent of phylogeny and body size, and runs counter to predictions that stem from the well-known scaling relationships between mass and metabolic rates. Our finding suggests that the quality of prey rather than the sheer quantity of food is a major determinant of foraging strategies employed by predators to meet their specific energy requirements. This predator-specific dependence on food quality appears to reflect the evolution of ecological strategies at a species level, and has implications for risk assessment associated with the consequences of changing the quality and quantities of prey available to top predators in marine ecosystems.

Predictive modelling of habitat use by marine predators with respect to the abundance and depth distribution of pelagic prey

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Charlotte; Castillo, Ramiro; Hunt, George L.; Punt, André E..; VanBlaricom, Glenn R.; Weimerskirch, Henri; Bertrand, Sophie

2015-01-01

Understanding the ecological processes that underpin species distribution patterns is a fundamental goal in spatial ecology. However, developing predictive models of habitat use is challenging for species that forage in marine environments, as both predators and prey are often highly mobile and difficult to monitor. Consequently, few studies have developed resource selection functions for marine predators based directly on the abundance and distribution of their prey.

Acidification and warming affect both a calcifying predator and prey, but not their interaction

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Landes, Anja; Zimmer, Martin

2012-01-01

Both ocean warming and acidification have been demonstrated to affect the growth, performance and reproductive success of calcifying invertebrates. However, relatively little is known regarding how such environmental change may affect interspecific interactions. We separately treated green crabs...... to environmental change. Acidification negatively affected the closer-muscle length of the crusher chela and correspondingly the claw-strength increment in C. maenas. The effects of warming and/or acidification on L. littorea were less consistent but indicated weaker shells in response to acidification...... Carcinus maenas and periwinkles Littorina littorea under conditions that mimicked either ambient conditions (control) or warming and acidification, both separately and in combination, for 5 mo. After 5 mo, the predators, prey and predator-prey interactions were screened for changes in response...

Simulation Analyses of Behaviours of Spatially Extended Predator-Prey Systems with Random Fluctuations

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ISHIKAWA, M.

2008-04-01

Full Text Available We often observe some kind or another of random fluctuations in physical, chemical and social phenomena to a greater or lesser extent. The analysis of influence of such fluctuations on phenomena is very important as a basic problem in various fields including design and planning of controlled systems in control engineering and analysis of option pricing in economics. In this paper, focusing on biological communities, we study the influence of the random fluctuations on predator-prey systems with diffusion. Noting that interaction of phytoplankton and zooplankton is the basis of a food chain in the lake and the ocean, we consider the two-species predator-prey systems consists of phytoplankton and zooplankton. We analyze the influence of the random fluctuations on the spatio-temporal patterns generated by phytoplankton and zooplankton by the numerical simulations.

Native prey distribution and migration mediates wolf (Canis lupus) predation on domestic livestock in the Greater Yellowstone Ecosystem

Science.gov (United States)

Nelson, Abigail A.; Kauffman, Matthew J.; Middleton, A.D.; Jimenez, M.D.; McWhirter, D. E.; Gerow, K.

2016-01-01

Little research has evaluated how the migration and distribution of native prey influence patterns of livestock depredation by large carnivores. Previous research suggests that the presence of native prey can increase depredation rates by attracting predators (prey tracking hypothesis). Alternatively, the absence of native prey may facilitate predation on livestock (prey scarcity hypothesis). In this study, we evaluated support for these competing hypotheses through analysis of 4 years of cattle (Bos taurus L., 1758) depredation data (n = 39 kills), 2 years of summer and fall wolf (Canis lupus L., 1758) predation and tracking data (n = 4 wolves), and 3 years of elk (Cervus elaphus L., 1758) movement data (n = 70 elk). We used logistic regression to compare the relative influence of landscape features and elk distribution on the risk of livestock depredation in areas with migratory and resident elk. Cattle depredations occurred in habitats with increased encounter rates between wolves and livestock. In resident elk areas, depredation sites were associated with elk distribution and open roads. In migratory elk areas, depredation sites were associated with wolf dens, streams, and open habitat. Patterns of carnivore–livestock conflicts are complex, and using ungulate distribution data can predict and minimize such instances.

Pattern Formation in Predator-Prey Model with Delay and Cross Diffusion

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xinze Lian

2013-01-01

Full Text Available We consider the effect of time delay and cross diffusion on the dynamics of a modified Leslie-Gower predator-prey model incorporating a prey refuge. Based on the stability analysis, we demonstrate that delayed feedback may generate Hopf and Turing instability under some conditions, resulting in spatial patterns. One of the most interesting findings is that the model exhibits complex pattern replication: the model dynamics exhibits a delay and diffusion controlled formation growth not only to spots, stripes, and holes, but also to spiral pattern self-replication. The results indicate that time delay and cross diffusion play important roles in pattern formation.

Linking extreme interannual changes in prey availability to foraging behaviour and breeding investment in a marine predator, the macaroni penguin.

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Cat Horswill

Full Text Available Understanding the mechanisms that link prey availability to predator behaviour and population change is central to projecting how a species may respond to future environmental pressures. We documented the behavioural responses and breeding investment of macaroni penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus across five breeding seasons where local prey density changed by five-fold; from very low to highly abundant. When prey availability was low, foraging trips were significantly longer and extended overnight. Birds also foraged farther from the colony, potentially in order to reach more distant foraging grounds and allow for increased search times. These extended foraging trips were also linked to a marked decrease in fledgling weights, most likely associated with reduced rates of provisioning. Furthermore, by comparing our results with previous work on this population, it appears that lowered first-year survival rates associated, at least partially, with fledging masses were also evident for this cohort. This study integrates a unique set of prey density, predator behaviour and predator breeding investment data to highlight a possible behavioural mechanism linking perturbations in prey availability to population demography.

Linking extreme interannual changes in prey availability to foraging behaviour and breeding investment in a marine predator, the macaroni penguin.

Science.gov (United States)

Horswill, Cat; Trathan, Philip N; Ratcliffe, Norman

2017-01-01

Understanding the mechanisms that link prey availability to predator behaviour and population change is central to projecting how a species may respond to future environmental pressures. We documented the behavioural responses and breeding investment of macaroni penguins Eudyptes chrysolophus across five breeding seasons where local prey density changed by five-fold; from very low to highly abundant. When prey availability was low, foraging trips were significantly longer and extended overnight. Birds also foraged farther from the colony, potentially in order to reach more distant foraging grounds and allow for increased search times. These extended foraging trips were also linked to a marked decrease in fledgling weights, most likely associated with reduced rates of provisioning. Furthermore, by comparing our results with previous work on this population, it appears that lowered first-year survival rates associated, at least partially, with fledging masses were also evident for this cohort. This study integrates a unique set of prey density, predator behaviour and predator breeding investment data to highlight a possible behavioural mechanism linking perturbations in prey availability to population demography.

The impact of rural-urban gradient and spatial distribution on predation rates on sentinel prey in a riparian forest in Hungary

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Eötvös, Csaba Béla; Magura, Tibor; Lövei, Gabor L.

2015-01-01

is the predation pressure in this kind of habitat? (2) What are the differences in predation between rural, suburban and urban habitats? (3) What inter-prey distances are necessary for different predator groups that the dummy caterpillars would be independent? We found 17.76% overall predation rate, decreasing...... from rural to urban habitats (33.5%, 18.29% and 3.91%, respectively). Most of the ground level arthropod predation was related to carabids. We applied variogram analysis to acquire optimal placement distances. According to our results, in case all of the predators (except mammals), 5-10 m distances......Measuring predation rates under field conditions is rife with ecological and logistical difficulties. The use of artificial sentinel prey offers a simple and cheap possibility to comparable predation activity in various habitats by various predator groups. This method can replace the classical...

Pollutants and fish predator/prey behavior: A review of laboratory and field approaches

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Judith S. WEIS, Allison CANDELMO

2012-02-01

Full Text Available Fish behavior can be altered by contaminants. There is an extensive literature on laboratory behavioral assays, with many chemicals impairing feeding or predator avoidance. However, there is not extensive work on fishes that live in contaminated environments. Therefore, we then review our recent research on feeding and trophic relations of populations from contaminated estuaries compared with relatively unpolluted sites. The mummichog Fundulus heteroclitus, is a non-migratory fish; those from more contaminated areas are poor predators and slower to capture active prey (grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio. In the field, they consume much detritus and sediment, which is not nutritious. They are less active than fish from cleaner sites and more vulnerable to predation. They have altered thyroid glands and neurotransmitter levels, which may underlie altered behaviors. Fish from the reference site kept in tanks with sediment and food from the polluted site showed bioaccumulation and reduced prey capture after two months, although fish from the polluted site did not show significant improvement when maintained in a clean environment. Poor nutrition and predator avoidance may be responsible for their being smaller and having a shorter life span than reference fish. Bluefish Pomatomus saltatrix, are a marine species in which the young-of-the-year spend their first summer in estuaries. We found bioaccumulation of contaminants and reduced activity, schooling, and feeding in young-of-the-year bluefish from a relatively unpolluted site that were fed prey fish from a contaminated site. They also had altered thyroid glands and neurotransmitter levels. Many field-caught specimens had empty stomachs, which is rare in this species. In the fall, when they migrate back out to the ocean, they are smaller, slower, and more likely to starve or to be eaten than those that spent their summer in cleaner estuaries [Current Zoology 58 (1: 9-20, 2012].

Existence and Uniqueness of Positive Periodic Solutions for a Delayed Predator-Prey Model with Dispersion and Impulses

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Zhenguo Luo

2014-01-01

Full Text Available An impulsive Lotka-Volterra type predator-prey model with prey dispersal in two-patch environments and time delays is investigated, where we assume the model of patches with a barrier only as far as the prey population is concerned, whereas the predator population has no barriers between patches. By applying the continuation theorem of coincidence degree theory and by means of a suitable Lyapunov functional, a set of easily verifiable sufficient conditions are obtained to guarantee the existence, uniqueness, and global stability of positive periodic solutions of the system. Some known results subject to the underlying systems without impulses are improved and generalized. As an application, we also give two examples to illustrate the feasibility of our main results.

Variation in the diet composition of a generalist predator, the red fox, in relation to season and density of main prey

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Dell'Arte, Graziella Lucia; Laaksonen, Toni; Norrdahl, Kai; Korpimäki, Erkki

2007-05-01

Diet composition of a generalist predator, the red fox ( Vulpes vulpes) in relation to season (winter or summer) and abundance of multi-annually cyclic voles was studied in western Finland from 1983 to 1995. The proportion of scats (PS; a total of 58 scats) including each food category was calculated for each prey group. Microtus voles (the field vole M. agrestis and the sibling vole M. rossiaemeridionalis) were the main prey group of foxes (PS = 0.55) and they frequently occurred in the scats both in the winter and summer (PSs 0.50 and 0.62, respectively). There was a positive correlation between the PSs of Microtus voles in the winter diet of foxes and the density indices of these voles in the previous autumn. Other microtine rodents (the bank vole Clethrionomys glareolus, the water vole Arvicola terrestris and the muskrat Ondatra zibethicus) were consumed more in winter than in summer. The unusually high small mustelid predation by red foxes (PS = approx. 0.10) in our study area gives qualitative support for the hypothesis on the limiting impact of mammalian predators on least weasel and stoat populations. None of the important prey groups was preyed upon more at low than at high densities of main prey ( Microtus voles). This is consistent with the notion that red foxes are generalist predators that tend to opportunistically subsist on many prey groups. Among these prey groups, particularly hares and birds (including grouse), were frequently used as food by foxes.

Early life-history predator-prey reversal in two cyprinid fishes

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Šmejkal, Marek; Baran, Roman; Blabolil, Petr; Vejřík, Lukáš; Prchalová, Marie; Bartoň, Daniel; Mrkvička, Tomáš; Kubečka, Jan

2017-01-01

Roč. 7, JUL (2017), č. článku 6924. ISSN 2045-2322 R&D Projects: GA MŠk(CZ) 7F14316; GA ČR GPP505/12/P647 Grant - others:AV ČR(CZ) StrategieAV21/9 Program:StrategieAV Institutional support: RVO:60077344 Keywords : predator-prey relationship * fish spawning * bleak * asp Subject RIV: EH - Ecology, Behaviour OBOR OECD: Ecology Impact factor: 4.259, year: 2016

Role of type IV pili in predation by Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus.

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Ryan M Chanyi

Full Text Available Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus, as an obligate predator of Gram-negative bacteria, requires contact with the surface of a prey cell in order to initiate the life cycle. After attachment, the predator penetrates the prey cell outer membrane and enters the periplasmic space. Attack phase cells of B. bacteriovorus have polar Type IV pili that are required for predation. In other bacteria, these pili have the ability to extend and retract via the PilT protein. B. bacteriovorus has two pilT genes, pilT1 and pilT2, that have been implicated in the invasion process. Markerless in-frame deletion mutants were constructed in a prey-independent mutant to assess the role of PilT1 and PilT2 in the life cycle. When predation was assessed using liquid cocultures, all mutants produced bdelloplasts of Escherichia coli. These results demonstrated that PilT1 and PilT2 are not required for invasion of prey cells. Predation of the mutants on biofilms of E. coli was also assessed. Wild type B. bacteriovorus 109JA and the pilT1 mutant decreased the mass of the biofilm to 35.4% and 27.9% respectively. The pilT1pilT2 mutant was able to prey on the biofilm, albeit less efficiently with 50.2% of the biofilm remaining. The pilT2 mutant was unable to disrupt the biofilm, leaving 92.5% of the original biofilm after predation. The lack of PilT2 function may impede the ability of B. bacteriovorus to move in the extracellular polymeric matrix and find a prey cell. The role of Type IV pili in the life cycle of B. bacteriovorus is thus for initial recognition of and attachment to a prey cell in liquid cocultures, and possibly for movement within the matrix of a biofilm.

Defensive responses by a social caterpillar are tailored to different predators and change with larval instar and group size

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McClure, Melanie; Despland, Emma

2011-05-01

Gregariousness in animals is widely accepted as a behavioral adaptation for protection from predation. However, predation risk and the effectiveness of a prey's defense can be a function of several other factors, including predator species and prey size or age. The objective of this study was to determine if the gregarious habit of Malacosoma disstria caterpillars is advantageous against invertebrate natural enemies, and whether it is through dilution or cooperative defenses. We also examined the effects of larval growth and group size on the rate and success of attacks. Caterpillars of M. disstria responded with predator-specific behaviors, which led to increased survival. Evasive behaviors were used against stinkbugs, while thrashing by fourth instar caterpillars and holding on to the silk mat by second instar caterpillars was most efficient against spider attacks. Collective head flicking and biting by groups of both second and fourth instar caterpillars were observed when attacked by parasitoids. Increased larval size decreased the average number of attacks by spiders but increased the number of attacks by both stinkbugs and parasitoids. However, increased body size decreased the success rate of attacks by all three natural enemies and increased handling time for both predators. Larger group sizes did not influence the number of attacks from predators but increased the number of attacks and the number of successful attacks from parasitoids. In all cases, individual risk was lower in larger groups. Caterpillars showed collective defenses against parasitoids but not against the walking predators. These results show that caterpillars use different tactics against different natural enemies. Overall, these tactics are both more diverse and more effective in fourth instar than in second instar caterpillars, confirming that growth reduces predation risk. We also show that grouping benefits caterpillars through dilution of risk, and, in the case of parasitoids, through

Foraging behaviour and prey size spectra of larval herring Clupea harengus

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Munk, Peter

1992-01-01

size groups of larval herring Clupea harengus L. were studied when preying on 6 size groups of copepods. Larval swimming and attack behaviour changed with prey size and were related to the ratio between prey length and larval length. The effective search rate showed a maximum when prey length was about......, that the available biomass of food as a proportion of the predator biomass will not increase. In order to assess the uniformity of relative prey size spectra of herring larvae and their background in larval foraging behaviour, a set of experimental and field investigations has been carried out. In the experiments, 4...... in the biomass spectra of the environment is important to larval growth and survival....

