Summary1. Nearly all fish evade predation strikes by rapidly accelerating out of the strike path, a behaviour called the fast-start evasion response. The many studies investigating morphological, behavioural and ecological correlates of fast-start performance assume that faster starts increase the probability of evasion. 2. We tested this faster-start hypothesis by measuring the effect of acceleration ability on evasion outcome (success, failure) in Guppies ( Poecilia reticulata ) evading the strike of a natural predator, the Pike Cichlid ( Crenicichla alta ). 3. Four parameters affect evasion outcome: two parameters important to the predatorprey interaction but not to the faster-start hypothesis -(1) the time required to reach the prey by the striking predator (measured by the initial distance between predator and prey and strike velocity), (2) the evasion path of the prey relative to the strike path of the predator; and two parameters relevant to the faster-start hypothesis -(1) the ability of the prey to generate rapid tangential acceleration (measured by net distance travelled, maximum velocity, and maximum acceleration), and (2) the ability of the prey to rapidly rotate during the initial stage of the fast start. 4. On average, a one standard deviation increase in fast-start performance increases the odds of surviving a predation strike 2·3-fold. These results support the assumption that faster starts increase the probability of successfully evading a predation strike.

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The Haliburton forest region in Ontario, Canada, with cumulus cloud formations. Photo by Mark Primavera, Natural Resources Canada. C limate is a fundamental driver of life. Plant and animal distribution, abundance, and productivity are all closely tied to environmental regimes driven by temperature, precipitation, and solar radiation patterns. Critical biological processes, such as plant bud burst, flowering, and migration, both of animal populations and vegetation communities, are also linked to climate and weather conditions. Furthermore, human activities in many sectors, including food production, building construction, recreation, and power generation (solar, wind, hydroelectric), are closely connected to climate.Not surprisingly, given the pervasive influence of climate, there is a high demand for reliable spatial climate data [indeed, this was very much the theme at the recent World Climate Conference 3: Better climate information for a better future (see www.wmo.int/wcc3/page_en.php); Munang et al. 2010]. In forestry and many other sectors, there is often a need for estimates well away from meteorological stations, which tend to be clustered near agricultural and urban areas. This need is met by "spatial" climate models, which can provide  Natural resources Canada, Canadian forest service, and their partners have developed spatial spline models and gridded datasets for North america for a wide variety of variables, time steps, and spatial resolutions.

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