Decline in avoidance of predator chemical cues: Habituation or biorhythm shift?

Madison, Dale M.; Maerz, John C.; Sullivan, Aaron M.

doi:10.1007/0-387-25160-x_42

Cited by 4 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 30 publications

(34 reference statements)

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“…Such habituation has been observed in several species (e.g. Sullivan et al 1985, Arnould and Signoret 1992, Kloppers et al 2005, Madison et al 2005. Presence of a predator-based odor, coupled with the lack of an adverse consequence, may ultimately result in the odor becoming ineffective as a repellent.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Pest Responses to Odors From Predators Fed a Diet of Target Species Conspecifics and Heterospecifics

Cox

Murray

2010

J Wildl Manag

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Research into the use of predator-odor-based repellents as a management tool has gained momentum during the past 30 years. Some studies have suggested that odors from a predator whose diet includes the target species are more effective than odors from a predator that does not consume the species. To evaluate this management tool in the Australian context and to determine the effect, if any, of predator diet on odor repellence, we tested eutherian and metatherian, predator fecal odors on phylogenetically separated pest species that currently occur in Australia. We evaluated fecal odors from tigers (Panthera tigris) and Tasmanian devils (Sarcophilus harrisii) as repellents for goats (Capra hircus) and eastern grey kangaroos (Macropus giganteus). We fed tigers and Tasmanian devils 2 diets: one of goat and one of eastern grey kangaroo. The test fecal odors were more effective than a control odor of carrier material and solvent at deterring goats (P , 0.001) and kangaroos (P 5 0.02) from food. Tiger fecal odor was more effective than Tasmanian devil odor in deterring both goats (P 5 0.001) and kangaroos (P 5 0.03). We observed a decrease in the number of feeding events for goats when they were exposed to the odor from a tiger fed goat compared with all other predator-diet combinations (P , 0.001). We also observed a decrease in feeding events for kangaroos when exposed to the odor from a tiger fed kangaroo compared with all other predator-diet combinations. We observed signs of desensitization to the test odors in goats and habituation to the test odors in kangaroos over the experimental period. A better understanding of the factors involved in desensitization and habituation may increase the effectiveness of fecal odor-based repellents as a humane and nonlethal management tool for managers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 93%

Pest Responses to Odors From Predators Fed a Diet of Target Species Conspecifics and Heterospecifics

Cox

Murray

2010

J Wildl Manag

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“…Habituation is the learned suppression of responses when individuals learn that the stimulus is neither rewarding nor aversive (Kloppers et al 2005) and has been observed for some prey species (Bytheway et al 2013) but not for others (Epple et al 1993;Boag and Mlotkiewicz 1994;Burwash et al 1998). Habituation would explain why the detection of a predator-based odour, uncoupled to an adverse consequence, becomes ineffective as a repellent in the long term (Kloppers et al 2005;Madison et al 2005).…”

Section: Effect Of Predation Risk On Rabbit Predator Avoidancementioning

confidence: 99%

No longer naïve? Generalized responses of rabbits to marsupial predators in Australia

Tortosa

Barrio

Carthey

et al. 2015

Behav Ecol Sociobiol

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Predation is an important selective force on prey species, but avoiding predators can be costly. Efficient decisions on who to avoid (predator recognition) and when (situations with different predation risk) will determine the chances of prey survival. In coevolved predator-prey systems, detection of predator odours generally induces a response in potential prey to reduce predation risk. However, prey may not necessarily respond to odours of predators with which they have no previous experience, as predicted by the prey naïveté hypothesis. In turn, perceived predation risk may also modulate predator recognition and the intensity of antipredator responses. In this study, we investigate the responses of an introduced prey species, the European rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus), to odours from coevolved and non-coevolved, sympatric and allopatric predators in situations of high and low numbers of predators in Australia. We used pellet counts to quantify rabbits' use of space on experimental plots treated with predator odours. Rabbit avoidance of plots scented with coevolved predator odours was strongest, but they also responded to non-coevolved, marsupial predators. Predator abundance did not affect predator recognition in rabbits, although responses were more intense in situations where perceived predation risk was low and the intensity of responses decreased over time. Our results suggest that rabbits may have learned to recognize novel marsupial predators after 150 years of exposure in their introduced range.

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Threat sensitivity in the San Marcos salamander: effects of predator diet and prey experience

Epp

2013

Behav

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Prey must constantly balance foraging and predator avoidance demands. Avoidance response efficiency may be improved when prey match the intensity of their avoidance behaviours to a perceived level of predatory threat (threat sensitivity). Additionally, experience with predators may influence the intensity of avoidance responses. I examined the possibility that experience with predators in the natural habitat would influence threat sensitive avoidance behaviours of an aquatic salamander, Eurycea nana, by comparing the intensity of avoidance responses to predators that had been fed a neutral diet (low-risk) or a diet of conspecifics (high-risk) between laboratory-reared and recently-collected adult salamanders. I found that laboratory-reared salamanders exhibited graded responses to low- and high-risk predators consistent with threat-sensitive predator avoidance. Predator-experienced salamanders (recently-collected), however, responded less intensely to all predators and their responses showed little evidence of threat sensitivity. These less intense responses observed in experienced salamanders may result from mechanisms of adaptive forgetting, which allow prey to respond to environmental variation. I discuss implications of these results for E. nana and other prey as well as highlighting the need for researchers to consider the longer-term experiences of prey used in studies of predation risk.

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Decline in avoidance of predator chemical cues: Habituation or biorhythm shift?

Cited by 4 publications

References 30 publications

Pest Responses to Odors From Predators Fed a Diet of Target Species Conspecifics and Heterospecifics

Pest Responses to Odors From Predators Fed a Diet of Target Species Conspecifics and Heterospecifics

No longer naïve? Generalized responses of rabbits to marsupial predators in Australia

Threat sensitivity in the San Marcos salamander: effects of predator diet and prey experience

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