Size-based variation in antipredator behavior within a snake (Agkistrodon piscivorus) population

Roth, Eric D.; Johnson, Joel A.

doi:10.1093/beheco/arh024

Cited by 47 publications

(39 citation statements)

References 61 publications

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“…The antipredator behavioural repertoire is determined by various factors. These include morphological characteristics (Mc Lean and Godin 1989;Losos et al 2002;Mima et al 2003) and size and age of the prey individual (Krause et al 1998;Irschick 2000;Shine et al 2000;Roth and Johnson 2004;Creer 2005;Husak 2006;Wohlfahrt et al 2007;Landová et al 2013). Also, many environmental features affect antipredator behaviour such as the intensity of threatening stimuli (Puttlitz et al 1999;Polo-Cavia et al 2008;Ibáñez et al 2014) and availability and distance of refuges (Mc Lean and Godin 1989;Krause et al 1998;.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Ontogenetic changes in antipredator behaviour are pronounced in precocial species (Krause et al 1998;Irschick 2000;Shine et al 2000;Roth and Johnson 2004;Creer 2005;Husak 2006;Landová et al 2013), in which the ability to avoid predation by themselves is under strong selective pressure (Carrier 1996). Studies of ontogenetic changes in natural populations are limited due to mere age assessment.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Ontogenetic shift of antipredator behaviour in Hermann’s tortoises

Golubović

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Armoured animals generally exhibit two main antipredator responses: They either flee or stay motionless, withdrawn in their protective armour. The transition between these two threat reactions can be affected by the degree of armour sturdiness. Tortoise shell stiffness gradually increases through ontogeny due to ossification. Additionally, neonates do not benefit from parental protection. Thus, juvenile survival could rely strongly on behavioural adaptations. This experimental approach addresses the effects of age (size), morphology, sex and population of origin on the transition between the two strategies. Predator attack was simulated by overturning individuals on their backs. Juveniles displayed bolder threat response comparing to adults. They also spent shorter periods of time withdrawn in shells and inspecting surroundings. Immature tortoises from all localities had high self-righting success, contrary to adults. The deterioration of righting success coincides with age of sexual maturation. Prompt switch from hiding to fleeing strategy in threatened juvenile tortoises implies that natural selection acts strongly on their swiftness and agility. Sexes did not diverge in antipredator displays. Self-righting speed correlated with shell shape in both juveniles and adults. Morphological measurements used in this study affected self-righting speed only in adults. These effects were accompanied with a general negative effect of increase in body size. Further studies should explore how frequency of predator encounters (i.e. experience) shape antipredator behaviour of tortoises. This could have conservation implications, especially for efficient releasing of animals from captive breeding programs.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ontogenetic shift of antipredator behaviour in Hermann’s tortoises

Golubović

2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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“…An animal’s perception of risk can be influenced by its susceptibility to predation based on body size (Roth and Johnson 2004; Urban 2007), as well as previous interactions with predators. Prior experience with predators has been shown to influence the perception of risk in a variety of taxa, including mammals (Owings et al 2001), fish (Kelley and Magurran 2003; Walling et al 2004), and lizards (Labra and Leonard 1999).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Strain-specific alteration of zebrafish feeding behavior in response to aversive stimuli

Oswald

2008

Can. J. Zool.

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Behavioral management of risk, in which organisms must balance the requirements of obtaining food resources with the risk of predation, has been of considerable interest to ethologists for many years. Although numerous experiments have shown that animals alter their foraging behavior depending on the levels of perceived risk and demand for nutrients, few have considered the role of genetic variation in the trade-off between these variables. We performed a study of four zebrafish (Danio rerio (Hamilton, 1822)) strains to test for genetic variation in foraging behavior and whether this variation affected their response to both aversive stimuli and nutrient restriction. Zebrafish strains differed significantly in their latency to begin foraging from the surface of the water under standard laboratory conditions. Fish fed sooner when nutrients were restricted, although this was only significant in the absence of aversive stimuli. Aversive stimuli caused fish to delay feeding in a strain-specific manner. Strains varied in food intake and specific growth rate, and feeding latency was significantly correlated with food intake. Our results indicate significant genetic variation in foraging behavior and the perception of risk in zebrafish, with a pattern of strain variation consistent with behavioral adaptation to captivity.

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“…predator type, habitat characteristics). Among them ontogeny is a major factor that can influence the level of ecological performance within natural populations as it affects a broad range of ecological, physiological and behavioural characteristics (see Roth and Johnson, 2004). However, studies investigating changes in the performance of animal function with ontogeny are restricted to relatively few groups of organisms, mainly vertebrates, and few traits, such as locomotor and feeding systems.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Escape performance decreases during ontogeny in wild crickets

Dangles

Pierre

Christidès

et al. 2007

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SUMMARY Increasing the ecological relevance of studies relating to the performance of organisms has been a central issue for functional biologists over the last few years. Of particular concern are changes in performance throughout the life cycle as selective forces act differently on various life stages. We addressed this issue experimentally by following ontogenic variations in the escape performance of crickets threatened by artificial predatory signals. We measured their performance under natural settings, which is a necessary approach yet one that is undocumented in insects. We analysed numeric film sequences obtained using a high-speed video camera at 1000 frames s–1 to quantify wild cricket performance and behaviour in the field. We detected significant differences in cricket escape performance throughout ontogeny. Escape performances were higher in juvenile crickets than older instars. Complementary behavioural measurements for escaping crickets suggest that these variations may be related to the lower predatory risk perceived by large adults than by juveniles. We expect that our analysis of size-refuge will also improve our understanding in the development of performance, given its importance in community and population ecology theories.

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Size-based variation in antipredator behavior within a snake (Agkistrodon piscivorus) population

Cited by 47 publications

References 61 publications

Ontogenetic shift of antipredator behaviour in Hermann’s tortoises

Ontogenetic shift of antipredator behaviour in Hermann’s tortoises

Strain-specific alteration of zebrafish feeding behavior in response to aversive stimuli

Escape performance decreases during ontogeny in wild crickets

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