Behavioral plasticity in an invaded system: non-native whelks recognize risk from native crabs |
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Authors: | Emily W Grason Benjamin G Miner |
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Institution: | (1) Biology Department, Western Washington University, 516 High Street, MS 9160, Bellingham, WA 98225, USA;(2) Shannon Point Marine Center, 1900 Shannon Point Road, Anacortes, WA 98221, USA;(3) Present address: Biology Department, University of Washington, 24 Kincaid Hall, Box 351330, Seattle, WA 98195, USA |
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Abstract: | Inducible defenses have the potential to affect both invasion success and the structure of invaded communities. However, little
is known about the cues used for risk-recognition that influence the expression of inducible defenses in invasive prey, because
they involve a novel threat. In laboratory experiments, we investigated behavioral defenses induced by a native crab on two
invasive oyster drills (marine whelks Urosalpinx cinerea and Ocinebrina inornata). Both drills hid more often and reduced their feeding rates when they detected predators consuming conspecific prey. Examination
of the responses of U. cinerea to specific cue sources (predator kairomones, conspecific alarm cues) indicated that this species had the strongest responses
to cues from injured conspecifics, but that it did recognize the novel crab predator. Our observation of native predator (per
se) recognition by an invasive marine prey is novel. In addition, we observed that neither species of drill reduced their
defensive behavior to reflect predation risk shared by a group of prey. The lack of density dependence in risk-assessment
could cause populations of invasive prey to transmit both quantitatively and qualitatively different community effects over
the course of an invasion as abundance changes. Together, these findings demonstrate several ways that the risk-assessment
strategies could be important in establishment and post-establishment dynamics of invasive prey. |
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