Deimatic Display in the European Swallowtail Butterfly as a Secondary Defence against Attacks from Great Tits

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Olofsson, Martin; Eriksson, Stephan; Jakobsson, Sven; Wiklund, Christer

2012-01-01

Background Many animals reduce the risk of being attacked by a predator through crypsis, masquerade or, alternatively, by advertising unprofitability by means of aposematic signalling. Behavioural attributes in prey employed after discovery, however, signify the importance of also having an effective secondary defence if a predator uncovers, or is immune to, the prey’s primary defence. In butterflies, as in most animals, secondary defence generally consists of escape flights. However, some butterfly species have evolved other means of secondary defence such as deimatic displays/startle displays. The European swallowtail, Papilio machaon, employs what appears to be a startle display by exposing its brightly coloured dorsal wing surface upon disturbance and, if the disturbance continues, by intermittently protracting and relaxing its wing muscles generating a jerky motion of the wings. This display appears directed towards predators but whether it is effective in intimidating predators so that they refrain from attacks has never been tested experimentally. Methodology/Principal Findings In this study we staged encounters between a passerine predator, the great tit, Parus major, and live and dead swallowtail butterflies in a two-choice experiment. Results showed that the dead butterfly was virtually always attacked before the live butterfly, and that it took four times longer before a bird attacked the live butterfly. When the live butterfly was approached by a bird this generally elicited the butterfly’s startle display, which usually caused the approaching bird to flee. We also performed a palatability test of the butterflies and results show that the great tits seemed to find them palatable. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that the swallowtail’s startle display of conspicuous coloration and jerky movements is an efficient secondary defence against small passerines. We also discuss under what conditions predator-prey systems are likely to aid the

Armoured spiderman: morphological and behavioural adaptations of a specialised araneophagous predator (Araneae: Palpimanidae)

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Pekár, Stano; Šobotník, Jan; Lubin, Yael

2011-07-01

In a predator-prey system where both intervenients come from the same taxon, one can expect a strong selection on behavioural and morphological traits involved in prey capture. For example, in specialised snake-eating snakes, the predator is unaffetced by the venom of the prey. We predicted that similar adaptations should have evolved in spider-eating (araneophagous) spiders. We investigated potential and actual prey of two Palpimanus spiders ( P. gibbulus, P. orientalis) to support the prediction that these are araneophagous predators. Specific behavioural adaptations were investigated using a high-speed camera during staged encounters with prey, while morphological adaptations were investigated using electron microscopy. Both Palpimanus species captured a wide assortment of spider species from various guilds but also a few insect species. Analysis of the potential prey suggested that Palpimanus is a retreat-invading predator that actively searches for spiders that hide in a retreat. Behavioural capture adaptations include a slow, stealthy approach to the prey followed by a very fast attack. Morphological capture adaptations include scopulae on forelegs used in grabbing prey body parts, stout forelegs to hold the prey firmly, and an extremely thick cuticle all over the body preventing injury from a counter bite of the prey. Palpimanus overwhelmed prey that was more than 200% larger than itself. In trials with another araneophagous spider, Cyrba algerina (Salticidae), Palpimanus captured C. algerina in more than 90% of cases independent of the size ratio between the spiders. Evidence indicates that both Palpimanus species possesses remarkable adaptations that increase its efficiency in capturing spider prey.

A phase transition induces chaos in a predator-prey ecosystem with a dynamic fitness landscape.

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Gilpin, William; Feldman, Marcus W

2017-07-01

In many ecosystems, natural selection can occur quickly enough to influence the population dynamics and thus future selection. This suggests the importance of extending classical population dynamics models to include such eco-evolutionary processes. Here, we describe a predator-prey model in which the prey population growth depends on a prey density-dependent fitness landscape. We show that this two-species ecosystem is capable of exhibiting chaos even in the absence of external environmental variation or noise, and that the onset of chaotic dynamics is the result of the fitness landscape reversibly alternating between epochs of stabilizing and disruptive selection. We draw an analogy between the fitness function and the free energy in statistical mechanics, allowing us to use the physical theory of first-order phase transitions to understand the onset of rapid cycling in the chaotic predator-prey dynamics. We use quantitative techniques to study the relevance of our model to observational studies of complex ecosystems, finding that the evolution-driven chaotic dynamics confer community stability at the "edge of chaos" while creating a wide distribution of opportunities for speciation during epochs of disruptive selection-a potential observable signature of chaotic eco-evolutionary dynamics in experimental studies.

A potential predator-prey interaction of an American badger and an Agassiz's desert tortoise with a review of badger predation on turtles

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Smith, Amanda L.; Puffer, Shellie R.; Lovich, Jeffrey E.; Tennant, Laura A.; Arundel, Terry; Vamstad, Michael S.; Brundige, Kathleen D.

2016-01-01

The federally threatened Agassiz’s desert tortoise (Gopherus agassizii) was listed under the U.S. Endangered Species Act in 1990, but thus far, recovery efforts have been unsuccessful (U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service [USFWS] 2015). Predation has been identified as a contributing factor to declining G. agassizii populations range-wide (e.g., Esque et al. 2010, Lovich et al. 2014). Understanding and managing for predator-prey dynamics is thus an important part of the recovery and conservation of this threatened species (USFWS 2011). Desert tortoises have a host of predators at all stages of their life cycle. Over 20 species of birds, mammals, and reptiles have been recorded as known or suspected predators (Woodbury and Hardy 1948, Luckenbach 1982, Ernst and Lovich 2009). American badgers (Taxidea taxus, family: Mustelidae) are confirmed excavators of desert tortoise nests (Turner and Berry 1984). They are also suspected predators of adult desert tortoises, a possibility which has been presented in some studies but without empirical verification (Luckenbach 1982, Turner and Berry 1984). Active mostly at night, badgers are solitary, secretive predators (Lindzey 1978, 1982; Armitage 2004) that are extremely difficult to observe in predatory encounters. Recently, strong circumstantial evidence presented by Emblidge et al. (2015) suggests that badgers do prey on adult Agassiz’s desert tortoises based on observations of more than two dozen dead tortoises in the Western Mojave Desert of California. In this note, we present another case of potential badger predation on a large adult desert tortoise in the Sonoran Desert of California. Collectively, these recent two cases potentially indicate that badger predation may be more common and widespread than previously thought. In addition, we review the worldwide literature of badger predation on turtles in general and summarize reported badger observations in Joshua Tree National Park, where our observation occurred, over a

Predictive modelling of habitat selection by marine predators with respect to the abundance and depth distribution of pelagic prey.

Science.gov (United States)

Boyd, Charlotte; Castillo, Ramiro; Hunt, George L; Punt, André E; VanBlaricom, Glenn R; Weimerskirch, Henri; Bertrand, Sophie

2015-11-01

Understanding the ecological processes that underpin species distribution patterns is a fundamental goal in spatial ecology. However, developing predictive models of habitat use is challenging for species that forage in marine environments, as both predators and prey are often highly mobile and difficult to monitor. Consequently, few studies have developed resource selection functions for marine predators based directly on the abundance and distribution of their prey. We analysed contemporaneous data on the diving locations of two seabird species, the shallow-diving Peruvian Booby (Sula variegata) and deeper diving Guanay Cormorant (Phalacrocorax bougainvilliorum), and the abundance and depth distribution of their main prey, Peruvian anchoveta (Engraulis ringens). Based on this unique data set, we developed resource selection functions to test the hypothesis that the probability of seabird diving behaviour at a given location is a function of the relative abundance of prey in the upper water column. For both species, we show that the probability of diving behaviour is mostly explained by the distribution of prey at shallow depths. While the probability of diving behaviour increases sharply with prey abundance at relatively low levels of abundance, support for including abundance in addition to the depth distribution of prey is weak, suggesting that prey abundance was not a major factor determining the location of diving behaviour during the study period. The study thus highlights the importance of the depth distribution of prey for two species of seabird with different diving capabilities. The results complement previous research that points towards the importance of oceanographic processes that enhance the accessibility of prey to seabirds. The implications are that locations where prey is predictably found at accessible depths may be more important for surface foragers, such as seabirds, than locations where prey is predictably abundant. Analysis of the relative

Supplying high-quality alternative prey in the litter increases control of an above-ground plant pest by a generalist predator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muñoz-Cárdenas, Karen; Ersin, Firdevs; Pijnakker, Juliette; Houten, van Yvonne; Hoogerbrugge, Hans; Leman, Ada; Pappas, Maria L.; Duarte, Marcus V.A.; Messelink, Gerben J.; Sabelis, Maurice W.; Janssen, Arne

2017-01-01

Supplying predators with alternative food can have short-term positive effects on prey densities through predator satiation (functional response) and long-term negative effects through increases of predator populations (numerical response). In biological control, alternative food sources for

Supplying high-quality alternative prey in the litter increases control of an above-ground plant pest by a generalist predator

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Muñoz-Cárdenas, K.; Ersin, F.; Pijnakker, J.; van Houten, Y.; Hoogerbrugge, H.; Leman, A.; Pappas, M.L.; Duarte, M.V.A.; Messelink, G.J.; Sabelis, M.W.; Janssen, A.

Supplying predators with alternative food can have short-term positive effects on prey densities through predator satiation (functional response) and long-term negative effects through increases of predator populations (numerical response). In biological control, alternative food sources for

Context-dependent crypsis: a prey's perspective of a color polymorphic predator

Science.gov (United States)

Rodríguez-Morales, D.; Rico-Gray, V.; García-Franco, J. G.; Ajuria-Ibarra, H.; Hernández-Salazar, L. T.; Robledo-Ospina, L. E.; Rao, D.

2018-06-01

Many animals use body coloration as a strategy to communicate with conspecifics, prey, and predators. Color is a trade-off for some species, since they should be visible to conspecifics but cryptic to predators and prey. Some flower-dwelling predators, such as crab spiders, are capable of choosing the color of flowers where they ambush flower visitors and pollinators. In order to avoid being captured, visitors evaluate flowers visually before landing. The crab spider Mecaphesa dubia is a polymorphic species (white/purple color morphs), which inhabits the flower heads of a dune plant, Palafoxia lindenii. Using full-spectrum photography of spiders and flowers, we evaluated how honeybees perceived the spiders at different distances. Using visual modeling, we obtained the chromatic and achromatic contrasts of the spiders on flower heads as perceived by honeybees. Purple morphs were found mainly on the receptacle area and white morphs were equally likely to be found in the flowers and receptacle. According to theoretical modeling, white morphs were visible to honeybees from a distance of 10 cm in receptacle area but appeared to be cryptic in the flower area. Purple morphs were cryptic on the receptacle and less so when they were on the flowers. Spiders on flower heads are predicted to be more easily detected by honeybees using chromatic contrast. Our study shows that the conspicuousness of flower dwelling spiders to honeybees depends on the color morph, the distance of observation, and the position of spider on the flower head.

Golden Eagle predation on experimental Sandhill and Whooping Cranes

Science.gov (United States)

Ellis, D.H.; Clegg, K.R.; Lewis, J.C.; Spaulding, E.

1999-01-01

There are very few published records of Golden Eagles preying upon cranes, especially in North America. During our experiments to lead cranes on migration behind motorized craft in the western United States, we experienced 15 attacks (four fatal) and believe many more attacks would have occurred (and more would have been fatal) without human intervention. We recognize eagle predation as an important risk to cranes especially during migration.

Personality matters: individual variation in reactions of naive bird predators to aposematic prey

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Exnerová, A.; Hotova Svadova, K.; Fucikova, E.; Drent, P.; Stys, P.

2010-01-01

Variation in reactions to aposematic prey is common among conspecific individuals of bird predators. It may result from different individual experience but it also exists among naive birds. This variation may possibly be explained by the effect of personality—a complex of correlated, heritable

Bifurcation and complex dynamics of a discrete-time predator-prey system

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S. M. Sohel Rana

2015-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper, we investigate the dynamics of a discrete-time predator-prey system of Holling-I type in the closed first quadrant R+2. The existence and local stability of positive fixed point of the discrete dynamical system is analyzed algebraically. It is shown that the system undergoes a flip bifurcation and a Neimark-Sacker bifurcation in the interior of R+2 by using bifurcation theory. It has been found that the dynamical behavior of the model is very sensitive to the parameter values and the initial conditions. Numerical simulation results not only show the consistence with the theoretical analysis but also display the new and interesting dynamic behaviors, including phase portraits, period-9, 10, 20-orbits, attracting invariant circle, cascade of period-doubling bifurcation from period-20 leading to chaos, quasi-periodic orbits, and sudden disappearance of the chaotic dynamics and attracting chaotic set. In particular, we observe that when the prey is in chaotic dynamic, the predator can tend to extinction or to a stable equilibrium. The Lyapunov exponents are numerically computed to characterize the complexity of the dynamical behaviors. The analysis and results in this paper are interesting in mathematics and biology.

Solving Ratio-Dependent Predator-Prey System with Constant Effort Harvesting Using Homotopy Perturbation Method

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Abdoul R. Ghotbi

2008-01-01

Full Text Available Due to wide range of interest in use of bioeconomic models to gain insight into the scientific management of renewable resources like fisheries and forestry, homotopy perturbation method is employed to approximate the solution of the ratio-dependent predator-prey system with constant effort prey harvesting. The results are compared with the results obtained by Adomian decomposition method. The results show that, in new model, there are less computations needed in comparison to Adomian decomposition method.

Complex dynamics of Holling type II Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system with impulsive perturbations on the predator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Liu Xianning; Chen Lansun

2003-01-01

This paper develops the Holling type II Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system, which may inherently oscillate, by introducing periodic constant impulsive immigration of predator. Condition for the system to be extinct is given and permanence condition is established via the method of comparison involving multiple Liapunov functions. Further influences of the impulsive perturbations on the inherent oscillation are studied numerically, which shows that with the increasing of the amount of the immigration, the system experiences process of quasi-periodic oscillating→cycles→periodic doubling cascade→chaos→periodic halfing cascade→cycles, which is characterized by (1) quasi-periodic oscillating, (2) period doubling, (3) period halfing, (4) non-unique dynamics, meaning that several attractors coexist

Research and Setting the Modified Algorithm "Predator-Prey" in the Problem of the Multi-Objective Optimization

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A. P. Karpenko

2016-01-01

Full Text Available We consider a class of algorithms for multi-objective optimization - Pareto-approximation algorithms, which suppose a preliminary building of finite-dimensional approximation of a Pareto set, thereby also a Pareto front of the problem. The article gives an overview of population and non-population algorithms of the Pareto-approximation, identifies their strengths and weaknesses, and presents a canonical algorithm "predator-prey", showing its shortcomings. We offer a number of modifications of the canonical algorithm "predator-prey" with the aim to overcome the drawbacks of this algorithm, present the results of a broad study of the efficiency of these modifications of the algorithm. The peculiarity of the study is the use of the quality indicators of the Pareto-approximation, which previous publications have not used. In addition, we present the results of the meta-optimization of the modified algorithm, i.e. determining the optimal values of some free parameters of the algorithm. The study of efficiency of the modified algorithm "predator-prey" has shown that the proposed modifications allow us to improve the following indicators of the basic algorithm: cardinality of a set of the archive solutions, uniformity of archive solutions, and computation time. By and large, the research results have shown that the modified and meta-optimized algorithm enables achieving exactly the same approximation as the basic algorithm, but with the number of preys being one order less. Computational costs are proportionally reduced.

Lévy flight and Brownian search patterns of a free-ranging predator reflect different prey field characteristics.

Science.gov (United States)

Sims, David W; Humphries, Nicolas E; Bradford, Russell W; Bruce, Barry D

2012-03-01

1. Search processes play an important role in physical, chemical and biological systems. In animal foraging, the search strategy predators should use to search optimally for prey is an enduring question. Some models demonstrate that when prey is sparsely distributed, an optimal search pattern is a specialised random walk known as a Lévy flight, whereas when prey is abundant, simple Brownian motion is sufficiently efficient. These predictions form part of what has been termed the Lévy flight foraging hypothesis (LFF) which states that as Lévy flights optimise random searches, movements approximated by optimal Lévy flights may have naturally evolved in organisms to enhance encounters with targets (e.g. prey) when knowledge of their locations is incomplete. 2. Whether free-ranging predators exhibit the movement patterns predicted in the LFF hypothesis in response to known prey types and distributions, however, has not been determined. We tested this using vertical and horizontal movement data from electronic tagging of an apex predator, the great white shark Carcharodon carcharias, across widely differing habitats reflecting different prey types. 3. Individual white sharks exhibited movement patterns that predicted well the prey types expected under the LFF hypothesis. Shark movements were best approximated by Brownian motion when hunting near abundant, predictable sources of prey (e.g. seal colonies, fish aggregations), whereas movements approximating truncated Lévy flights were present when searching for sparsely distributed or potentially difficult-to-detect prey in oceanic or shelf environments, respectively. 4. That movement patterns approximated by truncated Lévy flights and Brownian behaviour were present in the predicted prey fields indicates search strategies adopted by white sharks appear to be the most efficient ones for encountering prey in the habitats where such patterns are observed. This suggests that C. carcharias appears capable of exhibiting

Phenotypic plasticity in anti-intraguild predator strategies: mite larvae adjust their behaviours according to vulnerability and predation risk.

