Prey metabolic responses to predators depend on predator hunting mode and prey antipredator defenses

Sommer, Nathalie R.; Alshwairikh, Yara A.; Arietta, A. Z. Andis; Skelly, David K.; Buchkowski, Robert W.

doi:10.1111/oik.09664

Cited by 2 publications

(1 citation statement)

References 101 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Conversely, there was a positive correlation for Apodemus mice, which are generally more socially tolerant (Spearman's ρ: r = 0.865, p < 0.001). For a more comprehensive understanding of species-, sex-, age-, nutrition-, and habitat-specific characteristics, as well as effects of diel vulnerability to predation in the future, it would be promising to combine the camera trap survey with live-trapping [84][85][86], diet tracing [31,[87][88][89][90], and further related aspects [69,[91][92][93][94][95][96]. This approach would also enable a more precise measurement of the crucial parameter of availability [97].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Probst,

Probst

2023

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

(1) Background: Bank voles (Clethrionomys glareolus) and Apodemus mice are of exceptional importance as prey for predators in temperate mixed forests. We hypothesized that overall prey availability would increase linearly with prey frequency, and that the daylight hours, which are considered particularly dangerous, would be used only during seasonal rodent population peaks and only in the twilight hours. (2) Methods: We conducted a two-year camera-trapping study in an inner alpine mixed forest and collected 19,138 1 min videos in 215 camera-trap nights. Prey availability was defined as the pseudo-replication-limited maximum number of the respective rodent taxon per 30 min period, summed per season. (3) Results: Overall prey availability increased with frequency, i.e., the maximum number of rodent individuals per camera-trap night. Seasonally, Apodemus mice were particularly available to predators in the summer and bank voles in the autumn after a tree mast year. In both cases, this was accompanied by a significant increase in diurnal availability. During the population peak of Apodemus mice, the nocturnal availability of bank voles decreased without a concurrent increase in absolute diurnal availability, even though the significant relative shift to diurnal activity superficially suggested this. Bank voles were active throughout the day, while Apodemus mice were nocturnal and (rarely) crepuscular. (4) Conclusions: Availability of rodents to predators, especially during daylight hours, was mainly dependent on their tree mast-induced increased frequencies. Bank voles likewise responded strongly to interspecific competition with the larger and aggressive Apodemus mice, which negatively affected availability to predators. At our seasonal level of evaluation, we conclude that nycthemeral availability of forest-dwelling rodents to generalist predators of temperate mixed forests is predominantly driven by bottom-up mechanisms.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Probst,

Probst

2023

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

Direct and indirect effects of cougar predation on bighorn sheep fitness

Cloutier,

Festa‐Bianchet,

Pelletier

2024

Ecology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Predation has direct effects on prey population dynamics through mortality, and it can induce indirect effects through fear. The indirect effects of predation have been documented experimentally, but few studies have quantified them in nature so that their role in prey population dynamics remains controversial. Given the expanding or reintroduced populations of large predators in many areas, the quantification of indirect effects of predation is crucial. We sought to evaluate the direct and indirect fitness effects of intense cougar (Puma concolor) predation using 48 years of data on marked bighorn sheep (Ovis canadensis) on Ram Mountain, Alberta, Canada. We compared years of intense cougar predation with years with no or occasional cougar predation. We first quantified the effects of predation on neonatal, weaning, and overwinter lamb survival, three metrics potentially affected by direct and indirect effects. We then investigated the possible indirect effects of intense cougar predation on lamb production, female summer mass gain, and lamb mass at weaning. We found strong effects of cougar predation on lamb survival, lamb production, and seasonal mass gain of lambs and adult females. In years with high predation, neonatal, weaning, and overwinter lamb survival declined by 18.4%, 19.7% and 20.8%, respectively. Indirect effects included a 14.2% decline in lamb production. Female summer mass gain decreased by 15.6% and lamb mass at weaning declined by 8.0% in years of intense cougar predation. Our findings bring key insights on the impacts of predation on prey fitness by reporting moderate to large effects on recruitment and illustrate the importance of indirect effects of predation on population dynamics.

show abstract

Prey metabolic responses to predators depend on predator hunting mode and prey antipredator defenses

Cited by 2 publications

References 101 publications

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Seasonal Changes in Nycthemeral Availability of Sympatric Temperate Mixed Forest Rodents: The Predators’ Perspective

Direct and indirect effects of cougar predation on bighorn sheep fitness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About