Blarina hylophaga (Soricomorpha: Soricidae)

Thompson, Cody W.; Choate, Jerry R.; Genoways, Hugh H.; Finck, Elmer J.

doi:10.1644/878.1

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 65 publications

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“…Elliot’s short-tailed shrews, typical of the diverse clade of shrews (Eulipotyphla: Soricidae), are small (13–16 g), voracious predators that use rapid speed coupled with a paralyzing, venomous saliva to subdue prey ( Thompson et al, 2011 ). Given their small body size and relatively high mass-specific metabolic rate, shrews require nearly their entire body mass in food each day to avoid starvation ( Saarikko, 1989 ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Due to their increased motile behavior, female crickets are theoretically more likely than males to be preyed upon by shrews. Given shrews are habitat generalists with abundant yet locally patchy distributions ( Thompson et al, 2011 ), there is a potential that unequal predation risk between cricket sexes could alter sex ratios and lead to dynamic shifts in cricket metapopulations. To determine if female crickets recognize and associate a higher predation risk from mobile, non-acoustically hunting insectivores disproportionately to males, we made use of chemical cues produced by the shrew to measure indirect predation risk assessment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Shrews possess numerous, highly odiferous abdominal glands for marking territories and deterring predators ( Thompson et al, 2011 ). These chemical markings could be used by crickets as an indicator of shrew presence in the wild.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex-based differences in anti-predator response of crickets to chemical cues of a mammalian predator

Tanis

Bott

Gaston

2018

PeerJ

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Anti-predator behaviors like vigilance or hiding come at the expense of other fitness increasing behaviors such as foraging. To compensate for this trade-off, prey assess predation risk and modify the frequency of anti-predator behaviors according to the likelihood of the threat. In this study, we tested the ability of house crickets (Acheta domesticus) to indirectly assess predation risk via odors from a mammalian predator, Elliot’s short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga). As natural differences in encounter rates and predation risk differs between sexes, we tested if male and female crickets perceive similar rates of predation risk from the presence of shrew odor measured via anti-predator behavioral response. Crickets were placed in enclosed, cardboard-lined chambers either treated with shrew odor or control, along with a food source. Time until foraging was measured for each individual and compared across treatment and sex. We found that in the presence of shrew odor, female crickets delayed foraging while males showed no response. These results suggest adult crickets can use chemical cues to detect mammalian predators. Furthermore, we demonstrate that female crickets associate greater predation risk from shrew predators than do male crickets, which are more stationary yet acoustically conspicuous. As predation risk potentially differs drastically for each sex, changes to the operational sex ratios of wild cricket populations could be influenced by the identity of the predator community.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Sex-based differences in anti-predator response of crickets to chemical cues of a mammalian predator

Tanis

Bott

Gaston

2018

PeerJ

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“…However, the identification of this species, and its resulting distribution, was based solely on morphometric analysis of the skull. Recent genetic work in Arkansas has shown that what was originally believed to be B. hylophaga in southern Arkansas (as reported by George et al 1981 andThompson et al 2011) was actually B. carolinensis (Pfau et al 2011). Based on this recent information, we felt that the presence of B. hylophaga in Louisiana was questionable and thus de -cided not to include it in this study.…”

mentioning

confidence: 97%

“…The Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries (LDWF) considers S. longirostris imperiled in the state because of its rarity (LDWF 2013). A fourth species, Elliot's short-tailed shrew (Blarina hylophaga), is suggested to exist in the extreme northwestern portion of Louisiana (George et al 1981, Thompson et al 2011. However, the identification of this species, and its resulting distribution, was based solely on morphometric analysis of the skull.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%