Effects of size, caudal autotomy, and predator kairomones on the foraging behavior of Allegheny Mountain dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ochrophaeus)

Gildemeister, Emilia A. R.; Payette, Wesley I.; Sullivan, Aaron M.

doi:10.1007/s10211-017-0259-2

Cited by 8 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…Forfeiture of the tail can also negatively affect future foraging, as autotomized salamanders have been found to have a significantly greater latency to strike at prey and to make fewer predatory strikes than intact salamanders (Gildemeister et al 2017). The Chinese skink Eumeces chinensis, as an example, also seems to experience reduced sprint speed following experimental tail removal (Lin et al 2006).…”

Section: Which Taxa Deflect Their Predators' Attacks and By What Mechmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Humphreys

Ruxton

2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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Deflection occurs in predator-prey interactions where prey possess traits that influence the position of the predator's initial contact with the prey's body in a way that enhances the prey's probability of survival when attacked. As an anti-predatory defence occurring late in the sequence of an attack, deflection is an understudied but fascinating strategy involving a range of unusual adaptations in diverse prey species. Deflective traits have been postulated to be important to the defensive strategies of a range of organisms, but while evidence for its existence is quite variable among groups, we argue that previous research neglects some promising taxa. As a defence, deflection will probably play a crucial role in the behavioural ecology and evolution of both prey species and their predators; as such it warrants greater interest from zoologists. Here, we first summarise what is known about deflection from the current literature. We next offer predictions about the coevolutionary possibilities surrounding deflection, based on the benefits and costs experienced by prey and their predators. Finally, we outline the most interesting outstanding avenues for future research in the field of deflection and make novel suggestions as to how they could be usefully explored.

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Section: Which Taxa Deflect Their Predators' Attacks and By What Mechmentioning

confidence: 99%

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Humphreys

Ruxton

2018

Biological Journal of the Linnean Society

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“…They can also assess the amount of time organisms will spend in the vicinity of a predator before fleeing, and be expanded to help understand the negative outcomes of autotomy on foraging [57]. According to these models, organisms that have recently undergone autotomy are more likely to seek refuge and forgo foraging opportunities compared to non-injured conspecifics [57][58][59], reducing overall pressure on prey populations and further supporting the trends described by Barrios et al [54] in the sea star H. helianthus.…”

Section: (D) Foraging Successmentioning

confidence: 71%

Shake it off: exploring drivers and outcomes of autotomy in marine invertebrates

Jobson,

Hamel,

Mercier

2024

Biol. Lett.

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Autotomy refers to self-amputation where the loss of a limb or organ is generally said to be (1) in response to stressful external stimuli; (2) voluntary and nervously mediated; (3) supported by adaptive features that increase efficiency and simultaneously mediate the cost; and (4) morphologically delineated by a predictable breakage plane. It is estimated that this phenomenon has evolved independently nine different times across the animal kingdom, appearing in many different taxa, including vertebrate and invertebrate as well as aquatic and terrestrial animals. Marine invertebrates use this behaviour in a diversity of manners that have yet to be globally reviewed and critically examined. Here, published data from marine invertebrate taxa were used to explore instances of injury as an evolutionary driver of autotomy. Findings suggest that phyla (e.g. Echinodermata and Arthropoda) possibly experiencing high rates of injury (tissue damage or loss) are more likely to be able to perform autotomy. Additionally, this review looks at various morphological, physiological and environmental conditions that have either driven the evolution or maintained the behaviour of autotomy in marine invertebrates. Finally, the use of autotomic abilities in the development of more sustainable and less ecologically invasive fisheries is explored.

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“…Individuals may use predator-avoidance mechanisms to avoid the foraging areas of predators and anti-predator mechanisms to reduce the probability of predation when they are within the perceptual fields of predators (Brodie et al 1991). Predatoravoidance mechanisms include behavioral responses to predators such as hiding in refuges, altering foraging, and changing activity level or period (e.g., Smith 1979;Watson et al 2004;Epp and Gabor 2008;Gildemeister et al 2017). Anti-predator mechanisms include morphological traits (e.g., spines and shells), behavioral responses to predators (e.g., alterations in posture, immobility, biting, and fleeing), and physiological responses to predators (e.g., autotomy of an appendage and secretion of distasteful chemicals) that increase the probability of surviving an attack (e.g., Brodie 1977;Ducey and Brodie 1983;Dowdey and Brodie 1989).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Similarly, individuals that detect alarm chemicals released from injured individuals may increase refuge use or avoid areas with such chemicals (e.g., Lutterschmidt et al 1994;Marvin and Hutchison 1995;Chivers and Smith 1998). Individuals that detect predator cues may also decrease activity (e.g., Smith 1979;Mathis et al 2003;Epp and Gabor 2008) and alter foraging and mating behavior to reduce exposure to predators (Whitham and Mathis 2000;Sullivan et al 2002;Watson et al 2004;Johnson and Sullivan 2014;Fonner and Woodley 2015;Gildemeister et al 2017). In addition to adaptive behavioral responses to predation stress, acute physiological responses may enhance some anti-predator mechanisms.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Acute physiological response by the plethodontid salamander Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander) to predation stress from alarm chemicals and predator kairomones

Marvin

2020

Can. J. Zool.

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Plethodontid salamanders may reduce predation risk via behavioral responses to predator kairomones and alarm chemicals from injured salamanders. However, it not known whether such predator cues prompt acute physiological responses, which may enhance arousal and the physical ability to escape from a predator. I examined whether predator chemical cues elicit an acute cardiac response in Eurycea cirrigera (Green, 1831) (Southern Two-lined Salamander). I compared heart rates before and after exposure to the odor of the large predatory Pseudotriton ruber (Sonnini de Manoncourt and Latreille, 1801) (Red Salamander) and exposure to alarm chemicals from homogenized skin of conspecifics. For two controls, I compared heart rates before and after exposure to the odor of live conspecifics and the odor of the large non-predatory Plethodon mississippi Highton in Highton, Maha and Maxson, 1989 (Mississippi Slimy Salamander). Compared with resting values, heart rates significantly increased in response to predator kairomones (mean rate increased 10.9% after 2 min and 12.7% after 5 min) and alarm chemicals from conspecifics (mean rate increased 12.0% after 2 min and 14.5% after 5 min). In contrast, heart rates after exposure to each control odor did not significantly differ from resting values. Results demonstrate an acute cardiac response to chemical cues indicative of either a predator or a predation event.

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Effects of size, caudal autotomy, and predator kairomones on the foraging behavior of Allegheny Mountain dusky salamanders (Desmognathus ochrophaeus)

Cited by 8 publications

References 61 publications

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

What is known and what is not yet known about deflection of the point of a predator’s attack

Shake it off: exploring drivers and outcomes of autotomy in marine invertebrates

Acute physiological response by the plethodontid salamander Eurycea cirrigera (Southern Two-lined Salamander) to predation stress from alarm chemicals and predator kairomones

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