Predators often induce shifts in the traits of nearby prey, and these trait shifts are important in mediating a variety of evolutionary and ecological processes. However, little is known about the spatial and temporal scales over which predators induce trait shifts. We empirically determined the spatial scale of predator avoidance by measuring the habitat use and growth rates of snails (Physa acuta) held at varying distances from a caged pumpkinseed sunfish (Lepomis gibbosus). Refuge use was highest near the fish and gradually decayed to background level, with a characteristic response range of 1.0 m. Snail growth rates were negligible near the predator but increased with greater separation from fish. The dependence of behavior on the age of chemical cues was measured in a mesocosm experiment in which water was withdrawn from a tank holding pumpkinseeds and held for varying lengths of time before being added to experimental mesocosms with snails. Fresh cues elicited the strongest habitat shifts relative to well‐water controls, and avoidance behavior decayed in an exponential manner with increasing cue age. The characteristic lifetime of avoidance behavior was 41 h. Taken together, these results allow us to begin to describe the behavioral landscape created by mobile predators. Corresponding Editor: S. P. Lawler

We present medium resolution (R ¼ 60; 000) absorption measurements of the interstellar Ca II K line observed towards five nearby A-type stars (49 Ceti, 5 Vul, ι Cyg, 2 And, and HD 223884) suspected of possessing circumstellar gas debris disks. The stars were observed on a nightly basis during a six night observing run on the 2.1-meter Otto Struve telescope at the McDonald Observatory, Texas. We have detected nightly changes in the absorption strength of the Ca II K line observed near the stellar radial velocity in three of the stars (49 Ceti, i Cyg and HD 223884). Such changes in absorption suggest the presence of a circumstellar (atomic) gas disk around these stars. In addition to the absorption changes in the main Ca II K line profile, we have also observed weak transient absorption features that randomly appear at redshifted velocities in the spectra of 49 Ceti, 5 Vul, and 2 And. These absorption features are most probably associated with the presence of falling evaporated bodies (exo-comets) that liberate evaporating gas on their approach to the central star. This now brings the total number of systems in which exocomet activity has been observed at Ca II or Na I wavelengths on a nightly basis to seven (β Pic, HR 10, HD 85905, β Car, 49 Ceti, 5 Vul, and 2 And), with 2 And exhibiting weaker and less frequent changes. All of the disk systems presently known to exhibit either type of short-term variability in Ca II K line absorption are rapidly rotating A-type stars (V sin i > 120 km s À1 ). Most exhibit mid-IR excesses, and many of them are very young (<20 Myr), thus supporting the argument that many of them are transitional objects between Herbig Ae and "Vega-like" A-type stars with more tenuous circumstellar disks. No mid-IR excess (due to the presence of a dust disk) has yet been detected around either 2 And or HD 223884, both of which have been classified as λ Boötis-type stars. This may indicate that the observed changes in gas absorption for these two stars may not be due to circumstellar activity, but may instead be associated with the stars' episodic mass loss and passage though low-density interstellar clouds.

We present medium spectral resolution (R ∼ 60; 000) observations of the CaII K-line (3,933 Å) absorption profiles observed toward 21 nearby A-type stars thought to possess circumstellar gas debris disks. The stars were repeatedly observed over two observing runs on the 2.1 m Otto Struve telescope at the McDonald Observatory, Texas in 2011 May and 2012 November. Nightly changes in the absorption strength of the CaII K-line near the stellar radial velocity were observed in four of the stars (HD 21620, HD 110411, HD 145964 and HD 183324). This type of absorption variability indicates the presence of a circumstellar gas disk around these stars. We also have detected weak absorption features that sporadically appear with velocities in the range AE100 km s À1 of the main circumstellar K-line in the spectra of HD 21620, HD 42111, HD 110411 and HD 145964. Due to the known presence of both gas and dust disks surrounding these four stars, these transient absorption features are most probably associated with the presence of Falling Evaporated Bodies (FEBs, or exocomets) that are thought to liberate gas on their grazing trajectory toward and around the central star. This now brings the total number of A-type stars in which the evaporation of CaII gas from protoplanetary bodies (i.e., exocomets) has been observed to vary on a nightly basis to 10 systems. A statistical analysis of the 10 A-stars showing FEB-activity near the CaII K-line compared to 21 A-type stars that exhibit no measurable variability reveals that FEB-activity occurs in significantly younger stellar systems that also exhibit chemical peculiarities. The presence of FEB-activity does not appear to be associated with a strong mid-IR excess. This is probably linked to the disk inclination angle, since unless the viewing angle is favorable the detection of time-variable absorption may be unlikely. Additionally, if the systems are more evolved then the evaporation of gas due to FEB activity could have ceased, whereas the circumstellar dust disk may still remain.

