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

Abstract

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.

Determinants of predation success: How to survive an attack from a rattlesnake

“…These strategies depend on different elements of performance. Predators that pursue prey (either sit‐and‐pursue or active pursuit) must adapt to the direction, speed and the manoeuvrability of the fleeing prey for a successful capture (Combes, Salcedo, Pandit, & Iwasaki, ; Moore & Biewener, ), and research on pursuit interactions tends to directly compare athletic performance between predators and prey (Wilson et al, ). Because sit‐and‐wait predators capture prey via rapid surprise attacks that minimize the probability of prey initiating a timely evasive response (Huey, Bennett, John‐Alder, & Nagy, ), ambush strategies putatively favour high predator acceleration and velocity to quickly close the gap between predator and prey.…”

OpenDropOff: An open‐source, low‐cost drop‐off unit for animal‐borne devices

“…For example, whilst some devices have the ability to transmit recorded data to remote download units (e.g. Wilson et al, ), for many animal‐borne devices, the financial costs, added weight and/or logistical difficulties in remotely downloading data limit the inclusion of such functions, and in these situations, recovery of sensors is required for data retrieval. Further, although the costs of animal‐borne sensors have decreased in recent years (Kays et al, ), the quantities required for robust statistical analyses can still make their use prohibitively expensive, particularly given the limited resources available for conservation (Matthews et al, ).…”

Evolutionary race as predators hunt prey

“…Yet direct measures of the key factors driving this type of hunt performance in the wild are difficult to obtain. On page 183, Wilson et al 1 report findings from their use of data-capturing collars to track the movement dynamics of wild animals in Botswana during hunts. The authors also conducted computer modelling of predator-prey interactions and carried out laboratory tests to assess the properties of the animals' muscles.…”

“…L ast year, scientists reported the coalescence of two astronomical objects known as neutron stars 1 . The event, called GW170817, produced gravitational waves, which had weakened to a faint 'chirp' by the time they reached us.…”