Fluctuations in prey density: effects on the foraging tactics of scolopendrid centipedes |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Korea Institute of Geoscience & Mineral Resources, Gwahang-no 124, Yuseong-gu, Daejeon 305-350, Republic of Korea;2. Geological Survey of Japan, Advanced Industrial Science & Technology, Higashi 1-1-1, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8560, Japan;1. Department of Biological Sciences, Northern Illinois University, DeKalb, IL, 60115, USA;2. Department of Geology, University of Otago, PO Box 56, Dunedin, 9054, New Zealand;3. Departments of Paleobiology and Vertebrate Zoology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington DC, USA;1. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;2. Center for Excellence in Life and Paleoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;3. Key Laboratory of Economic Stratigraphy and Palaeogeography, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;4. School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Life Sciences Building, Tyndall Avenue, Bristol BS8 1TQ, UK;5. University of Chinese Academy of Science, Beijing 100049, China;1. Inst. f. Biologie – AG Vergleichende Zoologie, Humboldt-Universität Berlin, Phillippstr. 13, Haus 2, 10115 Berlin, Germany;2. Department of Ecology, National University of Mongolia, Baga toiruu 47, 210646 Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia;3. Georg-August-Universität Göttingen Conservation Biology/Workgroup on Endangered Species, Bürgerstrasse 50, 37073 Göttingen, Germany |
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| Abstract: | Foraging animals are faced with the problem of acquiring information about prey populations and utilizing that information in making foraging decisions. In this paper the effect of variation in prey density on the search tactics and mechanisms of prey density assessment in the centipede Scolopendra polymorpha are examined. Centipedes exhibited a prey density-dependent repertoire of search tactics. After 50 min of exposure to high prey density, centipedes switched from active search to ambush-like tactics, while maintaining a high rate of search at the lowest prey density. An initial period of sampling of prey density was involved in the switch in search behaviour and it is suggested that the encounter rate with prey was the key element in density assessment. When the prey density was changed from low to high, centipedes switched from active search to ambush tactics and when prey density was changed from high to low centipedes switched from ambush to active search within 40 min. Such behaviour may decrease the unreliability of sampling information and the risk involved in foraging decisions in variable environments. |
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