The interactive effects of competition and predation risk on dispersal in an insect

Dispersal dynamics have significant consequences for ecological and evolutionary processes. Previous work has demonstrated that dispersal can be context-dependent. However, factors affecting dispersal are typically considered in isolation, despite the probability that individuals make dispersal decisions in response to multiple, possibly interacting factors. We examined whether two ecological factors, predation risk and intraspecific competition, have interactive effects on dispersal dynamics. We performed a factorial experiment in mesocosms using backswimmers (Notonecta undulata), flight-capable, semi-aquatic insects. Emigration rates increased with density, and increased with predation risk at intermediate densities; however, predation had minimal effects on emigration at high and low densities. Our results indicate that factorial experiments may be required to understand dispersal dynamics under realistic ecological conditions.     

Separating the effects of predation risk and interrupted foraging upon mass changes in the blue tit Parus caeruleus

The optimal amount of reserves that a small bird should carry depends upon a number of factors, including the availability of food and environmental predation risk levels. Theory predicts that, if predation risk increases, then a bird should maintain a lower level of reserves. Previous experiments have given mixed results: some have shown reduced reserves and some, increased reserves. However, the birds in these studies may have been interpreting a staged predation event as a period when they were unable to feed rather than a change in predation risk: theory predicts that, if the food supply within the environment is variable, then reserves should be increased. In the present study, we presented blue tits (Parus caeruleus) with a potential predator and compared this response (which could have been potentially confounded by perceived interruption effects) with a response to an actual interruption in the environment during both long and short daytime lengths. During long (but not short) days, the birds responded in line with theoretical predictions by increasing their reserves in response to interruption and reducing them in response to predation. These results are examined in the light of other experimental manipulations and we discuss how well experimental tests have tested the predictions made by theoretical models.     

Fat reserves and perceived predation risk in the great tit, Parus major

The fat reserves of small birds are built up daily as insurance against starvation. They are believed to reflect a trade-off between the risks of starvation and predation such that in situations of high predation risk birds are expected either to reduce their fat reserves in response to mass-dependent predation risk or to increase them in response to foraging interruptions. We assessed the effect on fat reserves of experimentally altering the perceived (but not the actual) risk of predation of wild great tits at a winter feeding site. The perceived predation risk was alternated between 'safe' and 'risky'. Increasing the perceived risk of predation involved 'swooping' a model sparrowhawk over the feeder at four unpredictable times each day using a remote mechanism We produce evidence that the experiment was suceessfull in altering the perceived risk of predation. As predicted from the hypothesis of mass-dependent predation risk, great tits (Parus major) carried significantly reduced fat reserves during the 'risky' treatment. Furthermore, dominant individuals were able to reduce their reserves more than subordinates. As birds returned to feeders within seconds after a predator 'attack', the reduction in fat reserves cannot be attributed to an interruption in feeding.     

Evaluating the effects of climate change on tree species abundance and distribution in the Italian peninsula

Question: What is the effect of climate change on tree species abundance and distribution in the Italian peninsula? Location: Italian peninsula. Methods: Regression tree analysis, Random Forest, generalized additive model and geostatistical methods were compared to identify the best model for quantifying the effect of climate change on tree species distribution and abundance. Future potential species distribution, richness, local colonization, local extinction and species turnover were modelled according to two scenarios (A2 and B1) for 2050 and 2080. Results: Robust Random Forest proved to be the best statistical model to predict the potential distribution of tree species abundance. Climate change could lead to a shift in tree species distribution towards higher altitudes and a reduction of forest cover. Pinus sylvestris and Tilia cordata may be considered at risk of local extinction, while the other species could find potential suitable areas at the cost of a rearrangement of forest community composition and increasing competition. Conclusions: Geographical and topographical regional characteristics can have a noticeable influence on the impact of predicted climate change on forest ecosystems within the Mediterranean basin. It would be highly beneficial to create a standardized and harmonized European forest inventory in order to evaluate, at high resolution, the effect of climate change on forest ecosystems, identify regional differences and develop specific adaptive management strategies and plans.     

