An Experimental Study on the Effects of Predation Risk and Feeding Regime on the Mating Behavior of the Water Strider

Sih, Andrew; Krupa, James J.; Travers, Steven E.

doi:10.1086/285044

Cited by 224 publications

(104 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

100

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Whether or not a prey item is attacked may reflect predator avoidance (Godin 1990;Sih et al 1990), shelter or food preference (e.g., Duffy and Hay 1991;Francis and Conover 1994), or reproductive opportunities (Abrahams 1993). Once a prey item is acquired and subdued, however, the degree to which it is consumed may depend on attributes of the prey, such as energetic content, digestibility, and relative availability, and on attributes of the predator, such as physiological capability or degree of satiation (e.g., Greenstone 1979;Sih 1980;Penry 1993;Gill and Hart 1994).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption choice by bears feeding on salmon

2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Consumption choice by brown (Ursus arctos) and black bears (U. americanus) feeding on salmon was recorded for over 20,000 bear-killed fish from 1994 to 1999 in Bristol Bay (sockeye salmon, Oncorhynchus nerka) and southeastern Alaska (pink, O. gorbuscha and chum salmon O. keta). These data revealed striking patterns of partial and selective consumption that varied with relative availability and attributes of the fish. As the availability of salmon decreased, bears consumed a larger proportion of each fish among both years and habitats. When availability was high (absolute number and density of salmon), bears consumed less biomass per captured fish, targeting energy-rich fish (those that had not spawned) or energy-rich body parts (eggs in females; brain in males). In contrast, individual fish were consumed to a much greater extent, regardless of sex or spawning status, in habitats or years of low salmon availability. The proportion of biomass consumed per fish was similar for males and females, when spawning status was statistically controlled, but bears targeted different body parts: the body flesh, brain and dorsal hump in males and the roe in females. Bears thus appeared to maximize energy intake by modifying the amount and body parts consumed, based on availability and attributes of spawning salmon.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Consumption choice by bears feeding on salmon

2001

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Several studies have found that individuals try to reduce their susceptibility to predators by adjusting their reproductive tactics and characteristics to the risk of predation, for example by decreasing the intensity of courtship or nuptial coloration (Farr 1975;Endler 1983;Hastings 1991;Fuller & Berglund 1996;Candolin 1997;Godin & MacAulay 1997), switching to alternative reproductive strategies (Godin 1995 and references therein), or decreasing mating duration and frequency (Sih 1988;Sih et al 1990). These changes in reproductive traits may also decrease mating success, however, and thus force individuals to trade current mating success against survival and future reproduction.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Predator-induced nest site preference: safe nests allow courtship in sticklebacks

Candolin

Voigt

1998

Animal Behaviour

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Reproductive activities often increase the susceptibility of individuals to predators. Individuals may be able to reduce this risk of predation, however, by their choice of breeding habitat, as the structural complexity of habitats is known to affect predator foraging success. Here we show that the presence of predators induces a preference for structurally complex nest sites over open ones in male three-spined sticklebacks, Gasterosteus aculeatus. To investigate whether this predator-induced nest site preference can decrease the known negative effect of predators on courtship activity, we recorded the reduction in courtship activity during predator presentations for males in vegetated and open nest sites. Habitat structure affected the response to a predator when males were in competition. A male in a vegetated site reduced courtship activity less than a male in an open site. Habitat had no effect on courtship when males were solitary, however. This suggests that male-male competition and the possibility of losing mating opportunities to other males affect risk taking. Females, who were unaware of the predator, preferred the male in the vegetated site, which showed less reduction in courtship, when the males were exposed to a predator, but chose randomly between the males when the predator was absent. Thus, a preference for vegetated nest sites under predation risk may be beneficial not only by increasing the probability of survival, but also by reducing the negative impact of predators on courtship activity and mating probability.

show abstract

“…Support for the role of movement influencing selection on male harassment has been found in the water strider, A. remigis. Both male and female water striders are generally less active in the presence of predators [25]. Excess matings are costly because they put females at an increased predation risk, and owing to females' ability to store viable sperm for up to 24 days [23], few copulations are necessary to guarantee fertilization.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A model of sexual selection and female use of refuge in a coercive mating system

2012

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

In many non-monogamous systems, males invest less in progeny than do females. This leaves males with higher potential rates of reproduction, and a likelihood of sexual conflict, including, in some systems, coercive matings. If coercive matings are costly, the best female strategy may be to avoid male interaction. We present a model that demonstrates female movement in response to male harassment as a mechanism to lower the costs associated with male coercion, and the effect that female movement has on selection in males for male harassment. We found that, when females can move from a habitat patch to a refuge to which males do not have access, there may be a selection for either high, or low harassment male phenotype, or both, depending on the relationship between the harassment level of male types in the population and a threshold level of male harassment. This threshold harassment level depends on the relative number of males and females in the population, and the relative resource values of the habitat; the threshold increases as the sex ratio favours females, and decreases with the value of the refuge patch or total population. Our model predicts that selection will favour the harassment level that lies closest to this threshold level of harassment, and differing harassment levels will coexist within the population only if they lie on the opposite sides of the threshold harassment. Our model is consistent with empirical results suggesting that an intermediate harassment level provides maximum reproductive fitness to males when females are mobile.

show abstract

An Experimental Study on the Effects of Predation Risk and Feeding Regime on the Mating Behavior of the Water Strider

Cited by 224 publications

References 0 publications

Consumption choice by bears feeding on salmon

Consumption choice by bears feeding on salmon

Predator-induced nest site preference: safe nests allow courtship in sticklebacks

A model of sexual selection and female use of refuge in a coercive mating system

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About