Degraded Environments Alter Prey Risk Assessment

Lönnstedt, Oona M.; McCormick, Mark I.; Chivers, Douglas P.

doi:10.1002/ece3.388

Cited by 33 publications

(56 citation statements)

References 45 publications

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“…However, chemosensory cues can be limited by water currents, chemicals released by other organisms (e.g. bleaching corals [49]) and the associated impacts of climate change (e.g. ability of individuals to respond to chemical alarm cues [5,19]).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social learning of predators in the dark: understanding the role of visual, chemical and mechanical information

et al. 2013

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The ability of prey to observe and learn to recognize potential predators from the behaviour of nearby individuals can dramatically increase survival and, not surprisingly, is widespread across animal taxa. A range of sensory modalities are available for this learning, with visual and chemical cues being well-established modes of transmission in aquatic systems. The use of other sensory cues in mediating social learning in fishes, including mechano-sensory cues, remains unexplored. Here, we examine the role of different sensory cues in social learning of predator recognition, using juvenile damselfish (Amphiprion percula). Specifically, we show that a predator-naive observer can socially learn to recognize a novel predator when paired with a predator-experienced conspecific in total darkness. Furthermore, this study demonstrates that when threatened, individuals release chemical cues (known as disturbance cues) into the water. These cues induce an anti-predator response in nearby individuals; however, they do not facilitate learnt recognition of the predator. As such, another sensory modality, probably mechano-sensory in origin, is responsible for information transfer in the dark. This study highlights the diversity of sensory cues used by coral reef fishes in a social learning context.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Social learning of predators in the dark: understanding the role of visual, chemical and mechanical information

et al. 2013

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“…Fish captured in light traps had no previous association with the fish community associated with the hard reef and were naive to bottom-dwelling predators that feed on juvenile and adult life stages [18]. Previous research on P. amboinensis has found that the newly settled fish have an innate antipredatory response to damage-released chemical cues from the skin of conspecifics both in the field and laboratory [27]. This antipredatory response involves reduced foraging and activity, and increased shelter use, and is similar to the reaction shown in many other damselfishes (e.g.…”

Section: Materials and Methods (A) Study Species And Locationmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…chemical alarm cues), (ii) predator odour and (iii) seawater (blank control). The behaviour of focal fish was quantified for 3 min before (pre-stimulus period) and 3 min after (post-stimulus period) the addition of a test cue (as per previously established protocols [9,27]. Cues were delivered to the focal fish through a delivery tube positioned upcurrent of the patch reef as previously described (60 ml cues þ 60 ml seawater flush).…”

Section: (B) Experimental Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We predicted that the lack of an antipredator response [9,27] would likely mean that the habitat generalist would not be able to learn the identity of novel predators. We also predicted that living on a healthy live habitat patch within a degraded habitat would not assist in their ability to learn threats due to the chemical interference of the background habitat (through alarm cue masking or cue modification).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Disrupted learning: habitat degradation impairs crucial antipredator responses in naive prey

McCormick

Lönnstedt

2016

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Habitat degradation is a global problem and one of the main causes of biodiversity loss. Though widespread, the mechanisms that underlie faunal changes are poorly understood. In tropical marine systems, corals play a crucial role in forming habitat, but coral cover on many reefs is declining sharply. Coral degradation affects the olfactory cues that provide reliable information on the presence and intensity of threat. Here, we show for the first time that the ability of a habitat generalist to learn predators using an efficient and widespread method of predator learning is compromised in degraded coral habitats. Results indicate that chemical alarm cues are no longer indicative of a local threat for the habitat generalist (the damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis), and these cues can no longer be used to learn the identity of novel predators in degraded habitats. By contrast, a rubble specialist and congeneric (Pomacentrus coelestis) responded to olfactory threat cues regardless of background environment and could learn the identity of a novel predator using chemical alarm cues. Understanding how some species can cope with or acclimate to the detrimental impacts of habitat degradation on risk assessment abilities will be crucial to defining the scope of resilience in threatened communities.

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“…To date, responses of fish to damage-released odours has predominantly focussed on prey species such as damselfish (Pomacentridae) [17, 23]. In healthy coral habitats, damselfishes respond innately to the damage-released odours of conspecifics, rapidly switching from foraging to risk-adverse behaviours [12, 17, 23]. The damage-released odour effectively acts as an honest indicator of a predation event in the local environment, and through associative coupling of these cues with predator cues (e.g., visual, chemical) prey learn to identify threats [24].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coral reef fish predator maintains olfactory acuity in degraded coral habitats

2017

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Coral reefs around the world are rapidly degrading due to a range of environmental stressors. Habitat degradation modifies the sensory landscape within which predator-prey interactions occur, with implications for olfactory-mediated behaviours. Predator naïve settlement-stage damselfish rely on conspecific damage-released odours (i.e., alarm odours) to inform risk assessments. Yet, species such as the Ambon damselfish, Pomacentrus amboinensis, become unable to respond appropriately to these cues when living in dead-degraded coral habitats, leading to increased mortality through loss of vigilance. Reef fish predators also rely on odours from damaged prey to locate, assess prey quality and engage in prey-stealing, but it is unknown whether their responses are also modified by the change to dead-degraded coral habitats. Implications for prey clearly depend on how their predatory counterparts are affected, therefore the present study tested whether olfactory-mediated foraging responses in the dusky dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus, a common predator of P. amboinensis, were similarly affected by coral degradation. A y-maze was used to measure the ability of Ps. fuscus to detect and move towards odours, against different background water sources. Ps. fuscus were exposed to damage-released odours from juvenile P. amboinensis, or a control cue of seawater, against a background of seawater treated with either healthy or dead-degraded hard coral. Predators exhibited an increased time allocation to the chambers of y-mazes injected with damage-released odours, with comparable levels of response in both healthy and dead-degraded coral treated waters. In control treatments, where damage-released odours were replaced with a control seawater cue, fish showed no increased preference for either chamber of the y-maze. Our results suggest that olfactory-mediated foraging behaviours may persist in Ps. fuscus within dead-degraded coral habitats. Ps. fuscus may consequently gain a sensory advantage over P. amboinensis, potentially altering the outcome of predator-prey interactions.

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Degraded Environments Alter Prey Risk Assessment

Cited by 33 publications

References 45 publications

Social learning of predators in the dark: understanding the role of visual, chemical and mechanical information

Social learning of predators in the dark: understanding the role of visual, chemical and mechanical information

Disrupted learning: habitat degradation impairs crucial antipredator responses in naive prey

Coral reef fish predator maintains olfactory acuity in degraded coral habitats

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