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Walzer, Andreas; Schausberger, Peter

2013-05-01

Interspecific threat-sensitivity allows prey to maximize the net benefit of antipredator strategies by adjusting the type and intensity of their response to the level of predation risk. This is well documented for classical prey-predator interactions but less so for intraguild predation (IGP). We examined threat-sensitivity in antipredator behaviour of larvae in a predatory mite guild sharing spider mites as prey. The guild consisted of the highly vulnerable intraguild (IG) prey and weak IG predator Phytoseiulus persimilis, the moderately vulnerable IG prey and moderate IG predator Neoseiulus californicus and the little vulnerable IG prey and strong IG predator Amblyseius andersoni. We videotaped the behaviour of the IG prey larvae of the three species in presence of either a low- or a high-risk IG predator female or predator absence and analysed time, distance, path shape and interaction parameters of predators and prey. The least vulnerable IG prey A. andersoni was insensitive to differing IGP risks but the moderately vulnerable IG prey N. californicus and the highly vulnerable IG prey P. persimilis responded in a threat-sensitive manner. Predator presence triggered threat-sensitive behavioural changes in one out of ten measured traits in N. californicus larvae but in four traits in P. persimilis larvae. Low-risk IG predator presence induced a typical escape response in P. persimilis larvae, whereas they reduced their activity in the high-risk IG predator presence. We argue that interspecific threat-sensitivity may promote co-existence of IG predators and IG prey and should be common in predator guilds with long co-evolutionary history.

Complex dynamic behavior in a food web consisting of two preys and a predator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gakkhar, Sunita; Singh, Brahampal

2005-01-01

This paper deals with the dynamic behavior of a realistic two preys and one predator system. The predator dynamics is governed by modified Leslie Gower model. The local and global stability analysis has been carried out. Conditions for stability of planar equilibrium points and positive equilibrium points have been obtained. Numerical simulations are carried out for biologically feasible choices of parameters to display the existence of non-chaotic and quasi-periodic solution of non-linear system

Time Delayed Stage-Structured Predator-Prey Model with Birth Pulse and Pest Control Tactics

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Mei Yan

2014-01-01

Full Text Available Normally, chemical pesticides kill not only pests but also their natural enemies. In order to better control the pests, two-time delayed stage-structured predator-prey models with birth pulse and pest control tactics are proposed and analyzed by using impulsive differential equations in present work. The stability threshold conditions for the mature prey-eradication periodic solutions of two models are derived, respectively. The effects of key parameters including killing efficiency rate, pulse period, the maximum birth effort per unit of time of natural enemy, and maturation time of prey on the threshold values are discussed in more detail. By comparing the two threshold values of mature prey-extinction, we provide the fact that the second control tactic is more effective than the first control method.

Dynamics of a intraguild predation model with generalist or specialist predator.

Science.gov (United States)

Kang, Yun; Wedekin, Lauren

2013-11-01

Intraguild predation (IGP) is a combination of competition and predation which is the most basic system in food webs that contains three species where two species that are involved in a predator/prey relationship are also competing for a shared resource or prey. We formulate two intraguild predation (IGP: resource, IG prey and IG predator) models: one has generalist predator while the other one has specialist predator. Both models have Holling-Type I functional response between resource-IG prey and resource-IG predator; Holling-Type III functional response between IG prey and IG predator. We provide sufficient conditions of the persistence and extinction of all possible scenarios for these two models, which give us a complete picture on their global dynamics. In addition, we show that both IGP models can have multiple interior equilibria under certain parameters range. These analytical results indicate that IGP model with generalist predator has "top down" regulation by comparing to IGP model with specialist predator. Our analysis and numerical simulations suggest that: (1) Both IGP models can have multiple attractors with complicated dynamical patterns; (2) Only IGP model with specialist predator can have both boundary attractor and interior attractor, i.e., whether the system has the extinction of one species or the coexistence of three species depending on initial conditions; (3) IGP model with generalist predator is prone to have coexistence of three species.

An extension of Freedman's results on a model of predator-prey dynamics as modified by the action of a parasite

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Tran Van Nhung

1993-11-01

In this paper we consider a model of predator-prey populations with parasitic infection in which each individual of prey or predator can be invaded by a parasite. This is a generalization of the model studied by H.I. Freedman. Our situation is described by system of four autonomous ordinary differential equations. Conditions for persistence of all populations are given. A discussion of the stability of the interior equilibrium is also given. (author). 6 refs

Prey detection and prey capture in copepod nauplii

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Bruno, Eleonora; Borg, Marc Andersen; Kiørboe, Thomas

2012-01-01

Copepod nauplii are either ambush feeders that feed on motile prey or they produce a feeding current that entrains prey cells. It is unclear how ambush and feeding-current feeding nauplii perceive and capture prey. Attack jumps in ambush feeding nauplii should not be feasible at low Reynolds...... (Temora longicornis). We demonstrate that the ambush feeders both detect motile prey remotely. Prey detection elicits an attack jump, but the jump is not directly towards the prey, such as has been described for adult copepods. Rather, the nauplius jumps past the prey and sets up an intermittent feeding...

Intraguild predation reduces redundancy of predator species in multiple predator assemblage.

Science.gov (United States)

Griffen, Blaine D; Byers, James E

2006-07-01

1. Interference between predator species frequently decreases predation rates, lowering the risk of predation for shared prey. However, such interference can also occur between conspecific predators. 2. Therefore, to understand the importance of predator biodiversity and the degree that predator species can be considered functionally interchangeable, we determined the degree of additivity and redundancy of predators in multiple- and single-species combinations. 3. We show that interference between two invasive species of predatory crabs, Carcinus maenas and Hemigrapsus sanguineus, reduced the risk of predation for shared amphipod prey, and had redundant per capita effects in most multiple- and single-species predator combinations. 4. However, when predator combinations with the potential for intraguild predation were examined, predator interference increased and predator redundancy decreased. 5. Our study indicates that trophic structure is important in determining how the effects of predator species combine and demonstrates the utility of determining the redundancy, as well as the additivity, of multiple predator species.

Animal-Borne Imaging Reveals Novel Insights into the Foraging Behaviors and Diel Activity of a Large-Bodied Apex Predator, the American Alligator (Alligator mississippiensis)

Science.gov (United States)

Nifong, James C.; Nifong, Rachel L.; Silliman, Brian R.; Lowers, Russell H.; Guillette, Louis J.; Ferguson, Jake M.; Welsh, Matthew; Abernathy, Kyler; Marshall, Greg

2014-01-01

Large-bodied, top- and apex predators (e.g., crocodilians, sharks, wolves, killer whales) can exert strong top-down effects within ecological communities through their interactions with prey. Due to inherent difficulties while studying the behavior of these often dangerous predatory species, relatively little is known regarding their feeding behaviors and activity patterns, information that is essential to understanding their role in regulating food web dynamics and ecological processes. Here we use animal-borne imaging systems (Crittercam) to study the foraging behavior and activity patterns of a cryptic, large-bodied predator, the American alligator (Alligator mississippiensis) in two estuaries of coastal Florida, USA. Using retrieved video data we examine the variation in foraging behaviors and activity patterns due to abiotic factors. We found the frequency of prey-attacks (mean = 0.49 prey attacks/hour) as well as the probability of prey-capture success (mean = 0.52 per attack) were significantly affected by time of day. Alligators attempted to capture prey most frequently during the night. Probability of prey-capture success per attack was highest during morning hours and sequentially lower during day, night, and sunset, respectively. Position in the water column also significantly affected prey-capture success, as individuals’ experienced two-fold greater success when attacking prey while submerged. These estimates are the first for wild adult American alligators and one of the few examples for any crocodilian species worldwide. More broadly, these results reveal that our understandings of crocodilian foraging behaviors are biased due to previous studies containing limited observations of cryptic and nocturnal foraging interactions. Our results can be used to inform greater understanding regarding the top-down effects of American alligators in estuarine food webs. Additionally, our results highlight the importance and power of using animal

Laboratory investigations of the effects of predator sex and size on prey selection by the Asian crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus.

Science.gov (United States)

Brousseau, D J.; Filipowicz, A; Baglivo, J A.

2001-07-30

Laboratory studies have shown that the nonindigenous Asian shore crab, Hemigrapsus sanguineus, readily consumes three species of commercial bivalves: blue mussels, Mytilus edulis, soft-shell clams, Mya arenaria, and oysters, Crassostrea virginica. Although crabs can eat bivalves of a wide size range, they preferred the smaller prey (Hemigrapsus that occur in the wild, their effectiveness as predators of juvenile bivalves and their large appetites suggest an important role for these predators in restructuring the prey communities in habitats into which they have been introduced.

Predator-prey interactions of nematode-trapping fungi and nematodes: both sides of the coin.

Science.gov (United States)

Vidal-Diez de Ulzurrun, Guillermo; Hsueh, Yen-Ping

2018-05-01

Nematode-trapping fungi develop complex trapping devices to capture and consume nematodes. The dynamics of these organisms is especially important given the pathogenicity of nematodes and, consequently, the potential application of nematode-trapping fungi as biocontrol agents. Furthermore, both the nematodes and nematode-trapping fungi can be easily grown in laboratories, making them a unique manipulatable predator-prey system to study their coevolution. Several different aspects of these fungi have been studied, such as their genetics and the different factors triggering trap formation. In this review, we use the nematode-trapping fungus Arthrobotrys oligospora (which forms adhesive nets) as a model to describe the trapping process. We divide this process into several stages; namely attraction, recognition, trap formation, adhesion, penetration, and digestion. We summarize the latest findings in the field and current knowledge on the interactions between nematodes and nematode-trapping fungi, representing both sides of the predator-prey interaction.

Ecological opportunity and predator-prey interactions: linking eco-evolutionary processes and diversification in adaptive radiations.

Science.gov (United States)

Pontarp, Mikael; Petchey, Owen L

2018-03-14

Much of life's diversity has arisen through ecological opportunity and adaptive radiations, but the mechanistic underpinning of such diversification is not fully understood. Competition and predation can affect adaptive radiations, but contrasting theoretical and empirical results show that they can both promote and interrupt diversification. A mechanistic understanding of the link between microevolutionary processes and macroevolutionary patterns is thus needed, especially in trophic communities. Here, we use a trait-based eco-evolutionary model to investigate the mechanisms linking competition, predation and adaptive radiations. By combining available micro-evolutionary theory and simulations of adaptive radiations we show that intraspecific competition is crucial for diversification as it induces disruptive selection, in particular in early phases of radiation. The diversification rate is however decreased in later phases owing to interspecific competition as niche availability, and population sizes are decreased. We provide new insight into how predation tends to have a negative effect on prey diversification through decreased population sizes, decreased disruptive selection and through the exclusion of prey from parts of niche space. The seemingly disparate effects of competition and predation on adaptive radiations, listed in the literature, may thus be acting and interacting in the same adaptive radiation at different relative strength as the radiation progresses. © 2018 The Authors.

Ocean acidification disrupts prey responses to predator cues but not net prey shell growth in Concholepas concholepas (loco).

Science.gov (United States)

Manríquez, Patricio H; Jara, María Elisa; Mardones, María Loreto; Navarro, Jorge M; Torres, Rodrigo; Lardies, Marcos A; Vargas, Cristian A; Duarte, Cristian; Widdicombe, Stephen; Salisbury, Joseph; Lagos, Nelson A

2013-01-01

Most research on Ocean Acidification (OA) has largely focused on the process of calcification and the physiological trade-offs employed by calcifying organisms to support the building of calcium carbonate structures. However, there is growing evidence that OA can also impact upon other key biological processes such as survival, growth and behaviour. On wave-swept rocky shores the ability of gastropods to self-right after dislodgement, and rapidly return to normal orientation, reduces the risk of predation. The impacts of OA on this self-righting behaviour and other important parameters such as growth, survival, shell dissolution and shell deposition in Concholepas concholepas (loco) were investigated under contrasting pCO2 levels. Although no impacts of OA on either growth or net shell calcification were found, the results did show that OA can significantly affect self-righting behaviour during the early ontogeny of this species with significantly faster righting times recorded for individuals of C. concholepas reared under increased average pCO2 concentrations (± SE) (716 ± 12 and 1036 ± 14 µatm CO2) compared to those reared at concentrations equivalent to those presently found in the surface ocean (388 ± 8 µatm CO2). When loco were also exposed to the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri, righting times were again increased by exposure to elevated CO2, although self-righting times were generally twice as fast as those observed in the absence of the crab. These results suggest that self-righting in the early ontogeny of C. concholepas will be positively affected by pCO2 levels expected by the end of the 21st century and beginning of the next one. However, as the rate of self-righting is an adaptive trait evolved to reduce lethal predatory attacks, our result also suggest that OA may disrupt prey responses to predators in nature.

Salticid predation as one potential driving force of ant mimicry in jumping spiders

Science.gov (United States)

Huang, Jin-Nan; Cheng, Ren-Chung; Li, Daiqin; Tso, I-Min

2011-01-01

Many spiders possess myrmecomorphy, and species of the jumping spider genus Myrmarachne exhibit nearly perfect ant mimicry. Most salticids are diurnal predators with unusually high visual acuity that prey on various arthropods, including conspecifics. In this study, we tested whether predation pressure from large jumping spiders is one possible driving force of perfect ant mimicry in jumping spiders. The results showed that small non-ant-mimicking jumping spiders were readily treated as prey by large ones (no matter whether heterospecific or conspecific) and suffered high attack and mortality rates. The size difference between small and large jumping spiders significantly affected the outcomes of predatory interactions between them: the smaller the juvenile jumping spiders, the higher the predation risk from large ones. The attack and mortality rates of ant-mimicking jumping spiders were significantly lower than those of non-ant-mimicking jumping spiders, indicating that a resemblance to ants could provide protection against salticid predation. However, results of multivariate behavioural analyses showed that the responses of large jumping spiders to ants and ant-mimicking salticids differed significantly. Results of this study indicate that predation pressure from large jumping spiders might be one selection force driving the evolution of nearly perfect myrmecomorphy in spiders and other arthropods. PMID:20961898

Experimental Investigation of 3-D flow fields around the mouth of the Dwarf Seahorse during attacks on planktonic prey

Science.gov (United States)

Gemmell, Brad; Buskey, Edward; Sheng, Jian

2009-11-01

Copepods are an important planktonic food source for fish species. High predation has led to the development of effective escape responses with short reaction times (less than 2 ms), maximum escape velocities of over 500 body lengths per second and shear sensitivity as low as 1.5s-1. Using high speed digital holography (2 kfps), we measure 3-D distributions of velocity generated by a dwarf seahorse (Hippocampus zosterae) during attacks on its copepod prey, Acartia tonsa. It is found that successful attacks often produce smaller or even no detectable hydrodynamic disturbances around the strike zone, when compared to unsuccessful attempts. In this paper, we will provide quantitative characterization of this ``low-flow'' zone. Further, to elucidate the role of a possible geometrical advantage of the seahorse's head in minimizing its bow wave, high-speed time resolved PIV measurements are conducted in a low-speed water tunnel. On-going analysis will provide insights and implications in understanding the dynamics of flows around the stagnation point at high Reynolds number flow. Sponsored by NSF.

Predator-prey interactions shape thermal patch use in a newt larvae-dragonfly nymph model

Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

Gvoždík, Lumír; Černická, Eva; Van Damme, R.

2013-01-01

Roč. 8, č. 6 (2013), e65079 E-ISSN 1932-6203 R&D Projects: GA ČR GAP506/10/2170 Institutional support: RVO:68081766 Keywords : predator-prey interaction * thermoregulatory behavior * patch choice Subject RIV: EG - Zoology Impact factor: 3.534, year: 2013

Existence, Multiplicity, and Stability of Positive Solutions of a Predator-Prey Model with Dinosaur Functional Response

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Xiaozhou Feng

2017-01-01

Full Text Available We investigate the property of positive solutions of a predator-prey model with Dinosaur functional response under Dirichlet boundary conditions. Firstly, using the comparison principle and fixed point index theory, the sufficient conditions and necessary conditions on coexistence of positive solutions of a predator-prey model with Dinosaur functional response are established. Secondly, by virtue of bifurcation theory, perturbation theory of eigenvalues, and the fixed point index theory, we establish the bifurcation of positive solutions of the model and obtain the stability and multiplicity of the positive solution under certain conditions. Furthermore, the local uniqueness result is studied when b and d are small enough. Finally, we investigate the multiplicity, uniqueness, and stability of positive solutions when k>0 is sufficiently large.