1. Studies of species distributions across environmental gradients further our understanding of mechanisms regulating species diversity at the landscape scale. For some freshwater taxa the habitat gradient from small, shallow and temporary ponds to large, deep and permanent lakes has been shown to be an important environmental axis. Freshwater snails are key players in freshwater ecosystems, but there are no comprehensive studies of their distributions across the entire freshwater habitat gradient. Here we test the hypothesis that snail species in the family Physidae are distributed in a non-random manner across the habitat gradient. We sampled the snails, their predators and the abiotic environment of 61 ponds and lakes, spanning a wide range in depth and hydroperiod. Temporary habitats had the lowest biomass of predators. Shallow permanent ponds had the highest biomass of invertebrate predators but an intermediate fish biomass. Deep ponds and lakes had the highest fish biomass and intermediate invertebrate biomass.Five species of physids occurred in the regional species pool and 60 of the 61 ponds and lakes surveyed contained physid snails. Each pond and lake contained an average of just 1.2 physid species, illustrating limited membership in local communities and substantial among-site heterogeneity in species composition. 3. Physids showed strong sorting along the habitat gradient, with Physa vernalis found in the shortest hydroperiod ponds and Aplexa elongata, P. gyrina, P. acuta and P. ancillaria found in habitats of successively greater permanence. When organised into a siteby-species incidence matrix with sites ordered according to their hydroperiods, we found the pattern of incidence to be highly coherent, showing that much of the heterogeneity in species composition from one pond to another is explained by hydroperiod. We also found that the number of species replacements along this gradient was higher than random, showing that replacement is more important than nesting in describing species composition in ponds of different hydroperiod. 4. Discriminant analysis showed that pond depth, invertebrate biomass and fish biomass were the best predictors of species composition. Analysis of these niche dimensions showed that P. vernalis and A. elongata were most successful in shallow, temporary ponds with few predators. P. gyrina and P. acuta were typically found in ponds of intermediate depth and high predator abundance. P. ancillaria was found in the deepest lakes, which had abundant fish predators but few invertebrate predators. Of the five species considered, P. ancillaria, P. vernalis and A. elongata were relatively specialised with regard to key habitat characteristics, P. gyrina was moderately generalised and P. acuta was remarkably generalised, since it alone occurred across the entire freshwater habitat gradient. The exceptional habitat breadth of P. acuta stands in contrast to distributional studies of other freshwater taxa and deserves further attention.

CaII K-line (3933 Å) absorption profiles observed towards 15 A-type and two B-type stars with known (or suspected) debris disks, in addition to archival spectral data for three A-type stars, are presented. Inspection of the extracted CaII K-line absorption lines has determined that one late B-type (HD 58647) and four new A-type (HD 56537, HD 64145, HD 108767, and HD 109573) stellar systems exhibit short-term (night-to-night) absorption variation within these profiles. This variability is due to the liberation of gas from falling evaporating bodies (the so-called FEBs activity) on the grazing approach of exocomets towards their parent star. Also we present archival spectra of the FeIλ3860 Å and CaII K-lines towardsβPictoris (HD 39060) that, for the first time, reveal the absorption signatures of FEB activity at similar velocities inbothline profiles. FEB-hosting stars seem to be of an earlier type (on average spectral type Al.8 as compared with A3.1) than those where no FEB activity has been observed. This could be due to stellar activity levels (such as chromospheric activity or nonradial pulsations) being of a higher level within the atmospheres of these hotter A-type stars.