Anti-predator behaviour in response to conspecific chemical alarm cues in an esociform fish, <Emphasis Type="Italic">Umbra limi</Emphasis> (Kirtland 1840) |
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Authors: | Brian D Wisenden Justin Karst Jeffrey Miller Stacey Miller Linda Fuselier |
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Institution: | (1) Biosciences Department, Minnesota State University, Moorhead, MN 56563, USA |
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Abstract: | When a predators attack prey, damaged prey tissue releases chemical information that reliably indicates an actively foraging
predator. Prey use these semiochemicals to cue anti-predator behaviour and reduce their probability of predation. Here, we
test central mudminnows, Umbra limi (Kirtland 1840), for anti-predator behavioural responses to chemical cues in conspecific skin extract. In a field experiment,
traps scented with mudminnow skin extract (alarm cue) caught fewer mudminnows than traps scented with water (control). Under
controlled laboratory conditions, mudminnows showed a significant reduction in activity and movement to the bottom in response
to alarm cues relative to water controls. Reduced activity and increased time on the bottom of the tank are both known components
of an anti-predator response. Thus, based on field and lab data, mudminnows exhibited anti-predator behavioural responses
to chemical alarm cues released by damaged epidermal tissue. Histological preparations of epidermal tissue did not reveal
the presence of specialised “alarm substance” cells for the production of chemical alarm cues. This is the first report of
an alarm reaction in an esociform, an order with a long evolutionary history of piscivory. |
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Keywords: | Chemical alarm cue Mudminnow Umbra Anti-predator behaviour Field study |
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