Evolution of predator dispersal in relation to spatio-temporal prey dynamics: how not to get stuck in the wrong place!

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Justin M J Travis

Full Text Available The eco-evolutionary dynamics of dispersal are recognised as key in determining the responses of populations to environmental changes. Here, by developing a novel modelling approach, we show that predators are likely to have evolved to emigrate more often and become more selective over their destination patch when their prey species exhibit spatio-temporally complex dynamics. We additionally demonstrate that the cost of dispersal can vary substantially across space and time. Perhaps as a consequence of current environmental change, many key prey species are currently exhibiting major shifts in their spatio-temporal dynamics. By exploring similar shifts in silico, we predict that predator populations will be most vulnerable when prey dynamics shift from stable to complex. The more sophisticated dispersal rules, and greater variance therein, that evolve under complex dynamics will enable persistence across a broader range of prey dynamics than the rules which evolve under relatively stable prey conditions.

Prey detection and prey capture in copepod nauplii.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Eleonora Bruno

Full Text Available Copepod nauplii are either ambush feeders that feed on motile prey or they produce a feeding current that entrains prey cells. It is unclear how ambush and feeding-current feeding nauplii perceive and capture prey. Attack jumps in ambush feeding nauplii should not be feasible at low Reynolds numbers due to the thick viscous boundary layer surrounding the attacking nauplius. We use high-speed video to describe the detection and capture of phytoplankton prey by the nauplii of two ambush feeding species (Acartia tonsa and Oithona davisae and by the nauplii of one feeding-current feeding species (Temora longicornis. We demonstrate that the ambush feeders both detect motile prey remotely. Prey detection elicits an attack jump, but the jump is not directly towards the prey, such as has been described for adult copepods. Rather, the nauplius jumps past the prey and sets up an intermittent feeding current that pulls in the prey from behind towards the mouth. The feeding-current feeding nauplius detects prey arriving in the feeding current but only when the prey is intercepted by the setae on the feeding appendages. This elicits an altered motion pattern of the feeding appendages that draws in the prey.

Direct look from a predator shortens the risk-assessment time by prey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sang-im Lee

Full Text Available Decision making process is an important component of information use by animals and has already been studied in natural situations. Decision making takes time, which is expressed as a cost in evolutionary explanations of decision making abilities of animals. However, the duration of information assessment and decision making process has not been measured in a natural situation. Here, we use responses of wild magpies (Pica pica to predictably approaching humans to demonstrate that, regardless of whether the bird perceived high (decided to fly away or low (resumed foraging threat level, the bird assessed the situation faster when approaching humans looked directly at it than when the humans were not directly looking at it. This indicates that prey is able to extract more information about the predator's intentions and to respond sooner when the predator is continuously ("intently" looking at the prey. The results generally illustrate how an increase of information available to an individual leads to a shorter assessment and decision making process, confirming one of central tenets of psychology of information use in a wild bird species in its natural habitat.

Stability and Hopf bifurcation analysis of a prey-predator system with two delays

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Li Kai; Wei Junjie

2009-01-01

In this paper, we have considered a prey-predator model with Beddington-DeAngelis functional response and selective harvesting of predator species. Two delays appear in this model to describe the time that juveniles take to mature. Its dynamics are studied in terms of local analysis and Hopf bifurcation analysis. By analyzing the associated characteristic equation, its linear stability is investigated and Hopf bifurcations are demonstrated. The stability and direction of the Hopf bifurcation are determined by applying the normal form method and the center manifold theory. Numerical simulation results are given to support the theoretical predictions.

Environmental conditions and prey-switching by a seabird predator impact juvenile salmon survival

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Brian K.; Santora, Jarrod A.; Henderson, Mark J.; Warzybok, Pete; Jahncke, Jaime; Bradley, Russell W.; Huff, David D.; Schroeder, Isaac D.; Nelson, Peter; Field, John C.; Ainley, David G.

2017-01-01

Due to spatio-temporal variability of lower trophic-level productivity along the California Current Ecosystem (CCE), predators must be capable of switching prey or foraging areas in response to changes in environmental conditions and available forage. The Gulf of the Farallones in central California represents a biodiversity hotspot and contains the largest common murre (Uria aalge) colonies along the CCE. During spring, one of the West Coast's most important Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations out-migrates into the Gulf of the Farallones. We quantify the effect of predation on juvenile Chinook salmon associated with ecosystem-level variability by integrating long-term time series of environmental conditions (upwelling, river discharge), forage species abundance within central CCE, and population size, at-sea distribution, and diet of the common murre. Our results demonstrate common murres typically forage in the vicinity of their offshore breeding sites, but in years in which their primary prey, pelagic young-of-year rockfish (Sebastesspp.), are less available they forage for adult northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax) nearshore. Incidentally, while foraging inshore, common murre consumption of out-migrating juvenile Chinook salmon, which are collocated with northern anchovy, increases and population survival of the salmon is significantly reduced. Results support earlier findings that show timing and strength of upwelling, and the resultant forage fish assemblage, is related to Chinook salmon recruitment variability in the CCE, but we extend those results by demonstrating the significance of top-down impacts associated with these bottom-up dynamics. Our results demonstrate the complexity of ecosystem interactions and impacts between higher trophic-level predators and their prey, complexities necessary to quantify in order to parameterize ecosystem models and evaluate likely outcomes of ecosystem management options.

Environmental conditions and prey-switching by a seabird predator impact juvenile salmon survival

Science.gov (United States)

Wells, Brian K.; Santora, Jarrod A.; Henderson, Mark J.; Warzybok, Pete; Jahncke, Jaime; Bradley, Russell W.; Huff, David D.; Schroeder, Isaac D.; Nelson, Peter; Field, John C.; Ainley, David G.

2017-10-01

Due to spatio-temporal variability of lower trophic-level productivity along the California Current Ecosystem (CCE), predators must be capable of switching prey or foraging areas in response to changes in environmental conditions and available forage. The Gulf of the Farallones in central California represents a biodiversity hotspot and contains the largest common murre (Uria aalge) colonies along the CCE. During spring, one of the West Coast's most important Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha) populations out-migrates into the Gulf of the Farallones. We quantify the effect of predation on juvenile Chinook salmon associated with ecosystem-level variability by integrating long-term time series of environmental conditions (upwelling, river discharge), forage species abundance within central CCE, and population size, at-sea distribution, and diet of the common murre. Our results demonstrate common murres typically forage in the vicinity of their offshore breeding sites, but in years in which their primary prey, pelagic young-of-year rockfish (Sebastes spp.), are less available they forage for adult northern anchovies (Engraulis mordax) nearshore. Incidentally, while foraging inshore, common murre consumption of out-migrating juvenile Chinook salmon, which are collocated with northern anchovy, increases and population survival of the salmon is significantly reduced. Results support earlier findings that show timing and strength of upwelling, and the resultant forage fish assemblage, is related to Chinook salmon recruitment variability in the CCE, but we extend those results by demonstrating the significance of top-down impacts associated with these bottom-up dynamics. Our results demonstrate the complexity of ecosystem interactions and impacts between higher trophic-level predators and their prey, complexities necessary to quantify in order to parameterize ecosystem models and evaluate likely outcomes of ecosystem management options.

Bifurcation approach to the predator-prey population models (Version of the computer book)

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Bazykin, A.D.; Zudin, S.L.

1993-09-01

Hierarchically organized family of predator-prey systems is studied. The classification is founded on two interacting principles: the biological and mathematical ones. The different combinations of biological factors included correspond to different bifurcations (up to codimension 3). As theoretical so computing methods are used for analysis, especially concerning non-local bifurcations. (author). 6 refs, figs

Study of pest-predator interaction in agricultural ecosystems by using neutron activation. Part of a coordinated programme on the use of isotopes in pest management with emphasis on rice insects

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Szalay-Marzso, L.

1984-04-01

Several methods were investigated for using the stable element somarium, as a tracer to study insect predator/parasite-prey interactions. The element was introduced into parasite-prey by injection, by incorporation into artificial diet and by allowing prey to feed on labelled host plants. It is readily taken up by plants when in solution. Levels of somarium were found that were non-toxic to prey and that could be detected, by neutron activation, in parasites and predators that attacked the prey. Using somarium labelled prey, the author demonstrated in field tests that carabid beetles forage more efficiently for prey that are distributed horizontally than ones distributed vertically

Encounter rates and swimming behavior of pause-travel and cruise larval fish predators in calm and turbulent laboratory environments

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

MacKenzie, Brian; Kiørboe, Thomas

1995-01-01

measure of prey encounter rate in unsatiated larvae) were significantly higher in turbulent than in calm water at low food abundances for two size groups of cod. The difference in cod attack position rate between calm and turbulent water was much less when prey was more abundant. Attack position rates...... of herring larvae were higher in turbulent water than in calm water, but the difference was not significant. Interspecific differences in swimming and pausing behavior were related to differences in prey search strategy used by the two species (cod: pause-travel; herring: cruise). We used a newly developed...... search model for pause-travel predators in calm and turbulent environments to compare encounter rates for predators using cruise and pause-travel search strategies. Encounter rates for cod and herring larvae, estimated with respective search models, were similar in calm and low turbulence water; at high...

a Predator-Prey Model Based on the Fully Parallel Cellular Automata

Science.gov (United States)

He, Mingfeng; Ruan, Hongbo; Yu, Changliang

We presented a predator-prey lattice model containing moveable wolves and sheep, which are characterized by Penna double bit strings. Sexual reproduction and child-care strategies are considered. To implement this model in an efficient way, we build a fully parallel Cellular Automata based on a new definition of the neighborhood. We show the roles played by the initial densities of the populations, the mutation rate and the linear size of the lattice in the evolution of this model.

Weak average persistence and extinction of a predator-prey system in a polluted environment with impulsive toxicant input

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Yang Xiaofeng; Jin Zhen; Xue Yakui

2007-01-01

In this paper, we have investigated a predator-prey system in a polluted environment with impulsive toxicant input at fixed moments. We have obtained two thresholds on the impulsive period by assuming the toxicant amount input is fixed to the environment at each pulse moment. If the impulsive period is greater than the big threshold, then both populations are weak average persistent. If the period lies between of the two thresholds, then the prey population will be weak average persistent while the predator population extinct. If the period is less than the small threshold, both populations tend to extinction. Finally, our theoretical results are confirmed by own numerical simulations

The dynamics of a food web consisting of two preys and a harvesting predator

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gakkhar, Sunita; Singh, Brahampal

2007-01-01

This paper investigates the dynamical behavior of an exploited system consisting of two preys and a predator which is being harvested. The existence of biological, economic and optimum equilibrium of the system is examined. The local and global stability analysis of the model has been carried out. The optimal harvesting policy for harvesting the predator species is studied. The bifurcation diagram is drawn for biologically feasible choice of parameters and the harvest parameter is chosen in the range for which optimum equilibrium also exist. It is observed that harvesting can control the chaos

The confusion effect when attacking simulated three-dimensional starling flocks.

Science.gov (United States)

Hogan, Benedict G; Hildenbrandt, Hanno; Scott-Samuel, Nicholas E; Cuthill, Innes C; Hemelrijk, Charlotte K

2017-01-01

The confusion effect describes the phenomenon of decreasing predator attack success with increasing prey group size. However, there is a paucity of research into the influence of this effect in coherent groups, such as flocks of European starlings ( Sturnus vulgaris ). Here, for the first time, we use a computer game style experiment to investigate the confusion effect in three dimensions. To date, computerized studies on the confusion effect have used two-dimensional simulations with simplistic prey movement and dynamics. Our experiment is the first investigation of the effects of flock size and density on the ability of a (human) predator to track and capture a target starling in a realistically simulated three-dimensional flock of starlings. In line with the predictions of the confusion effect, modelled starlings appear to be safer from predation in larger and denser flocks. This finding lends credence to previous suggestions that starling flocks have anti-predator benefits and, more generally, it suggests that active increases in density in animal groups in response to predation may increase the effectiveness of the confusion effect.

Does diet in lacertid lizards reflect prey availability? Evidence for selective predation in the Aeolian wall lizard, Podarcis raffonei (Mertens, 1952 (Reptilia, Lacertidae

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Pietro Lo Cascio

2011-06-01

Full Text Available In this paper the invertebrate fauna occurring on Scoglio Faraglione, a tiny Aeolian island (AeolianArchipelago, NE Sicily inhabited by a population of the critically endangered lacertid lizard Podarcis raffonei(Mertens, 1952, was censused at different seasons and the resulting data were then compared with dataobtained analysing prey composition and prey abundance in the diet of the lizards occurring on the same islet.The diet of Podarcis raffonei was mainly based on insects and other arthropods. The results indicate that dietcomposition is not directly influenced by prey availability and temporal prey abundance, and that there isstrong evidence indicating selective predation. Lizards prey upon a number of arthropod categories fewer thanthat recorded in field. Some invertebrate taxa (e.g. Diptera and Gastropoda are really less attractive for lizardsand are rarely preyed or not preyed at all despite their spatial and/or temporal abundance. This suggests thatPodarcis raffonei is able to operate a hierarchical choice within the range of prey items constituting its preyspectrum, probably through the ability to discriminate between prey chemicals or visually oriented predation.

Hypothalamic Circuits for Predation and Evasion.

Science.gov (United States)

Li, Yi; Zeng, Jiawei; Zhang, Juen; Yue, Chenyu; Zhong, Weixin; Liu, Zhixiang; Feng, Qiru; Luo, Minmin

2018-02-21

The interactions between predator and prey represent some of the most dramatic events in nature and constitute a matter of life and death for both sides. The hypothalamus has been implicated in driving predation and evasion; however, the exact hypothalamic neural circuits underlying these behaviors remain poorly defined. Here, we demonstrate that inhibitory and excitatory projections from the mouse lateral hypothalamus (LH) to the periaqueductal gray (PAG) in the midbrain drive, respectively, predation and evasion. LH GABA neurons were activated during predation. Optogenetically stimulating PAG-projecting LH GABA neurons drove strong predatory attack, and inhibiting these cells reversibly blocked predation. In contrast, LH glutamate neurons were activated during evasion. Stimulating PAG-projecting LH glutamate neurons drove evasion and inhibiting them impeded predictive evasion. Therefore, the seemingly opposite behaviors of predation and evasion are tightly regulated by two dissociable modular command systems within a single neural projection from the LH to the PAG. VIDEO ABSTRACT. Copyright © 2018 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

The Effects of Ocean Acidification on Predator-Prey Interactions between Mya arenaria and Callinectes sapidus

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Longmire, K.; Glaspie, C.; Seitz, R.

2016-02-01

The study examined the implications of ocean acidification for Mya arenaria and the predator-prey dynamics between M. arenaria and Callinectes sapidus. Clams were subjected to either ambient conditions or acidified conditions and grown over four weeks. Mortality, shell lengths, and biomass (ash-free dry weights) were recorded for clams destructively sampled each week. Clams were subjected to behavioral experiments to determine their response to an approaching physical disturbance. Crabs were exposed to acidified or ambient conditions for 48 hours, and placed in 48 hour mesocosm trials with clams. Shell lengths, mortality and biomass between the ambient and acidified clams were not significantly different between acidified and ambient treatments. Shell ash weights were lower for acidified clams, evidence of shell dissolution. In the behavioral experiment, ocean acidification reduced the ability of clams to respond to a predator stimulus. Lastly, in predator-prey mesocosm trials, in ambient conditions, crabs ate all or none of the available clams, whereas acidified crabs ate all available clams in many trials and ate at least one acidified clam per trial. The early effects of ocean acidification on M. arenaria will manifest in trophic interactions with other species, rather than impacting M. arenaria alone.

A snail-eating snake recognizes prey handedness.

