TY - JOUR
T1 - Comparing the non-lethal and lethal effects of predation risk on goldfish anti-predatory behavior
AU - Katz, Merav Wacht
AU - Abramsky, Zvika
AU - Kotler, Burt P.
AU - Rosenzweig, Michael L.
AU - Altstein, Ofir
AU - Roth, Inbar
AU - Klimovitsky, Constantine
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
PY - 2016/10/1
Y1 - 2016/10/1
N2 - Little egrets (Egretta garzetta) and common goldfish (Carassius auratus) interacted in experimental theaters that challenge them with a behavioral game. We studied the behavioral tactics of both players. The experimental theaters consist of three equally spaced pools, each with a shelter in its center. The fish can take shelter in a safe but foodless habitat, or swim exposed in the open that contains food. The egrets can move among the pools to catch the exposed fish. We investigated the importance of non-lethal effects versus lethal effects on predator–prey interactions. We created a variance in predation pressure by keeping the number of egrets fixed but varying the number of pools of the experimental theater between 1 and 3 pools. In all treatments, even when the egret was present, individual goldfish emerged from protected cover occasionally, exposing at least their heads and sometimes their entire bodies in apparent disregard for the possibly lethal consequences. We assumed that this behavior stems from the fish's constant need to collect information about its surroundings. The fish responded appropriately to the variations in predation pressure by changing their activity level outside the cover, i.e., the fish drastically and significantly reduced their exposure outside the cover, as well as the rate of peeping, as predation pressure increased. The results demonstrate the importance role of non-lethal effects, and how they drive the behavior of prey in response to predation risk, which in turn, drives the action of the predator in an asymmetric two-player game of stealth and fear.
AB - Little egrets (Egretta garzetta) and common goldfish (Carassius auratus) interacted in experimental theaters that challenge them with a behavioral game. We studied the behavioral tactics of both players. The experimental theaters consist of three equally spaced pools, each with a shelter in its center. The fish can take shelter in a safe but foodless habitat, or swim exposed in the open that contains food. The egrets can move among the pools to catch the exposed fish. We investigated the importance of non-lethal effects versus lethal effects on predator–prey interactions. We created a variance in predation pressure by keeping the number of egrets fixed but varying the number of pools of the experimental theater between 1 and 3 pools. In all treatments, even when the egret was present, individual goldfish emerged from protected cover occasionally, exposing at least their heads and sometimes their entire bodies in apparent disregard for the possibly lethal consequences. We assumed that this behavior stems from the fish's constant need to collect information about its surroundings. The fish responded appropriately to the variations in predation pressure by changing their activity level outside the cover, i.e., the fish drastically and significantly reduced their exposure outside the cover, as well as the rate of peeping, as predation pressure increased. The results demonstrate the importance role of non-lethal effects, and how they drive the behavior of prey in response to predation risk, which in turn, drives the action of the predator in an asymmetric two-player game of stealth and fear.
KW - anti-predatory behavior
KW - food patches
KW - foraging games
KW - lethal and non-lethal effects
KW - optimal foraging
KW - predation risk
KW - predator–prey interaction
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84980348305&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1080/15659801.2015.1059720
DO - 10.1080/15659801.2015.1059720
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84980348305
SN - 1565-9801
VL - 62
SP - 121
EP - 127
JO - Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution
JF - Israel Journal of Ecology and Evolution
IS - 3-4
ER -