Temporal variation in site fidelity: scale-dependent effects of forage abundance and predation risk in a non-migratory large herbivore

Large herbivores are typically confronted by considerable spatial and temporal variation in forage abundance and predation risk. Although animals can employ a range of behaviours to balance these limiting factors, scale-dependent movement patterns are expected to be an effective strategy to reduce predation risk and optimise foraging opportunities. We tested this prediction by quantifying site fidelity of global positioning system-collared, non-migratory female elk (Cervus canadensis manitobensis) across multiple nested temporal scales using a long-established elk–wolf (Canis lupus) system in Manitoba, Canada. Using a hierarchical analytical approach, we determined the combined effect of forage abundance and predation risk on variation in site fidelity within four seasons across four nested temporal scales: monthly, biweekly, weekly, daily. Site fidelity of female elk was positively related to forage-rich habitat across all seasons and most temporal scales. At the biweekly, weekly and daily scales, elk became increasingly attached to low forage habitat when risk was high (e.g. when wolves were close or pack sizes were large), which supports the notion that predator-avoidance movements lead to a trade-off between energetic requirements and safety. Unexpectedly, predation risk at the monthly scale increased fidelity, which may indicate that elk use multiple behavioural responses (e.g. movement, vigilance, and aggregation) simultaneously to dilute predation risk, especially at longer temporal scales. Our study clearly shows that forage abundance and predation risk are important scale-dependent determinants of variation in site fidelity of non-migratory female elk and that their combined effect is most apparent at short temporal scales. Insight into the scale-dependent behavioural responses of ungulate populations to limiting factors such as predation risk and forage variability is essential to infer the fitness costs incurred.     

Dispersal depends on body condition and predation risk in the semi‐aquatic insect,Notonecta undulata

Dispersal is the movement of organisms across space, which has important implications for ecological and evolutionary processes, including community composition and gene flow. Previous studies have demonstrated that dispersal is influenced by body condition; however, few studies have been able to separate the effects of body condition from correlated variables such as body size. Moreover, the results of these studies have been inconsistent with respect to the direction of the relationship between condition and dispersal. We examined whether body condition influences dispersal in backswimmers (Notonecta undulata). We also tested whether an interaction between body condition and predation risk (another proximate factor that influences dispersal) could contribute to the previously observed inconsistent relationship between condition and dispersal. We imposed diet treatments on backswimmers in the laboratory, and measured the effects of food availability on body condition and dispersal in the field. We found that dispersal was a positive function of body condition, which may have important consequences for population characteristics such as the rate of gene flow and population growth. However, the effects of body condition and predation risk were additive, not interactive, and therefore, our data do not support the hypothesis that the interaction between condition and predation risk contributes to the inconsistency in the results of previous condition‐dependent dispersal studies.     

Disentangling climate change effects on species interactions: effects of temperature, phenological shifts, and body size

Climate-mediated shifts in species’ phenologies are expected to alter species interactions, but predicting the consequences of this is difficult because phenological shifts may be driven by different climate factors that may or may not be correlated. Temperature could be an important factor determining effects of phenological shifts by altering species’ growth rates and thereby the relative size ratios of interacting species. We tested this hypothesis by independently manipulating temperature and the relative hatching phenologies of two competing amphibian species. Relative shifts in hatching time generally altered the strength of competition, but the presence and magnitude of this effect was temperature dependent and joint effects of temperature and hatching phenology were non-additive. Species that hatched relatively early or late performed significantly better or worse, respectively, but only at higher temperatures and not at lower temperatures. As a consequence, climate-mediated shifts in hatching phenology or temperature resulted in stronger or weaker effects than expected when both factors acted in concert. Furthermore, consequences of phenological shifts were asymmetric; arriving relatively early had disproportional stronger (or weaker) effects than arriving relatively late, and this varied with species identity. However, consistent with recent theory, these seemingly idiosyncratic effects of phenological shifts could be explained by species-specific differences in growth rates across temperatures and concordant shifts in relative body size of interacting species. Our results emphasize the need to account for environmental conditions when predicting the effects of phenological shifts, and suggest that shifts in size-structured interactions can mediate the impact of climate change on natural communities.     

Plant neighbours mediate bird predation effects on arthropod abundance and herbivory

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The effects of predation on the condition of soft corals

Coral Reefs - Soft corals are well known for producing toxic and unpalatable compounds to deter predation. In spite of these antipredation defences, a suite of specialised predators has coevolved...     