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Danaisawadi, Patchara; Asami, Takahiro; Ota, Hidetoshi; Sutcharit, Chirasak; Panha, Somsak

2016-04-05

Specialized predator-prey interactions can be a driving force for their coevolution. Southeast Asian snail-eating snakes (Pareas) have more teeth on the right mandible and specialize in predation on the clockwise-coiled (dextral) majority in shelled snails by soft-body extraction. Snails have countered the snakes' dextral-predation by recurrent coil reversal, which generates diverse counterclockwise-coiled (sinistral) prey where Pareas snakes live. However, whether the snake predator in turn evolves any response to prey reversal is unknown. We show that Pareas carinatus living with abundant sinistrals avoids approaching or striking at a sinistral that is more difficult and costly to handle than a dextral. Whenever it strikes, however, the snake succeeds in predation by handling dextral and sinistral prey in reverse. In contrast, P. iwasakii with little access to sinistrals on small peripheral islands attempts and frequently misses capturing a given sinistral. Prey-handedness recognition should be advantageous for right-handed snail-eating snakes where frequently encountering sinistrals. Under dextral-predation by Pareas snakes, adaptive fixation of a prey population for a reversal gene instantaneously generates a sinistral species because interchiral mating is rarely possible. The novel warning, instead of sheltering, effect of sinistrality benefitting both predators and prey could further accelerate single-gene ecological speciation by left-right reversal.

Periodic solutions of delayed predator-prey model with the Beddington-DeAngelis functional response

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Huo Haifeng [Institute of Applied Mathematics, Lanzhou University of Technology, Lanzhou, Gansu 730050 (China)]. E-mail: hfhuo@lut.cn; Li Wantong [Department of Mathematics, Lanzhou University Lanzhou, Gansu 730000 (China)]. E-mail: wtli@lzu.edu.cn; Nieto, Juan J. [Departamento de Analisis Matematico, Facultad de Matematicas, Universidad de Santiago de Compostela 15782 (Spain)]. E-mail: amnieto@usc.es

2007-07-15

By using the continuation theorem based on Gaines and Mawhin's coincidence degree, sufficient and realistic conditions are obtained for the global existence of positive periodic solutions for a delayed predator-prey model with the Beddington-DeAngelis functional response. Our results are applicable to state dependent and distributed delays.

Earwigs ( Labidura riparia) mimic rotting-flesh odor to deceive vertebrate predators

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Byers, John A.

2015-08-01

Many insects repel predators with caustic chemicals, while insects mimicking odors of wastes/dead insects to fool predators have not been documented. We found that the shore earwig, Labidura riparia (Dermaptera: Labiduridae) when bitten by anole lizards, Anolis carolinenesus, spits a rotting-flesh odor that deceives these insectivores into rejecting prey. Once a lizard attacked and rejected an earwig, the lizard did not attack another earwig during several weeks despite consuming other prey, indicating associative learning after one trial. The fetid odor was found in the head-prothorax containing salivary glands of both male and female earwigs and was comprised of ˜100 ng dimethyl disulfide and ˜600 ng dimethyl trisulfide. Nymphs had odorous sulfides after prolonged attacks by harvester ants, Pogonomyrmex rugosus, who were only deterred by the earwig's forceps. Sulfides released by the earwig are similar to odors of carrion/feces, which may be innately repulsive to some vertebrate predators. The mean initial discharge percentage (IDP) of sulfides from a cohort of earwigs was 62 %; however, IDPs of individuals were highly variable (3-99 %; mean 57 %). The discharge refill time (DRT) to refill 50 % of the earwig's allomone reservoir was estimated at 13 h. A positive relationship in sulfide amounts with body weight was found only in females in 2009, suggesting metabolic cost tradeoffs were revealed when sulfide content was half that in 2010. This is the first report of insects releasing sulfur-containing compounds that may mimic carrion-fecal odors as a deceptive defense against vertebrate predators.

Prediction of fish biomass, harvest and prey--predator relations in reservoirs

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Jenkins, R.M.

1977-01-01

Regression analyses of the effect of total dissolved solids on fish standing crops in 166 reservoirs produced formulas with coefficients of determination of 0.63 to 0.81. These formulas provide indexes to average biotic conditions and help to identify stressed aquatic environments. Simple predictive formulas are also presented for clupeid crops in various reservoir types, as clupeids are the fishes most frequently impinged or entrained at southern power plants. A method of calculating the adequacy of the available prey crop in relation to the predator crop is advanced to further aid in identification of perturbed prey populations. Assessment of stress as reflected by changes in sport fishing success can also be approached by comparison of the predicted harvest potential with actual fish harvest data. Use of these predictive indexes is recommended until more elaborate models are developed to identify power plant effects

The Allometry of Prey Preferences

Science.gov (United States)

Kalinkat, Gregor; Rall, Björn Christian; Vucic-Pestic, Olivera; Brose, Ulrich

2011-01-01

The distribution of weak and strong non-linear feeding interactions (i.e., functional responses) across the links of complex food webs is critically important for their stability. While empirical advances have unravelled constraints on single-prey functional responses, their validity in the context of complex food webs where most predators have multiple prey remain uncertain. In this study, we present conceptual evidence for the invalidity of strictly density-dependent consumption as the null model in multi-prey experiments. Instead, we employ two-prey functional responses parameterised with allometric scaling relationships of the functional response parameters that were derived from a previous single-prey functional response study as novel null models. Our experiments included predators of different sizes from two taxonomical groups (wolf spiders and ground beetles) simultaneously preying on one small and one large prey species. We define compliance with the null model predictions (based on two independent single-prey functional responses) as passive preferences or passive switching, and deviations from the null model as active preferences or active switching. Our results indicate active and passive preferences for the larger prey by predators that are at least twice the size of the larger prey. Moreover, our approach revealed that active preferences increased significantly with the predator-prey body-mass ratio. Together with prior allometric scaling relationships of functional response parameters, this preference allometry may allow estimating the distribution of functional response parameters across the myriads of interactions in natural ecosystems. PMID:21998724

The allometry of prey preferences.

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Gregor Kalinkat

Full Text Available The distribution of weak and strong non-linear feeding interactions (i.e., functional responses across the links of complex food webs is critically important for their stability. While empirical advances have unravelled constraints on single-prey functional responses, their validity in the context of complex food webs where most predators have multiple prey remain uncertain. In this study, we present conceptual evidence for the invalidity of strictly density-dependent consumption as the null model in multi-prey experiments. Instead, we employ two-prey functional responses parameterised with allometric scaling relationships of the functional response parameters that were derived from a previous single-prey functional response study as novel null models. Our experiments included predators of different sizes from two taxonomical groups (wolf spiders and ground beetles simultaneously preying on one small and one large prey species. We define compliance with the null model predictions (based on two independent single-prey functional responses as passive preferences or passive switching, and deviations from the null model as active preferences or active switching. Our results indicate active and passive preferences for the larger prey by predators that are at least twice the size of the larger prey. Moreover, our approach revealed that active preferences increased significantly with the predator-prey body-mass ratio. Together with prior allometric scaling relationships of functional response parameters, this preference allometry may allow estimating the distribution of functional response parameters across the myriads of interactions in natural ecosystems.

The Effects of Dispersal and Predator Density on Prey Survival in an Insect-Red Clover Metacommunity.

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Stasek, David J; Radl, James N; Crist, Thomas O

2018-01-01

Trophic interactions are often studied within habitat patches, but among-patch dispersal of individuals may influence local patch dynamics. Metacommunity concepts incorporate the effects of dispersal on local and community dynamics. There are few experimental tests of metacommunity theory using insects compared to those conducted in microbial microcosms. Using connected experimental mesocosms, we varied the density of the leafhopper Agallia constricta Van Duzee (Homoptera: Cicadellidae) and a generalist insect predator, the damsel bug (Nabis spp., Heteroptera: Nabidae), to determine the effects of conspecific and predator density and varying the time available to dispersal among mesocosms on predation rates, dispersal rates, and leafhopper survival. Conspecific and damsel bug density did not affect dispersal rates in leafhoppers, but this may be due to leafhoppers' aversion to leaving the host plants or the connecting tubes between mesocosms hindering leafhopper movement. Leafhopper dispersal was higher in high-dispersal treatments. Survival rates of A. constricta were also lowest in treatments where dispersal was not limited. This is one of the first experimental studies to vary predator density and the time available to dispersal. Our results indicate that dispersal is the key to understanding short-term processes such as prey survival in predator-prey metacommunities. Further work is needed to determine how dispersal rates influence persistence of communities in multigenerational studies. © The Author(s) 2017. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America.

New parasitoid-predator associations: female parasitoids do not avoid competition with generalist predators when sharing invasive prey

Science.gov (United States)

Chailleux, Anaïs; Wajnberg, Eric; Zhou, Yuxiang; Amiens-Desneux, Edwige; Desneux, Nicolas

2014-12-01

Optimal habitat selection is essential for species survival in ecosystems, and interspecific competition is a key ecological mechanism for many observed species association patterns. Specialized animal species are commonly affected by resource and interference competition with generalist and/or omnivorous competitors, so avoidance behavior could be expected. We hypothesize that specialist species may exploit broad range cues from such potential resource competitors (i.e., cues possibly common to various generalist and/or omnivorous predators) to avoid costly competition regarding food or reproduction, even in new species associations. We tested this hypothesis by studying short-term interactions between a native larval parasitoid and a native generalist omnivorous predator recently sharing the same invasive host/prey, the leaf miner Tuta absoluta. We observed a strong negative effect of kleptoparasitism (food resource stealing) instead of classical intraguild predation on immature parasitoids. There was no evidence that parasitoid females avoided the omnivorous predator when searching for oviposition sites, although we studied both long- and short-range known detection mechanisms. Therefore, we conclude that broad range cue avoidance may not exist in our biological system, probably because it would lead to too much oviposition site avoidance which would not be an efficient and, thus, beneficial strategy. If confirmed in other parasitoids or specialist predators, our findings may have implications for population dynamics, especially in the current context of increasing invasive species and the resulting creation of many new species associations.

Aspects of the winter predator--prey relationship between sauger and threadfin shad in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

McGee, M.V.; Griffith, J.S.; McLean, R.B.

1978-01-01

This study sought to determine the impact of cold-induced mortality and impingement of threadfin shad (Dorsoma petenense) on the food consumption and prey selection of sauger (Stizostedion canadense), and to estimate the ability of sauger to digest meals consumed at low temperatures in winter. Prey selection of sauger was monitored from November 1976 through April 1977. Stomach contents of 536 sauger indicated threadfin provided the entire forage base for sauger through January. Food consumption of sauger was reduced and prey selection shifted to other species after January due to the combined effects of predation, impingement, and natural mortality of cold-stressed threadfin. Threadfin shad of a size available to most sauger were virtually eliminated by February. From February through April some sauger utilized alternate prey species. Laboratory digestion rate studies of sauger indicated digestion of force-fed meals of 4 to 7 g fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) could proceed to 90 percent completion in 54 h at 5 C, 47 hr at 10 C, and 25 hr at 15 C. Conclusions of this study are: (1) that threadfin shad were the most abundant and vulnerable prey species available to and utilized by sauger during the late fall and winter months; (2) extensive mortalities of threadfin due to cold-stress increased sauger predation on four alternate prey species; (3) sauger continued feeding and digesting meals at temperatures between 5 and 15 C every 1 to 3 days; (4) sauger stored excess energy available from threadfin early in the winter as visceral fat which was available later when food consumption was reduced

Aspects of the winter predator--prey relationship between sauger and threadfin shad in Watts Bar Reservoir, Tennessee

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

McGee, M.V.; Griffith, J.S.; McLean, R.B.

1978-04-01

This study sought to determine the impact of cold-induced mortality and impingement of threadfin shad (Dorsoma petenense) on the food consumption and prey selection of sauger (Stizostedion canadense), and to estimate the ability of sauger to digest meals consumed at low temperatures in winter. Prey selection of sauger was monitored from November 1976 through April 1977. Stomach contents of 536 sauger indicated threadfin provided the entire forage base for sauger through January. Food consumption of sauger was reduced and prey selection shifted to other species after January due to the combined effects of predation, impingement, and natural mortality of cold-stressed threadfin. Threadfin shad of a size available to most sauger were virtually eliminated by February. From February through April some sauger utilized alternate prey species. Laboratory digestion rate studies of sauger indicated digestion of force-fed meals of 4 to 7 g fathead minnows (Pimephales promelas) could proceed to 90 percent completion in 54 h at 5 C, 47 hr at 10 C, and 25 hr at 15 C. Conclusions of this study are: (1) that threadfin shad were the most abundant and vulnerable prey species available to and utilized by sauger during the late fall and winter months; (2) extensive mortalities of threadfin due to cold-stress increased sauger predation on four alternate prey species; (3) sauger continued feeding and digesting meals at temperatures between 5 and 15 C every 1 to 3 days; (4) sauger stored excess energy available from threadfin early in the winter as visceral fat which was available later when food consumption was reduced.

Marginal eyespots on butterfly wings deflect bird attacks under low light intensities with UV wavelengths.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Martin Olofsson

2010-05-01

Full Text Available Predators preferentially attack vital body parts to avoid prey escape. Consequently, prey adaptations that make predators attack less crucial body parts are expected to evolve. Marginal eyespots on butterfly wings have long been thought to have this deflective, but hitherto undemonstrated function.Here we report that a butterfly, Lopinga achine, with broad-spectrum reflective white scales in its marginal eyespot pupils deceives a generalist avian predator, the blue tit, to attack the marginal eyespots, but only under particular conditions-in our experiments, low light intensities with a prominent UV component. Under high light intensity conditions with a similar UV component, and at low light intensities without UV, blue tits directed attacks towards the butterfly head.In nature, birds typically forage intensively at early dawn, when the light environment shifts to shorter wavelengths, and the contrast between the eyespot pupils and the background increases. Among butterflies, deflecting attacks is likely to be particularly important at dawn when low ambient temperatures make escape by flight impossible, and when insectivorous birds typically initiate another day's search for food. Our finding that the deflective function of eyespots is highly dependent on the ambient light environment helps explain why previous attempts have provided little support for the deflective role of marginal eyespots, and we hypothesize that the mechanism that we have discovered in our experiments in a laboratory setting may function also in nature when birds forage on resting butterflies under low light intensities.

Marginal eyespots on butterfly wings deflect bird attacks under low light intensities with UV wavelengths.

Science.gov (United States)

Olofsson, Martin; Vallin, Adrian; Jakobsson, Sven; Wiklund, Christer

2010-05-24

Predators preferentially attack vital body parts to avoid prey escape. Consequently, prey adaptations that make predators attack less crucial body parts are expected to evolve. Marginal eyespots on butterfly wings have long been thought to have this deflective, but hitherto undemonstrated function. Here we report that a butterfly, Lopinga achine, with broad-spectrum reflective white scales in its marginal eyespot pupils deceives a generalist avian predator, the blue tit, to attack the marginal eyespots, but only under particular conditions-in our experiments, low light intensities with a prominent UV component. Under high light intensity conditions with a similar UV component, and at low light intensities without UV, blue tits directed attacks towards the butterfly head. In nature, birds typically forage intensively at early dawn, when the light environment shifts to shorter wavelengths, and the contrast between the eyespot pupils and the background increases. Among butterflies, deflecting attacks is likely to be particularly important at dawn when low ambient temperatures make escape by flight impossible, and when insectivorous birds typically initiate another day's search for food. Our finding that the deflective function of eyespots is highly dependent on the ambient light environment helps explain why previous attempts have provided little support for the deflective role of marginal eyespots, and we hypothesize that the mechanism that we have discovered in our experiments in a laboratory setting may function also in nature when birds forage on resting butterflies under low light intensities.

Competing conservation objectives for predators and prey: estimating killer whale prey requirements for Chinook salmon.

