Effects of predation risk on behavior, hormone levels, and reproductive success of plateau pikas

Yin, Baofa; Yang, Shengmei; Shang, Guozhen; Wei, Wanhong

doi:10.1002/ecs2.1643

Cited by 25 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 42 publications

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“…Predators play an important role in the control of pikas as the direct and indirect predation risk effects can significantly affect the fertility and survival of pikas [ 45 , 65 ]. Over the past decades, plateau pikas have been targeted for control by poisoning primarily because they are believed to have a negative impact on rangeland and compete with livestock for food [ 43 ].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk assessment in the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae): intensity of behavioral response differs with predator species

et al. 2020

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Background The ability of a prey species to assess the risk that a predator poses can have important fitness advantages for the prey species. To better understand predator–prey interactions, more species need to be observed to determine how prey behavioral responses differ in intensity when approached by different types of predators. The plateau pika ( Ochotona curzoniae ) is preyed upon by all predators occurring in its distribution area. Therefore, it is an ideal species to study anti-predator behavior. In this study, we investigated the intensity of anti-predator behavior of pikas in response to visual cues by using four predator species models in Maqu County on the eastern Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. Results The behavioral response metrics, such as Flight Initiation Distance (FID), the hiding time and the percentage of vigilance were significantly different when exposed to a Tibetan fox, a wolf, a Saker falcon and a large-billed crow, respectively. Pikas showed a stronger response to Saker falcons compared to any of the other predators. Conclusions Our results showed that pikas alter their behavioral (such as FID, the hiding time and the vigilance) response intensity to optimally balance the benefits when exposed to different taxidermy predator species models. We conclude that pikas are able to assess their actual risk of predation and show a threat-sensitive behavioral response.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Risk assessment in the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae): intensity of behavioral response differs with predator species

et al. 2020

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“…In such habitat, it is adaptive for pikas to be on guard against predation and escape into surrounding burrows, thereby diminishing their predation losses (Wangdwei et al, 2013;Badingqiuying et al, 2018). Due to reduced predation risk, pikas are also recorded having low levels of physiological stress which could decrease natural mortality and/or increase reproductive success (Yin et al, 2017).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In contrast, some studies have revealed that livestock could enhance survival of rabbits or pikas by creating their preferred habitats (i.e. reduced vegetation height and cover; Wangdwei et al, 2013;Yin et al, 2017). Despite limited experimental evidence, livestock trampling and wallowing have also been hypothesized to negatively affect the suitability of burrow systems for small mammals (Torre et al, 2007).…”

Section: / 41mentioning

confidence: 99%

Livestock grazing impacts on plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) vary by species identity

Wang

et al. 2019

Agriculture, Ecosystems & Environment

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Livestock and small burrowing mammals are potential ecosystem engineers and major drivers of ecosystem processes. Small mammals, often considered competitors with livestock, have been reported to increase in recent years and have been identified for their negative impacts on ecosystem services such as plant production and soil carbon sequestration.However, these increases and impacts by small mammals have rarely been studied with respect to how they may be influenced by livestock grazing. Here we experimentally manipulated large enclosures on the alpine grassland of Qinghai-Tibetan plateau, each with different livestock assemblages: yak (Bos grunniens), Tibetan sheep (Ovis aries), mixed populations of yak and sheep, and a control plot containing no livestock to study the potential impacts of livestock on the dominant small mammalian herbivore in the region, the plateau pikas (Ochotona curzoniae). We found that during the period of peak vegetative growth all pika populations in livestock experimental plots increased compared with those in the control plots. Additionally, pika populations and active pika burrow density increased more in experimental plots containing yaks compared with the sheep-only experimental plots. These results provide evidence that livestock grazing can increase the risk of pika outbreaks, which has led to this species being classified as a pest and subject to widespread control measures.We suggest explicitly incorporating livestock species identity in addition to grazing intensity and duration into management considerations to ensure maintenance of native biodiversity and long-term sustainability on the alpine grasslands of the Qinghai-Tibetan plateau.

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“…The predation‐stress hypothesis is more recent and has consequently been less studied than the predation‐sensitive foraging hypothesis (Clinchy et al, ) . However, it is receiving growing empirical support (Clinchy et al, ; Hammerschlag et al, ; Yin, Yang, Shang, & Wei, ) and it seems to play a central role in the dramatic demographic fluctuations of the snowshoe hare Lepus americanus —lynx Lynx canadensis cycles (Boonstra et al, ; MacLeod et al, ; Sheriff et al, ). Still, in some systems, the predation‐stress hypothesis does not apply.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Predation risk and mountain goat reproduction: Evidence for stress‐induced breeding suppression in a wild ungulate

et al. 2020

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1. Non-consumptive effects of predation can strongly impact reproduction and demography of prey species. Still, the underlying mechanisms that drive non-consumptive effects are not fully understood, and the circumstances under which chronic physiological stress may mediate these effects remain unclear.2. Benefiting from over 23 years of environmental, physiological and demographic data, we tested the hypothesis that predation risk may impair reproduction of mountain goats through chronic elevation of physiological stress. We conducted path analyses to assess the relationships between predation risk, faecal glucocorticoid metabolites and hair cortisol concentration, and reproduction, while taking into account the potential effects of age class, sex, body mass, season and within individual variation in glucocorticoid concentration.3. Predation risk had a direct positive effect on the average annual faecal glucocorticoid concentration in the population, which, in turn, negatively affected the proportion of reproductive females. The same pattern was observed with hair cortisol concentration, but these results were inconclusive potentially due to methodological challenges in estimating annual average of hair cortisol at the population level. 4. Our study presents one of the first robust evidence that stress-mediated breeding suppression can occur in a wild ungulate following increased predation risk, thereby providing a major insight on the mechanisms underlying non-consumptive effects of predation in wild mammals. K E Y W O R D Santi-predator behaviour, glucocorticoids, mountain goat, non-consumptive effects, predatorprey, reproductive success, risk effects, stress 1004 |

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Effects of predation risk on behavior, hormone levels, and reproductive success of plateau pikas

Cited by 25 publications

References 42 publications

Risk assessment in the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae): intensity of behavioral response differs with predator species

Risk assessment in the plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae): intensity of behavioral response differs with predator species

Livestock grazing impacts on plateau pika (Ochotona curzoniae) vary by species identity

Predation risk and mountain goat reproduction: Evidence for stress‐induced breeding suppression in a wild ungulate

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