Differences in predator-avoidance behavior between two invasive gobies and their native competitors

Abstract

Globally, fish are frequently introduced beyond their native range. Some, like Ponto-Caspian gobies, are becoming invasive, achieving high colonization rates and constituting frequent prey for native predators. However, little is known about the effectiveness of antipredator behaviors of the invaders, which may shape their role in the invaded community and contribute to the invasion success. We compared antipredator behaviors of invasive gobies and native fish species after their detection by the predator, when the danger becomes direct. We studied two fish pairs, each consisting of an invasive and native species co-occurring in the environment and belonging to the same prey guild: (1) the racer goby Babka gymnotrachelus vs. European bullhead Cottus gobio, (2) the monkey goby Neogobius fluviatilis vs. gudgeon Gobio gobio, facing a naïve predator (the Eurasian perch Perca fluviatilis). We analyzed behaviors of single prey individuals (escaping, staying in shelter, activity) and single predators (activity, searching, following, capturing, latency to prey consumption). In the predator presence, the bullhead was less active and more often managed to escape after capture than the racer goby. The gudgeon escaped before the capture more often than the monkey goby. The predator succeeded later with the bullhead compared to racer goby, whereas no differences in ingestion time occurred between the gudgeon and monkey goby. The results suggest that, in terms of hunting effort of native predators, the invasive gobies are equivalent or more profitable prey than their native analogues, which can facilitate the integration of the gobies into local food webs.

The functional ecology of four invasive Ponto–Caspian gobies

“…It has been shown that the monkey and racer goby, compared to their native analogues, i.e. gudgeon G. gobio and European bullhead C. gobio, do not exhibit more effective defence behaviour in the face of a direct threat from European perch (Augustyniak et al 2022). In other laboratory studies, the behavioural responses of the monkey goby and gudgeon to predation cues (prey skin extracts) were less pronounced in invasive than native species (Kłosiński et al 2022).…”

“…Additionally, it shows that native predators can efficiently learn how to exploit gobies as new prey resources, despite there being no native counterparts of this family in European freshwaters where surveys were conducted. Laboratory studies (Augustyniak et al 2022;Kłosiński et al 2022) suggest that the gobies might be relatively easily accessible prey for some predators. It has been shown that the monkey and racer goby, compared to their native analogues, i.e.…”

Metabolic rate of two invasive Ponto‐Caspian goby species and their native competitors in the context of global warming

“…They represent a specific group of benthic, bladderless freshwater and brackish water fish, associated with shelters (Błońska et al., 2016; Charlebois et al., 1997; Kakareko, 2011) and exhibiting burst‐and‐hold swimming mode (Egger et al., 2021). Although they live at the bottom, they show dynamic escapes from predation (Augustyniak et al., 2023) and are capable of overcoming currents (Jermacz et al., 2015; Kakareko, 2011). Thus, in contrast to their generally low locomotor and metabolic demands, these fish rely on burst increases in activity.…”

Effects of predator species, composition and light environment on prey escape behaviours of invasive and native benthic fishes

“…Comparisons of prey escape behaviour between different fishes are rare (Scharf et al., 2003; Webb, 1984a, 1986), with few examples that include benthic prey (Augustyniak et al., 2023). Many comparisons are focused on the effect of stickleback armouring due to predator presence (Marchinko, 2009; McLean & Godin, 1989; Paccard et al., 2018).…”