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Rob Williams

Full Text Available Ecosystem-based management (EBM of marine resources attempts to conserve interacting species. In contrast to single-species fisheries management, EBM aims to identify and resolve conflicting objectives for different species. Such a conflict may be emerging in the northeastern Pacific for southern resident killer whales (Orcinus orca and their primary prey, Chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tshawytscha. Both species have at-risk conservation status and transboundary (Canada-US ranges. We modeled individual killer whale prey requirements from feeding and growth records of captive killer whales and morphometric data from historic live-capture fishery and whaling records worldwide. The models, combined with caloric value of salmon, and demographic and diet data for wild killer whales, allow us to predict salmon quantities needed to maintain and recover this killer whale population, which numbered 87 individuals in 2009. Our analyses provide new information on cost of lactation and new parameter estimates for other killer whale populations globally. Prey requirements of southern resident killer whales are difficult to reconcile with fisheries and conservation objectives for Chinook salmon, because the number of fish required is large relative to annual returns and fishery catches. For instance, a U.S. recovery goal (2.3% annual population growth of killer whales over 28 years implies a 75% increase in energetic requirements. Reducing salmon fisheries may serve as a temporary mitigation measure to allow time for management actions to improve salmon productivity to take effect. As ecosystem-based fishery management becomes more prevalent, trade-offs between conservation objectives for predators and prey will become increasingly necessary. Our approach offers scenarios to compare relative influence of various sources of uncertainty on the resulting consumption estimates to prioritise future research efforts, and a general approach for assessing the extent of

Fine-scale tracking and diet information of a marine predator reveals the origin and contrasting spatial distribution of prey

Science.gov (United States)

Alonso, Hany; Granadeiro, José P.; Dias, Maria P.; Catry, Teresa; Catry, Paulo

2018-03-01

The distribution of many marine organisms is still poorly understood, particularly in oceanic regions. Seabirds, as aerial predators which cover extensive areas across the oceans, can potentially be used to enhance our knowledge on the distribution and abundance of their prey. In this study, we combined tracking data and dietary data from individual Cory's shearwaters Calonectris borealis (n = 68) breeding in Selvagens archipelago, Madeira, Portugal, during the chick-rearing periods of 2011 and 2016, in order to infer prey origin within shearwaters' main foraging areas. The digestion state of each prey item in the diet was assessed and classified; and compared to digestion states from known prey items fed to captive birds. In a novel approach, we combined tracking data with information on the prey digestion duration and data on the transit times from foraging grounds to the colony to estimate the location of prey capture. We found a consistent heterogeneity in prey distribution across four different marine domains: Selvagens, deep-sea, seamounts, and continental shelf. In oceanic areas, the chub mackerel Scomber colias, the main prey of Cory's shearwaters, was strongly associated with seamounts and insular shelves, whereas oceanic species like pilot-fish, flying-squid, flying-fish were clearly associated with deep-sea waters. Sardines Sardina pilchardus, anchovies Engraulis encrasicolus and other coastal species were associated with the African shelf. Prey origin assignment was robust across three different sets of assumptions, and was also supported by information on the digestion state of prey collected over a large independent sampling period (671 samples, collected in 2008-2010). The integration of fine-scale dietary and foraging trip data from marine predators provides a new framework to gain insights into the distribution and abundance of prey species in poorly known oceanic areas.

Eyespots deflect predator attack increasing fitness and promoting the evolution of phenotypic plasticity

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Prudic, Kathleen L.; Stoehr, Andrew M.; Wasik, Bethany R.; Monteiro, Antónia

2015-01-01

Some eyespots are thought to deflect attack away from the vulnerable body, yet there is limited empirical evidence for this function and its adaptive advantage. Here, we demonstrate the conspicuous ventral hindwing eyespots found on Bicyclus anynana butterflies protect against invertebrate predators, specifically praying mantids. Wet season (WS) butterflies with larger, brighter eyespots were easier for mantids to detect, but more difficult to capture compared to dry season (DS) butterflies with small, dull eyespots. Mantids attacked the wing eyespots of WS butterflies more frequently resulting in greater butterfly survival and reproductive success. With a reciprocal eyespot transplant, we demonstrated the fitness benefits of eyespots were independent of butterfly behaviour. Regardless of whether the butterfly was WS or DS, large marginal eyespots pasted on the hindwings increased butterfly survival and successful oviposition during predation encounters. In previous studies, DS B. anynana experienced delayed detection by vertebrate predators, but both forms suffered low survival once detected. Our results suggest predator abundance, identity and phenology may all be important selective forces for B. anynana. Thus, reciprocal selection between invertebrate and vertebrate predators across seasons may contribute to the evolution of the B. anynana polyphenism. PMID:25392465

Predicting predatory impact of juvenile invasive lionfish (Pterois volitans) on a crustacean prey using functional response analysis: effects of temperature, habitat complexity and light regimes

KAUST Repository

South, Josie

2017-07-01

The ecological implications of biotic interactions, such as predator-prey relationships, are often context-dependent. Comparative functional responses analysis can be used under different abiotic contexts to improve understanding and prediction of the ecological impact of invasive species. Pterois volitans (Lionfish) [Linnaeus 1758] is an established invasive species in the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico, with a more recent invasion into the Mediterranean. Lionfish are generalist predators that impact a wide range of commercial and non-commercial species. Functional response analysis was employed to quantify interaction strength between lionfish and a generic prey species, the shrimp (Paleomonetes varians) [Leach 1814], under the contexts of differing temperature, habitat complexity and light wavelength. Lionfish have prey population destabilising Type II functional responses under all contexts examined. Significantly more prey were consumed at 26 °C than at 22 °C. Habitat complexity did not significantly alter the functional response parameters. Significantly more prey were consumed under white light and blue light than under red light. Attack rate was significantly higher under white light than under blue or red light. Light wavelength did not significantly change handling times. The impacts on prey populations through feeding rates may increase with concomitant temperature increase. As attack rates are very high at low habitat complexity this may elucidate the cause of high impact upon degraded reef ecosystems with low-density prey populations, although there was little protection conferred through habitat complexity. Only red light (i.e. dark) afforded any reduction in predation pressure. Management initiatives should account for these environmental factors when planning mitigation and prevention strategies.

Significance of selective predation and development of prey protection measures for juvenile salmonids in the Columbia and Snake River reservoirs. Annual progress report, February 1993--February 1994

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Poe, T.P.

1994-01-01

This report addresses the problem of predator-prey interactions of juvenile salmonids in the Columbia and Snake River. Six papers are included on selective predation and prey protection. Attention is focused on monitoring the movements, the distribution, and the behavior of juvenile chinook salmon and northern squawfish

Assessing predation risk: optimal behaviour and rules of thumb.

Science.gov (United States)

Welton, Nicky J; McNamara, John M; Houston, Alasdair I

2003-12-01

We look at a simple model in which an animal makes behavioural decisions over time in an environment in which all parameters are known to the animal except predation risk. In the model there is a trade-off between gaining information about predation risk and anti-predator behaviour. All predator attacks lead to death for the prey, so that the prey learns about predation risk by virtue of the fact that it is still alive. We show that it is not usually optimal to behave as if the current unbiased estimate of the predation risk is its true value. We consider two different ways to model reproduction; in the first scenario the animal reproduces throughout its life until it dies, and in the second scenario expected reproductive success depends on the level of energy reserves the animal has gained by some point in time. For both of these scenarios we find results on the form of the optimal strategy and give numerical examples which compare optimal behaviour with behaviour under simple rules of thumb. The numerical examples suggest that the value of the optimal strategy over the rules of thumb is greatest when there is little current information about predation risk, learning is not too costly in terms of predation, and it is energetically advantageous to learn about predation. We find that for the model and parameters investigated, a very simple rule of thumb such as 'use the best constant control' performs well.

Species diversity modulates predation

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Kratina, P.; Vos, M.; Anholt, B.R.

2007-01-01

Predation occurs in a context defined by both prey and non-prey species. At present it is largely unknown how species diversity in general, and species that are not included in a predator's diet in particular, modify predator–prey interactions.Therefore we studied how both the density and diversity

The functional response of a generalist predator.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Sophie Smout

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Predators can have profound impacts on the dynamics of their prey that depend on how predator consumption is affected by prey density (the predator's functional response. Consumption by a generalist predator is expected to depend on the densities of all its major prey species (its multispecies functional response, or MSFR, but most studies of generalists have focussed on their functional response to only one prey species. METHODOLOGY AND PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Using Bayesian methods, we fit an MSFR to field data from an avian predator (the hen harrier Circus cyaneus feeding on three different prey species. We use a simple graphical approach to show that ignoring the effects of alternative prey can give a misleading impression of the predator's effect on the prey of interest. For example, in our system, a "predator pit" for one prey species only occurs when the availability of other prey species is low. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: The Bayesian approach is effective in fitting the MSFR model to field data. It allows flexibility in modelling over-dispersion, incorporates additional biological information into the parameter priors, and generates estimates of uncertainty in the model's predictions. These features of robustness and data efficiency make our approach ideal for the study of long-lived predators, for which data may be sparse and management/conservation priorities pressing.

Ocean Acidification Disrupts Prey Responses to Predator Cues but Not Net Prey Shell Growth in Concholepas concholepas (loco)

Science.gov (United States)

Manríquez, Patricio H.; Jara, María Elisa; Mardones, María Loreto; Navarro, Jorge M.; Torres, Rodrigo; Lardies, Marcos A.; Vargas, Cristian A.; Duarte, Cristian; Widdicombe, Stephen; Salisbury, Joseph; Lagos, Nelson A.

2013-01-01

Background Most research on Ocean Acidification (OA) has largely focused on the process of calcification and the physiological trade-offs employed by calcifying organisms to support the building of calcium carbonate structures. However, there is growing evidence that OA can also impact upon other key biological processes such as survival, growth and behaviour. On wave-swept rocky shores the ability of gastropods to self-right after dislodgement, and rapidly return to normal orientation, reduces the risk of predation. Methodology/Principal Findings The impacts of OA on this self-righting behaviour and other important parameters such as growth, survival, shell dissolution and shell deposition in Concholepas concholepas (loco) were investigated under contrasting pCO2 levels. Although no impacts of OA on either growth or net shell calcification were found, the results did show that OA can significantly affect self-righting behaviour during the early ontogeny of this species with significantly faster righting times recorded for individuals of C. concholepas reared under increased average pCO2 concentrations (± SE) (716±12 and 1036±14 µatm CO2) compared to those reared at concentrations equivalent to those presently found in the surface ocean (388±8 µatm CO2). When loco were also exposed to the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri, righting times were again increased by exposure to elevated CO2, although self-righting times were generally twice as fast as those observed in the absence of the crab. Conclusions and Significance These results suggest that self-righting in the early ontogeny of C. concholepas will be positively affected by pCO2 levels expected by the end of the 21st century and beginning of the next one. However, as the rate of self-righting is an adaptive trait evolved to reduce lethal predatory attacks, our result also suggest that OA may disrupt prey responses to predators in nature. PMID:23844231

Ocean acidification disrupts prey responses to predator cues but not net prey shell growth in Concholepas concholepas (loco.

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Patricio H Manríquez

Full Text Available BACKGROUND: Most research on Ocean Acidification (OA has largely focused on the process of calcification and the physiological trade-offs employed by calcifying organisms to support the building of calcium carbonate structures. However, there is growing evidence that OA can also impact upon other key biological processes such as survival, growth and behaviour. On wave-swept rocky shores the ability of gastropods to self-right after dislodgement, and rapidly return to normal orientation, reduces the risk of predation. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: The impacts of OA on this self-righting behaviour and other important parameters such as growth, survival, shell dissolution and shell deposition in Concholepas concholepas (loco were investigated under contrasting pCO2 levels. Although no impacts of OA on either growth or net shell calcification were found, the results did show that OA can significantly affect self-righting behaviour during the early ontogeny of this species with significantly faster righting times recorded for individuals of C. concholepas reared under increased average pCO2 concentrations (± SE (716 ± 12 and 1036 ± 14 µatm CO2 compared to those reared at concentrations equivalent to those presently found in the surface ocean (388 ± 8 µatm CO2. When loco were also exposed to the predatory crab Acanthocyclus hassleri, righting times were again increased by exposure to elevated CO2, although self-righting times were generally twice as fast as those observed in the absence of the crab. CONCLUSIONS AND SIGNIFICANCE: These results suggest that self-righting in the early ontogeny of C. concholepas will be positively affected by pCO2 levels expected by the end of the 21st century and beginning of the next one. However, as the rate of self-righting is an adaptive trait evolved to reduce lethal predatory attacks, our result also suggest that OA may disrupt prey responses to predators in nature.

Adaptive Control Based Harvesting Strategy for a Predator-Prey Dynamical System.

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Sen, Moitri; Simha, Ashutosh; Raha, Soumyendu

2018-04-23

This paper deals with designing a harvesting control strategy for a predator-prey dynamical system, with parametric uncertainties and exogenous disturbances. A feedback control law for the harvesting rate of the predator is formulated such that the population dynamics is asymptotically stabilized at a positive operating point, while maintaining a positive, steady state harvesting rate. The hierarchical block strict feedback structure of the dynamics is exploited in designing a backstepping control law, based on Lyapunov theory. In order to account for unknown parameters, an adaptive control strategy has been proposed in which the control law depends on an adaptive variable which tracks the unknown parameter. Further, a switching component has been incorporated to robustify the control performance against bounded disturbances. Proofs have been provided to show that the proposed adaptive control strategy ensures asymptotic stability of the dynamics at a desired operating point, as well as exact parameter learning in the disturbance-free case and learning with bounded error in the disturbance prone case. The dynamics, with uncertainty in the death rate of the predator, subjected to a bounded disturbance has been simulated with the proposed control strategy.

Order and chaos in predator to prey ratio-dependent food chain

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Gakkhar, Sunita; Naji, Raid Kamel

2003-01-01

In this article, we investigate the dynamical behavior and chaos of a realistic three species food chain model considering predator to prey ratio-dependence for the interaction together with type II functional response. The model, for biologically reasonable parameter values, exhibits stable, periodic and chaotic dynamics in long-time behavior. The bifurcation diagrams have been obtained; Lyapunov exponents and dimensions have been computed. The model shows the rich dynamics in the positive octant. The dynamics behavior is found to be very sensitive to parameter values and initial data

Ontogenetic shifts in intraguild predation on thrips by phytoseiid mites: the relevance of body size and diet specialization.

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Walzer, A; Paulus, H F; Schausberger, P

2004-12-01

In greenhouse agroecosystems, a guild of spider mite predators may consist of the oligophagous predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis Athias-Henriot, the polyphagous predatory mite Neoseiulus californicus McGregor (both Acari: Phytoseiidae) and the primarily herbivorous but facultatively predatory western flower thrips Frankliniella occidentalis Pergande (Thysanoptera: Thripidae). Diet-specialization and the predator body size relative to prey are crucial factors in predation on F. occidentalis by P. persimilis and N. californicus. Here, it was tested whether the relevance of these factors changes during predator ontogeny. First, the predator (protonymphs and adult females of P. persimilis and N. californicus): prey (F. occidentalis first instars) body size ratios were measured. Second, the aggressiveness of P. persimilis and N. californicus towards F. occidentalis was assessed. Third, survival, development and oviposition of P. persimilis and N. californicus with F. occidentalis prey was determined. The body size ranking was P. persimilis females > N. californicus females > P. persimilis protonymphs > N. californicus protonymphs. Neoseiulus californicus females were the most aggressive predators, followed by highly aggressive N. californicus protonymphs and moderately aggressive P. persimilis protonymphs. Phytoseiulus persimilis females did not attack thrips. Frankliniella occidentalis larvae are an alternative prey for juvenile N. californicus and P. persimilis, enabling them to reach adulthood. Females of N. californicus but not P. persimilis sustained egg production with thrips prey. Within the guild studied here, N. californicus females are the most harmful predators for F. occidentalis larvae, followed by N. californicus and P. persimilis juveniles. Phytoseiulus persimilis females are harmless to F. occidentalis.

Feeding Activity, Rate of Consumption, Daily Ration and Prey Selection of Major Predators in John Day Reservoir, 1985: Annual Report.

Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

Palmer, Douglas E.; United States. Bonneville Power Administration; U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service; National Fishery Research Center (U.S.)

1986-10-01

This report summarizes activities in 1985 to determine the extent of predation on juvenile salmonids in John Day Reservoir. To estimate consumption of juvenile salmonids we used the composition of the natural diet of predators and in the laboratory determined rate of gastric evacuation by predators. Salmonids were the single most important food item for northern squawfish (Ptychocheilus oregonensis) at McNary tailrace during all sampling periods and at John Day forebay during July. Salmonids accounted for 11.6% of the diet of walleye (Stizostedion vitreum vitreum) in 1985 which was about twice that found in previous years. Salmonids contributed little to smallmouth bass (Micropterus dolomieui) diet but comprised about 25% of the diet of channel catfish (Ictalurus punctatus). Composition of prey taxa in beach seine catches in 1985 was similar to 1983 and 1984 with chinook salmon (Oncorhynchus tschawytscha), northern squawfish, largescale sucker (Catostomus macrocheilus), and sand roller (Percopsis transmontana) dominating the catch at main channel stations and crappies (Pomoxis spp.) and largescale sucker dominating at backwater stations. Preliminary results of beach seine efficiency studies suggest that seine efficiency varied significantly among prey species and between substrate types in 1985. Results of digestion rate experiments indicate that gastric evacuation in northern squawfish can be predicted using water temperature, prey weight, predator weight and time. 19 refs., 19 figs., 13 tabs.