Direct and indirect effects of predation and predation risk in old-field interaction webs

ABSTRACT Indirect effects emerge when a change in the abundance of one species indirectly affects another by changing the abundances of intermediate species-called density-mediated indirect effects-or they arise when one species modifies how two other species interact-called trait-mediated indirect effects. I report on field experiments that evaluated how grass and herb biomass in old-field interaction webs was influenced indirectly by a spider carnivore through its interactions with a generalist and a grass-specialist grasshopper species. I manipulated interaction pathways between the spider and the plants using different combinations of the grasshopper species. I changed the modality of predator-prey interactions to isolate density-mediated from trait-mediated effects using natural spiders (predation spiders) or spiders that were prevented from subduing prey by mouthpart manipulation (risk spiders). I found that indirect effects were stronger in speciose, reticulate food webs than in linear food chains owing to a trait-mediated effect, a diet shift by herbivores in response to predation risk. Spiders alone did not have significant effects on grasshopper densities in the field experiments, removing any possibility of density-mediated indirect effects. The study illustrates that ecologists should not underestimate the importance of behavioral ecology in determining community-level interactions.     

Environmental and genetic variation in body condition and blood profile of great tit Parus major nestlings

Health state parameters in natural populations can be used as bioindicators of environmental health if they respond to environmental cues. We studied to which extent health state parameters (morphological, biochemical, and haematological) were determined by the environment in which nestling birds were reared or by their genotype, using a cross-fostering experiment in great tits Parus major . Morphological parameters and plasma protein, had a higher environmental than genetic component of variance which could be related with food availability differing between rearing nests. Glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme involved in antioxidant protection, also had a relatively high environmental component of variance, suggesting that nestlings in different rearing nests were exposed to different degrees of oxidative stress. Plasma cholinesterases were more influenced by the birds' genotype than by the rearing environment. The parameters with the lowest residual variance and the highest environmental component of variance such as glutathione peroxidase, plasma protein and morphological parameters (tarsus length and weight) would be more adequate as bioindicators.     

Growing through predation windows: effects on body size development in young fish

The degree to which growth in early life stages of animals is regulated via density‐dependent feedbacks through prey resources is much debated. Here we have studied the influence of size‐ and density‐dependent mechanisms as well as size‐selective predation pressure by cannibalistic perch Perca fluviatilis on growth patterns of young‐of‐the‐year (YOY) perch covering several lakes and years. We found no influence of initial size or temperature on early body size development of perch. In contrast, there was a negative relationship between reproductive output and the length of YOY perch at five weeks of age. However, rather than an effect of density‐dependent growth mediated via depressed resources the relationship was driven by positive size‐selective cannibalism removing large individuals. Hence, given a positive correlation between the density of victims and predation pressure by cannibals, size‐dependent interactions between cannibals and their victims may wrongly be interpreted as patterns of density‐dependent growth in the victim cohort. Overall, our results support the view that density‐dependent resource‐limitation in early life stages is rare. Still, patterns of density‐dependent growth may emerge, but from variation in size‐selective predation pressure rather than density as such. This illustrates the importance of taking overall population demography and predatory interactions into account when studying growth patterns among recruiting individuals.     

Implications of body condition on the unsustainable predation rates of endangered mountain caribou

Both top-down and bottom-up processes influence herbivore populations, and identifying dominant limiting factors is essential for applying effective conservation actions. Mountain caribou are an endangered ecotype of woodland caribou (Rangifer tarandus caribou) that have been declining, and unsustainable predation has been identified as the proximate cause. To investigate the role of poor nutrition, we examined the influence of sex, season, age class, and available suitable habitat (i.e., old-growth forest>140 years) per caribou on bone marrow fat content of caribou that died (n = 79). Sex was the only strong predictor of marrow fat. Males that died during and post rut had lower marrow fat than females or males at other times of year. Old-growth abundance per caribou, season, and age class did not predict marrow fat. Caribou killed by predators did not have less marrow fat than those that died in accidents, suggesting that nutritionally stressed caribou were not foraging in less secure habitats or that predators selected nutritionally stressed individuals. Marrow fat in endangered and declining populations of mountain caribou was similar to caribou in other, more viable populations. Our results support previous research suggesting that observed population declines of mountain caribou are due to excessive predation that is not linked to body condition.     