Myxobacteria Are Able to Prey Broadly upon Clinically-Relevant Pathogens, Exhibiting a Prey Range Which Cannot Be Explained by Phylogeny

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Paul G. Livingstone

2017-08-01

Full Text Available Myxobacteria are natural predators of microorganisms and the subjects of concerted efforts to identify novel antimicrobial compounds. Myxobacterial predatory activity seems to require more than just the possession of specific antimicrobial metabolites. Thus a holistic approach to studying predation promises novel insights into antimicrobial action. Here, we report the isolation of 113 myxobacteria from samples of soil taken from a range of habitats in mid Wales. Predatory activity of each isolate was quantified against a panel of clinically important prey organisms, including Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Candida albicans, Enterococcus faecalis, and three species of Staphylococcus. Myxobacterial isolates exhibited a wide range of predation activity profiles against the panel of prey. Efficient predation of all prey by isolates within the collection was observed, with K. pneumoniae and C. albicans proving particularly susceptible to myxobacterial predation. Notably efficient predators tended to be proficient at predating multiple prey organisms, suggesting they possess gene(s encoding a broad range killing activity. However, predatory activity was not congruent with phylogeny, suggesting prey range is subject to relatively rapid specialization, potentially involving lateral gene transfer. The broad but patchy prey ranges observed for natural myxobacterial isolates also implies multiple (potentially overlapping genetic determinants are responsible for dictating predatory activity.

Investigating fine-scale spatio-temporal predator-prey patterns in dynamic marine ecosystems: a functional data analysis approach

NARCIS (Netherlands)

Embling, C.B.; Illian, J.; Armstrong, E.; van der Kooij, J.; Sharples, J.; Camphuysen, K.C.J.; Scott, B.E.

2012-01-01

1. Spatial management of marine ecosystems requires detailed knowledge of spatio-temporal mechanisms linking physical and biological processes. Tidal currents, the main driver of ecosystem dynamics in temperate coastal ecosystems, influence predator foraging ecology by affecting prey distribution

Diversity of protists and bacteria determines predation performance and stability.

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Saleem, Muhammad; Fetzer, Ingo; Harms, Hauke; Chatzinotas, Antonis

2013-10-01

Predation influences prey diversity and productivity while it effectuates the flux and reallocation of organic nutrients into biomass at higher trophic levels. However, it is unknown how bacterivorous protists are influenced by the diversity of their bacterial prey. Using 456 microcosms, in which different bacterial mixtures with equal initial cell numbers were exposed to single or multiple predators (Tetrahymena sp., Poterioochromonas sp. and Acanthamoeba sp.), we showed that increasing prey richness enhanced production of single predators. The extent of the response depended, however, on predator identity. Bacterial prey richness had a stabilizing effect on predator performance in that it reduced variability in predator production. Further, prey richness tended to enhance predator evenness in the predation experiment including all three protists predators (multiple predation experiment). However, we also observed a negative relationship between prey richness and predator production in multiple predation experiments. Mathematical analysis of potential ecological mechanisms of positive predator diversity-functioning relationships revealed predator complementarity as a factor responsible for both enhanced predator production and prey reduction. We suggest that the diversity at both trophic levels interactively determines protistan performance and might have implications in microbial ecosystem processes and services.

Sequential assessment of prey through the use of multiple sensory cues by an eavesdropping bat

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Page, Rachel A.; Schnelle, Tanja; Kalko, Elisabeth K. V.; Bunge, Thomas; Bernal, Ximena E.

2012-06-01

Predators are often confronted with a broad diversity of potential prey. They rely on cues associated with prey quality and palatability to optimize their hunting success and to avoid consuming toxic prey. Here, we investigate a predator's ability to assess prey cues during capture, handling, and consumption when confronted with conflicting information about prey quality. We used advertisement calls of a preferred prey item (the túngara frog) to attract fringe-lipped bats, Trachops cirrhosus, then offered palatable, poisonous, and chemically manipulated anurans as prey. Advertisement calls elicited an attack response, but as bats approached, they used additional sensory cues in a sequential manner to update their information about prey size and palatability. While both palatable and poisonous small anurans were readily captured, large poisonous toads were approached but not contacted suggesting the use of echolocation for assessment of prey size at close range. Once prey was captured, bats used chemical cues to make final, post-capture decisions about whether to consume the prey. Bats dropped small, poisonous toads as well as palatable frogs coated in toad toxins either immediately or shortly after capture. Our study suggests that echolocation and chemical cues obtained at close range supplement information obtained from acoustic cues at long range. Updating information about prey quality minimizes the occurrence of costly errors and may be advantageous in tracking temporal and spatial fluctuations of prey and exploiting novel food sources. These findings emphasize the sequential, complex nature of prey assessment that may allow exploratory and flexible hunting behaviors.

The Dynamics of an Impulsive Predator-Prey System with Stage Structure and Holling Type III Functional Response

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Zhixiang Ju

2015-01-01

Full Text Available Based on the biological resource management of natural resources, a stage-structured predator-prey model with Holling type III functional response, birth pulse, and impulsive harvesting at different moments is proposed in this paper. By applying comparison theorem and some analysis techniques, the global attractivity of predator-extinction periodic solution and the permanence of this system are studied. At last, examples and numerical simulations are given to verify the validity of the main results.

Population variance in prey, diets and their macronutrient composition in an endangered marine predator, the Franciscana dolphin

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Denuncio, Pablo; Paso Viola, Maria N.; Machovsky-Capuska, Gabriel E.; Raubenheimer, David; Blasina, Gabriela; Machado, Rodrigo; Polizzi, Paula; Gerpe, Marcela; Cappozzo, Humberto L.; Rodriguez, Diego H.

2017-11-01

Disentangling the intricacies governing dietary breadth in wild predators is important for understanding their role in structuring ecological communities and provides critical information for the management and conservation of ecologically threatened species. Here we combined dietary analysis, nutritional composition analysis of prey, literature data and nutritional geometry (right-angled mixture triangle models -RMT-) to examine the diet of the most threatened small cetacean in the western South Atlantic Ocean, the Franciscana dolphin (Pontoporia blainvillei). We applied a recently developed extension of niche theory based on the RMT to help understand the dietary strategies of this species. Our results showed that across their range the Franciscanas consumed prey with variable protein-to-lipid energy ratios (LMM, p < 0.001). In an intensive study of one area, FMA IV, we found that dolphins sub-populations, which recent genetic evidence suggest should be differentiated into three management units, have diets with different protein energy and water mass compositions, but similar protein-to-lipid energy ratios. Furthermore, dolphins from the three areas mixed different combinations of prey in their diets to achieve the observed macronutrient ratios. These results suggest that the different habitats that each sub-population occupies (estuarine, north marine area and south marine) might be associated with different prey composition niches, but similar realized nutritional niches. Future priorities are to better comprehend possible geographical and long-term seasonal effects on prey consumption and dietary breadth of the different Franciscana populations to identify potential impacts (environmental and human-related), enhance the current management strategies to protect this endangered marine predator.

Prey size selection and cannibalistic behaviour of juvenile barramundi Lates calcarifer.

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Ribeiro, F F; Qin, J G

2015-05-01

This study assessed the cannibalistic behaviour of juvenile barramundi Lates calcarifer and examined the relationship between prey size selection and energy gain of cannibals. Prey handling time and capture success by cannibals were used to estimate the ratio of energy gain to energy cost in prey selection. Cannibals selected smaller prey despite its capability of ingesting larger prey individuals. In behavioural analysis, prey handling time significantly increased with prey size, but it was not significantly affected by cannibal size. Conversely, capture success significantly decreased with the increase of both prey and cannibal sizes. The profitability indices showed that the smaller prey provides the most energy return for cannibals of all size classes. These results indicate that L. calcarifer cannibals select smaller prey for more profitable return. The behavioural analysis, however, indicates that L. calcarifer cannibals attack prey of all size at a similar rate but ingest smaller prey more often, suggesting that prey size selection is passively orientated rather than at the predator's choice. The increase of prey escape ability and morphological constraint contribute to the reduction of intracohort cannibalism as fish grow larger. This study contributes to the understanding of intracohort cannibalism and development of strategies to reduce fish cannibalistic mortalities. © 2015 The Fisheries Society of the British Isles.

Complex Dynamical Behaviors in a Predator-Prey System with Generalized Group Defense and Impulsive Control Strategy

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Shunyi Li

2013-01-01

Full Text Available A predator-prey system with generalized group defense and impulsive control strategy is investigated. By using Floquet theorem and small amplitude perturbation skills, a local asymptotically stable prey-eradication periodic solution is obtained when the impulsive period is less than some critical value. Otherwise, the system is permanent if the impulsive period is larger than the critical value. By using bifurcation theory, we show the existence and stability of positive periodic solution when the pest eradication lost its stability. Numerical examples show that the system considered has more complicated dynamics, including (1 high-order quasiperiodic and periodic oscillation, (2 period-doubling and halving bifurcation, (3 nonunique dynamics (meaning that several attractors coexist, and (4 chaos and attractor crisis. Further, the importance of the impulsive period, the released amount of mature predators and the degree of group defense effect are discussed. Finally, the biological implications of the results and the impulsive control strategy are discussed.

Bifurcation analysis and dimension reduction of a predator-prey model for the L-H transition

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Dam, Magnus; Brøns, Morten; Juul Rasmussen, Jens

2013-01-01

The L-H transition denotes a shift to an improved confinement state of a toroidal plasma in a fusion reactor. A model of the L-H transition is required to simulate the time dependence of tokamak discharges that include the L-H transition. A 3-ODE predator-prey type model of the L-H transition...

The effect of wounds on desiccation of prey: implications for a predator with extra-oral digestion.

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Morse, Douglass H

1998-06-01

Predators that inject prey with proteolytic enzymes, thereby breaking down their tissues for subsequent ingestion, run the risk that desiccation will hinder eventual retrieval of resources from these prey. Wounds made in capture might exacerbate this problem. However, desiccation rates of small syrphid flies Toxomerusmarginatus (Diptera: Syrphidae) killed by juvenile crab spiders Misumena vatia (Araneae: Thomisidae) and intact dead syrphid flies did not differ over the normal period of feeding, though desiccation rates in shade and sun differed several-fold. Neither the size of the spider (and presumably the size of the wounds it inflicted) nor the location of the wounds on the flies' bodies affected desiccation rates. Thus, this tactic of prey handling does not exact an added processing cost on Misumena.

Ocean acidification alters predator behaviour and reduces predation rate.

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Watson, Sue-Ann; Fields, Jennifer B; Munday, Philip L

2017-02-01

Ocean acidification poses a range of threats to marine invertebrates; however, the emerging and likely widespread effects of rising carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) levels on marine invertebrate behaviour are still little understood. Here, we show that ocean acidification alters and impairs key ecological behaviours of the predatory cone snail Conus marmoreus Projected near-future seawater CO 2 levels (975 µatm) increased activity in this coral reef molluscivore more than threefold (from less than 4 to more than 12 mm min -1 ) and decreased the time spent buried to less than one-third when compared with the present-day control conditions (390 µatm). Despite increasing activity, elevated CO 2 reduced predation rate during predator-prey interactions with control-treated humpbacked conch, Gibberulus gibberulus gibbosus; 60% of control predators successfully captured and consumed their prey, compared with only 10% of elevated CO 2 predators. The alteration of key ecological behaviours of predatory invertebrates by near-future ocean acidification could have potentially far-reaching implications for predator-prey interactions and trophic dynamics in marine ecosystems. Combined evidence that the behaviours of both species in this predator-prey relationship are altered by elevated CO 2 suggests food web interactions and ecosystem structure will become increasingly difficult to predict as ocean acidification advances over coming decades. © 2017 The Author(s).

Threat-sensitive anti-intraguild predation behaviour: maternal strategies to reduce offspring predation risk in mites.

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Walzer, Andreas; Schausberger, Peter

2011-01-01

Predation is a major selective force for the evolution of behavioural characteristics of prey. Predation among consumers competing for food is termed intraguild predation (IGP). From the perspective of individual prey, IGP differs from classical predation in the likelihood of occurrence because IG prey is usually more rarely encountered and less profitable because it is more difficult to handle than classical prey. It is not known whether IGP is a sufficiently strong force to evolve interspecific threat sensitivity in antipredation behaviours, as is known from classical predation, and if so whether such behaviours are innate or learned. We examined interspecific threat sensitivity in antipredation in a guild of predatory mite species differing in adaptation to the shared spider mite prey (i.e. Phytoseiulus persimilis, Neoseiulus californicus and Amblyseius andersoni). We first ranked the players in this guild according to the IGP risk posed to each other: A. andersoni was the strongest IG predator; P. persimilis was the weakest. Then, we assessed the influence of relative IGP risk and experience on maternal strategies to reduce offspring IGP risk: A. andersoni was insensitive to IGP risk. Threat sensitivity in oviposition site selection was induced by experience in P. persimilis but occurred independently of experience in N. californicus. Irrespective of experience, P. persimilis laid fewer eggs in choice situations with the high- rather than low-risk IG predator. Our study suggests that, similar to classical predation, IGP may select for sophisticated innate and learned interspecific threat-sensitive antipredation responses. We argue that such responses may promote the coexistence of IG predators and prey.

Self-Organized Patterns Induced by Neimark-Sacker, Flip and Turing Bifurcations in a Discrete Predator-Prey Model with Lesie-Gower Functional Response

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Feifan Zhang

2017-06-01

Full Text Available The formation of self-organized patterns in predator-prey models has been a very hot topic recently. The dynamics of these models, bifurcations and pattern formations are so complex that studies are urgently needed. In this research, we transformed a continuous predator-prey model with Lesie-Gower functional response into a discrete model. Fixed points and stability analyses were studied. Around the stable fixed point, bifurcation analyses including: flip, Neimark-Sacker and Turing bifurcation were done and bifurcation conditions were obtained. Based on these bifurcation conditions, parameters values were selected to carry out numerical simulations on pattern formation. The simulation results showed that Neimark-Sacker bifurcation induced spots, spirals and transitional patterns from spots to spirals. Turing bifurcation induced labyrinth patterns and spirals coupled with mosaic patterns, while flip bifurcation induced many irregular complex patterns. Compared with former studies on continuous predator-prey model with Lesie-Gower functional response, our research on the discrete model demonstrated more complex dynamics and varieties of self-organized patterns.

Dynamic complexities of a Holling II two-prey one-predator system with impulsive effect

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Song Xinyu; Li Yongfeng

2007-01-01

In this paper, we investigate the dynamic behaviors of a Holling II two-prey one-predator system with impulsive effect concerning biological control and chemical control strategies-periodic releasing natural enemies and spraying pesticide (or harvesting pests) at fixed time. By using the Floquet theory of linear periodic impulsive equation and small-amplitude perturbation we show that there exists a globally asymptotically stable two-prey eradication periodic solution when the impulsive period is less than some critical value. Further, we prove that the system is permanent if the impulsive period is larger than some critical value, and meanwhile the conditions for the extinction of one of the two prey and permanence of the remaining two species are given. Finally, numerical simulation shows that there exists a stable positive periodic solution with a maximum value no larger than a given level. Thus, we can use the stability of the positive periodic solution and its period to control insect pests at acceptably low levels

Alien Mink Predation and Colonisation Processes of Rodent Prey on Small Islands of the Baltic Sea: Does Prey Naivete Matter?

International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

Fey, K.; Korpimaki, E.; Banks, P.B.

2010-01-01

Colonisation, an important part of meta-population dynamics of fragmented populations, depends on both the dispersal ability and the ability to establish in the new habitat. Predation can hinder successful establishment of prey, and where the predation pressure comes from an alien predator, the effects on colonisation might be devastating. We studied the establishment of field voles (Microtus agrestis) inhabiting small islands of the archipelago of the Baltic Sea, SW Finland, under presence and absence of the alien American mink (Mustela vison). We translocated experienced voles from islands with mink, and inexperienced voles from islands from which mink had been removed, to other islands where mink was present or absent. By radio-tracking we studied survival, space and micro habitat use of voles within four weeks after translocation. Survival of voles on mink islands was significantly lower than on mink-free islands, but experienced voles did not survive better than inexperienced voles. Experienced voles were more often located in juniper habitats than inexperienced voles, but they appeared not to gain any survival benefit from altered micro habitat use. This study provides novel evidence, that alien mink predation inhibits establishment of colonising field voles and may thus ultimately induce extinction of voles from the outer archipelago.