A meta-analysis of predation risk effects on pollinator behaviour

Flower-visiting animals are constantly under predation risk when foraging and hence might be expected to evolve behavioural adaptations to avoid predators. We reviewed the available published and unpublished data to assess the overall effects of predators on pollinator behaviour and to examine sources of variation in these effects. The results of our meta-analysis showed that predation risk significantly decreased flower visitation rates (by 36%) and time spent on flowers (by 51%) by pollinators. The strength of the predator effects depended neither on predator taxa and foraging mode (sit-and-wait or active hunters) nor on pollinator lifestyle (social vs. solitary). However, predator effects differed among pollinator taxa: predator presence reduced flower visitation rates and time spent on flowers by Squamata, Lepidoptera and Hymenoptera, but not by Diptera. Furthermore, larger pollinators showed weaker responses to predation risk, probably because they are more difficult to capture. Presence of live crab spiders on flowers had weaker effects on pollinator behaviour than presence of dead or artificial crab spiders or other objects (e.g. dead bees, spheres), suggesting that predator crypsis may be effective to some extent. These results add to a growing consensus on the importance of considering both predator and pollinator characteristics from a community perspective.     

Egg-brooding, body size and predation risk in planktonic marine copepods

We investigated the interacting effects of copepod body size and the presence or absence of egg masses on the risk of predation by a visual predator. We conducted selection experiments involving three-spined sticklebacks (Gasterosteus aculeatus) and copepods ranging in body mass from 0.5 to 740 μg C: Oithona similis, Corycaeus anglicus, Pseudocalanus newmani, P. moultoni, Pseudodiaptomus marinus, and Paraeuchaeta elongata. We found that sticklebacks selected ovigerous females of the two smallest-bodied species of copepods (Oithona similis and Corycaeus anglicus). In contrast, the fish showed no significant selection for ovigerous females of the remaining, larger-bodied species. Unexpectedly, egg mass position (i.e., in a ventral, dorsal or lateral location on the urosome) appeared to influence predation risk more than did body size, resulting in higher predation risk for the cyclopoid and poecilostomatoid species than for the calanoid species we tested. Although the sticklebacks showed no statistically significant preference for ovigerous females of any of the four calanoid species, for each species the overall proportion of ovigerous females ingested was slightly greater than 0.50. Thus, whether body size influences the susceptibility of egg-brooding calanoid copepods to predation remains an open question. Received: 24 August 1998 / Accepted: 6 July 1999     

Seasonal variations in copepod size: effects of temperature, food abundance, and vertebrate predation

Seasonal dry weights of female and male Cyclops bicuspidatusthomasi, Diaptomus ashlandi and Diaptomus minutus were studiedin southeastern Lake Michigan during 1975–1981. Smallestanimals occurred during summer and early fall, and largest animalsin winter and spring, a pattern reported for other copepods.The range of weights for the species and sexes decreased fromwinter to summer, and converged in summer to a value of approximately2 µg/animal. Surface water temperature and abundancesof young-of-the-year (YOY) fish were inversely correlated withweights of males and females of the three copepod species. Standingstocks of important phytoplankton groups, especially pennatediatoms and flagellates, were positively correlated with copepodweight. Seasonal change of copepod body size appears to be morethan simply a function of temperature; seasonal predation byYOY fish may be a factor influencing sizes of adult copepods.     

Influence of recruit condition on food competition and predation risk in a coral reef fish

Settlement rate is considered to be a major determinant of the population structure of coral reef fishes. In this study, the effects of larval physiological condition on survival, predation risk and competitive ability are assessed for a small damselfish, Pomacentrus moluccensis. New settlers were collected and fed for 5 days to produce high and low condition (measured as lipid) treatment fish. In a field experiment, pairs (one high and one low condition fish) were transplanted to corals. Persistence over 2 weeks was much higher (100% vs. 25%) in high condition fish. In mixed groups in the laboratory, high condition fish were both aggressively dominant and consumed more of a limiting prey source than low condition fish. In addition, low condition fish were shown to be at much higher risk of predation. All of the low condition fish but only 33% of high condition fish in mixed groups were consumed by fish predators, and in a separate experiment, 73% of feeding strikes by predators were directed at low condition fish. Quality of new settlers can have an important influence on subsequent juvenile survival. The mechanisms for this effect are likely to include a combination of effects of condition on food competition and predation risk.