Predators or prey? Spatio-temporal discrimination of human-derived risk by brown bears.

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Ordiz, Andrés; Støen, Ole-Gunnar; Delibes, Miguel; Swenson, Jon E

2011-05-01

Prey usually adjust anti-predator behavior to subtle variations in perceived risk. However, it is not clear whether adult large carnivores that are virtually free of natural predation adjust their behavior to subtle variations in human-derived risk, even when living in human-dominated landscapes. As a model, we studied resting-site selection by a large carnivore, the brown bear (Ursus arctos), under different spatial and temporal levels of human activity. We quantified horizontal and canopy cover at 440 bear beds and 439 random sites at different distances from human settlements, seasons, and times of the day. We hypothesized that beds would be more concealed than random sites and that beds would be more concealed in relation to human-derived risk. Although human densities in Scandinavia are the lowest within bear ranges in Western Europe, we found an effect of human activity; bears chose beds with higher horizontal and canopy cover during the day (0700-1900 hours), especially when resting closer to human settlements, than at night (2200-0600 hours). In summer/fall (the berry season), with more intensive and dispersed human activity, including hunting, bears rested further from human settlements during the day than in spring (pre-berry season). Additionally, day beds in the summer/fall were the most concealed. Large carnivores often avoid humans at a landscape scale, but total avoidance in human-dominated areas is not possible. Apparently, bears adjust their behavior to avoid human encounters, which resembles the way prey avoid their predators. Bears responded to fine-scale variations in human-derived risk, both on a seasonal and a daily basis.

Physics-based simulations of aerial attacks by peregrine falcons reveal that stooping at high speed maximizes catch success against agile prey.

Science.gov (United States)

Mills, Robin; Hildenbrandt, Hanno; Taylor, Graham K; Hemelrijk, Charlotte K

2018-04-01

The peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus is renowned for attacking its prey from high altitude in a fast controlled dive called a stoop. Many other raptors employ a similar mode of attack, but the functional benefits of stooping remain obscure. Here we investigate whether, when, and why stooping promotes catch success, using a three-dimensional, agent-based modeling approach to simulate attacks of falcons on aerial prey. We simulate avian flapping and gliding flight using an analytical quasi-steady model of the aerodynamic forces and moments, parametrized by empirical measurements of flight morphology. The model-birds' flight control inputs are commanded by their guidance system, comprising a phenomenological model of its vision, guidance, and control. To intercept its prey, model-falcons use the same guidance law as missiles (pure proportional navigation); this assumption is corroborated by empirical data on peregrine falcons hunting lures. We parametrically vary the falcon's starting position relative to its prey, together with the feedback gain of its guidance loop, under differing assumptions regarding its errors and delay in vision and control, and for three different patterns of prey motion. We find that, when the prey maneuvers erratically, high-altitude stoops increase catch success compared to low-altitude attacks, but only if the falcon's guidance law is appropriately tuned, and only given a high degree of precision in vision and control. Remarkably, the optimal tuning of the guidance law in our simulations coincides closely with what has been observed empirically in peregrines. High-altitude stoops are shown to be beneficial because their high airspeed enables production of higher aerodynamic forces for maneuvering, and facilitates higher roll agility as the wings are tucked, each of which is essential to catching maneuvering prey at realistic response delays.

Physics-based simulations of aerial attacks by peregrine falcons reveal that stooping at high speed maximizes catch success against agile prey.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Robin Mills

2018-04-01

Full Text Available The peregrine falcon Falco peregrinus is renowned for attacking its prey from high altitude in a fast controlled dive called a stoop. Many other raptors employ a similar mode of attack, but the functional benefits of stooping remain obscure. Here we investigate whether, when, and why stooping promotes catch success, using a three-dimensional, agent-based modeling approach to simulate attacks of falcons on aerial prey. We simulate avian flapping and gliding flight using an analytical quasi-steady model of the aerodynamic forces and moments, parametrized by empirical measurements of flight morphology. The model-birds' flight control inputs are commanded by their guidance system, comprising a phenomenological model of its vision, guidance, and control. To intercept its prey, model-falcons use the same guidance law as missiles (pure proportional navigation; this assumption is corroborated by empirical data on peregrine falcons hunting lures. We parametrically vary the falcon's starting position relative to its prey, together with the feedback gain of its guidance loop, under differing assumptions regarding its errors and delay in vision and control, and for three different patterns of prey motion. We find that, when the prey maneuvers erratically, high-altitude stoops increase catch success compared to low-altitude attacks, but only if the falcon's guidance law is appropriately tuned, and only given a high degree of precision in vision and control. Remarkably, the optimal tuning of the guidance law in our simulations coincides closely with what has been observed empirically in peregrines. High-altitude stoops are shown to be beneficial because their high airspeed enables production of higher aerodynamic forces for maneuvering, and facilitates higher roll agility as the wings are tucked, each of which is essential to catching maneuvering prey at realistic response delays.

Generalization of predator recognition: Velvet geckos display anti-predator behaviours in response to chemicals from non-dangerous elapid snakes

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Jonathan K. WEBB, Weiguo DU, David PIKE, Richard SHINE

2010-06-01

Full Text Available Many prey species detect chemical cues from predators and modify their behaviours in ways that reduce their risk of predation. Theory predicts that prey should modify their anti-predator responses according to the degree of threat posed by the predator. That is, prey should show the strongest responses to chemicals of highly dangerous prey, but should ignore or respond weakly to chemicals from non-dangerous predators. However, if anti-predator behaviours are not costly, and predators are rarely encountered, prey may exhibit generalised antipredator behaviours to dangerous and non-dangerous predators. In Australia, most elapid snakes eat lizards, and are therefore potentially dangerous to lizard prey. Recently, we found that the nocturnal velvet gecko Oedura lesueurii responds to chemicals from dangerous and non-dangerous elapid snakes, suggesting that it displays generalised anti-predator behaviours to chemicals from elapid snakes. To explore the generality of this result, we videotaped the behaviour of velvet geckos in the presence of chemical cues from two small elapid snakes that rarely consume geckos: the nocturnal golden-crowned snake Cacophis squamulosus and the diurnal marsh snake Hemiaspis signata. We also videotaped geckos in trials involving unscented cards (controls and cologne-scented cards (pungency controls. In trials involving Cacophis and Hemiaspis chemicals, 50% and 63% of geckos spent long time periods (> 3 min freezing whilst pressed flat against the substrate, respectively. Over half the geckos tested exhibited anti-predator behaviours (tail waving, tail vibration, running in response to Cacophis (67% or Hemiaspis (63% chemicals. These behaviours were not observed in control or pungency control trials. Our results support the idea that the velvet gecko displays generalised anti-predator responses to chemical cues from elapid snakes. Generalised responses to predator chemicals may be common in prey species that co-occur with

When hawks attack: animal-borne video studies of goshawk pursuit and prey-evasion strategies

Science.gov (United States)

Kane, Suzanne Amador; Fulton, Andrew H.; Rosenthal, Lee J.

2015-01-01

Video filmed by a camera mounted on the head of a Northern Goshawk (Accipiter gentilis) was used to study how the raptor used visual guidance to pursue prey and land on perches. A combination of novel image analysis methods and numerical simulations of mathematical pursuit models was used to determine the goshawk's pursuit strategy. The goshawk flew to intercept targets by fixing the prey at a constant visual angle, using classical pursuit for stationary prey, lures or perches, and usually using constant absolute target direction (CATD) for moving prey. Visual fixation was better maintained along the horizontal than vertical direction. In some cases, we observed oscillations in the visual fix on the prey, suggesting that the goshawk used finite-feedback steering. Video filmed from the ground gave similar results. In most cases, it showed goshawks intercepting prey using a trajectory consistent with CATD, then turning rapidly to attack by classical pursuit; in a few cases, it showed them using curving non-CATD trajectories. Analysis of the prey's evasive tactics indicated that only sharp sideways turns caused the goshawk to lose visual fixation on the prey, supporting a sensory basis for the surprising frequency and effectiveness of this tactic found by previous studies. The dynamics of the prey's looming image also suggested that the goshawk used a tau-based interception strategy. We interpret these results in the context of a concise review of pursuit–evasion in biology, and conjecture that some prey deimatic ‘startle’ displays may exploit tau-based interception. PMID:25609783

Predator-prey interactions between a recent invader, the Chinese sleeper (Perccottus glenii and the European pond turtle (Emys orbicularis: a case study from Lithuania

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Vytautas Rakauskas

2016-12-01

Full Text Available The European pond turtle, Emys orbicularis, is a critically endangered species in most European countries. Habitat degradation and fragmentation are considered the main reasons for the decline of E. orbicularis. However, the spread of invasive species may also contribute to the disappearance of E. orbicularis populations. We examined the range overlap and predator-prey interactions between the invasive Chinese sleeper, Perccottus glenii, and E. orbicularis through controlled experiments and in field studies. Field surveys showed that both species occupied similar habitats. Predator-prey experiments suggested that newly hatched turtles are resistant to P. glenii predation. Conversely, adults of E. orbicularis consumed juvenile P. glenii even when other food sources were available. Overall, these findings suggested that E. orbicularis is not among the potential prey organisms in the diet of the invasive P. glenii, and that this fish does not directly contribute to the decline of E. orbicularis in Europe.

Partitioning mechanisms of predator interference in different habitats.

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Griffen, Blaine D; Byers, James E

2006-01-01

Prey are often consumed by multiple predator species. Predation rates on shared prey species measured in isolation often do not combine additively due to interference or facilitation among the predator species. Furthermore, the strength of predator interactions and resulting prey mortality may change with habitat type. We experimentally examined predation on amphipods in rock and algal habitats by two species of intertidal crabs, Hemigrapsus sanguineus (top predators) and Carcinus maenas (intermediate predators). Algae provided a safer habitat for amphipods when they were exposed to only a single predator species. When both predator species were present, mortality of amphipods was less than additive in both habitats. However, amphipod mortality was reduced more in rock than algal habitat because intermediate predators were less protected in rock habitat and were increasingly targeted by omnivorous top predators. We found that prey mortality in general was reduced by (1) altered foraging behavior of intermediate predators in the presence of top predators, (2) top predators switching to foraging on intermediate predators rather than shared prey, and (3) density reduction of intermediate predators. The relative importance of these three mechanisms was the same in both habitats; however, the magnitude of each was greater in rock habitat. Our study demonstrates that the strength of specific mechanisms of interference between top and intermediate predators can be quantified but cautions that these results may be habitat specific.

The Stationary Distribution and Extinction of Generalized Multispecies Stochastic Lotka-Volterra Predator-Prey System

OpenAIRE

Yin, Fancheng; Yu, Xiaoyan

2015-01-01

This paper is concerned with the existence of stationary distribution and extinction for multispecies stochastic Lotka-Volterra predator-prey system. The contributions of this paper are as follows. (a) By using Lyapunov methods, the sufficient conditions on existence of stationary distribution and extinction are established. (b) By using the space decomposition technique and the continuity of probability, weaker conditions on extinction of the system are obtained. Finally, a numer...

Dynamics of a Stochastic Intraguild Predation Model

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Zejing Xing

2016-04-01

Full Text Available Intraguild predation (IGP is a widespread ecological phenomenon which occurs when one predator species attacks another predator species with which it competes for a shared prey species. The objective of this paper is to study the dynamical properties of a stochastic intraguild predation model. We analyze stochastic persistence and extinction of the stochastic IGP model containing five cases and establish the sufficient criteria for global asymptotic stability of the positive solutions. This study shows that it is possible for the coexistence of three species under the influence of environmental noise, and that the noise may have a positive effect for IGP species. A stationary distribution of the stochastic IGP model is established and it has the ergodic property, suggesting that the time average of population size with the development of time is equal to the stationary distribution in space. Finally, we show that our results may be extended to two well-known biological systems: food chains and exploitative competition.

Quantifying predation pressure along an urbanisation gradient in Denmark using artificial caterpillars

DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

Ferrante, Marco; Lo Cacciato, Alessandro; Lövei, Gabor L

2014-01-01

Urbanisation results in a marked modification of habitats and influences several ecological processes, some of which give rise to beneficial ecological services. Natural pest control, the effect of predators on prey is one of such services. We quantified changes in the incidence of predation...... an urbanisation gradient (rural-suburban-urban). Artificial caterpillars were placed on the ground in order to obtain an estimate of the incidence of predation at ground level. Half (50%) of the 1398 caterpillars were "attacked" and 28.8% of the bites were those of chewing insects. We attributed the majority.......3% in suburban and 16.4% in urban forest fragments. Mammals exerted the highest predation pressure in suburban habitats (22.2% vs. 4.9% in forest, and 8.1% in urban forest fragments)....

The Effects of Resource Limitation on a Predator-Prey Model with Control Measures as Nonlinear Pulses

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Wenjie Qin

2014-01-01

Full Text Available The dynamical behavior of a Holling II predator-prey model with control measures as nonlinear pulses is proposed and analyzed theoretically and numerically to understand how resource limitation affects pest population outbreaks. The threshold conditions for the stability of the pest-free periodic solution are given. Latin hypercube sampling/partial rank correlation coefficients are used to perform sensitivity analysis for the threshold concerning pest extinction to determine the significance of each parameter. Comparing this threshold value with that without resource limitation, our results indicate that it is essential to increase the pesticide’s efficacy against the pest and reduce its effectiveness against the natural enemy, while enhancing the efficiency of the natural enemies. Once the threshold value exceeds a critical level, both pest and its natural enemies populations can oscillate periodically. Further-more, when the pulse period and constant stocking number as a bifurcation parameter, the predator-prey model reveals complex dynamics. In addition, numerical results are presented to illustrate the feasibility of our main results.

Direct and indirect effects of different types of microplastics on freshwater prey (Corbicula fluminea) and their predator (Acipenser transmontanus)

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Parnis, J. Mark; Browne, Mark A.; Serrato, Sebastian; Reiner, Eric J.; Robson, Matthew; Young, Thomas; Diamond, Miriam L.; Teh, Swee J.

2017-01-01

We examined whether environmentally relevant concentrations of different types of microplastics, with or without PCBs, directly affect freshwater prey and indirectly affect their predators. Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea) were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polyethylene, polyvinylchloride (PVC) or polystyrene with and without polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) for 28 days. Their predators, white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus), were exposed to clams from each treatment for 28 days. In both species, we examined bioaccumulation of PCBs and effects (i.e., immunohistochemistry, histology, behavior, condition, mortality) across several levels of biological organization. PCBs were not detected in prey or predator, and thus differences in bioaccumulation of PCBs among polymers and biomagnification in predators could not be measured. One of the main objectives of this study was to test the hypothesis that bioaccumulation of PCBs would differ among polymer types. Because we could not answer this question experimentally, a bioaccumulation model was run and predicted that concentrations of PCBs in clams exposed to polyethylene and polystyrene would be greater than PET and PVC. Observed effects, although subtle, seemed to be due to microplastics rather than PCBs alone. For example, histopathology showed tubular dilation in clams exposed to microplastics with PCBs, with only mild effects in clams exposed to PCBs alone. PMID:29108004

Direct and indirect effects of different types of microplastics on freshwater prey (Corbicula fluminea and their predator (Acipenser transmontanus.

Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

Chelsea M Rochman

Full Text Available We examined whether environmentally relevant concentrations of different types of microplastics, with or without PCBs, directly affect freshwater prey and indirectly affect their predators. Asian clams (Corbicula fluminea were exposed to environmentally relevant concentrations of polyethylene terephthalate (PET, polyethylene, polyvinylchloride (PVC or polystyrene with and without polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs for 28 days. Their predators, white sturgeon (Acipenser transmontanus, were exposed to clams from each treatment for 28 days. In both species, we examined bioaccumulation of PCBs and effects (i.e., immunohistochemistry, histology, behavior, condition, mortality across several levels of biological organization. PCBs were not detected in prey or predator, and thus differences in bioaccumulation of PCBs among polymers and biomagnification in predators could not be measured. One of the main objectives of this study was to test the hypothesis that bioaccumulation of PCBs would differ among polymer types. Because we could not answer this question experimentally, a bioaccumulation model was run and predicted that concentrations of PCBs in clams exposed to polyethylene and polystyrene would be greater than PET and PVC. Observed effects, although subtle, seemed to be due to microplastics rather than PCBs alone. For example, histopathology showed tubular dilation in clams exposed to microplastics with PCBs, with only mild effects in clams exposed to PCBs alone.