Moonlight's influence on predator/prey interactions between short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) and deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus)

Clarke, Jennifer A.

doi:10.1007/bf00299924

Cited by 271 publications

(200 citation statements)

References 14 publications

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“…Island mice rapidly altered their anti-predator behaviour upon the reintroduction of foxes to the island (figure 2a): the difference in foraging among exposed and sheltered microhabitats, a measure of aversion to predation risk [32], was significantly affected by fox density, but the nature of this effect depended upon nightly environmental conditions that are thought to affect rodent susceptibility to predators (interaction between nightly environment and fox abundance F 1,36.7 ¼ 12.91, p ¼ 0.001; environment main effect F 1,26.8 ¼ 9.36, p ¼ 0.005, fox main effect F 1,37.7 ¼ 0.77, p ¼ 0.386). On clear, moonlit nights that are typically considered risky nights for foraging rodents because predators may more readily detect and capture mice [38,39], rodent foraging exhibited less aversion to predation risk as foxes became more abundant (figure 2a). On nights with precipitation or low moonlight, which are typically considered to be relatively safe for rodent foraging [34], mouse foraging was increasingly averse to predation risk as the number of foxes increased (figure 2a).…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An island-wide predator manipulation reveals immediate and long-lasting matching of risk by prey

Orrock

Fletcher

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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Anti-predator behaviour affects prey population dynamics, mediates cascading effects in food webs and influences the likelihood of rapid extinctions. Predator manipulations in natural settings provide a rare opportunity to understand how prey anti-predator behaviour is affected by large-scale changes in predators. Here, we couple a long-term, island-wide manipulation of an important rodent predator, the island fox (Urocyon littoralis), with nearly 6 years of measurements on foraging by deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) to provide unequivocal evidence that prey closely match their foraging behaviour to the number of fox predators present on the island. Peromyscus maniculatus foraging among exposed and sheltered microhabitats (a measure of aversion to predation risk) closely tracked fox density, but the nature of this effect depended upon nightly environmental conditions known to affect rodent susceptibility to predators. These effects could not be explained by changes in density of deer mice over time. Our work reveals that prey in natural settings are cognizant of the dynamic nature of their predators over timescales that span many years, and that predator removals spanning many generations of prey do not result in a loss of anti-predator behaviour.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

An island-wide predator manipulation reveals immediate and long-lasting matching of risk by prey

Orrock

Fletcher

2014

Proc. R. Soc. B.

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“…The number of days after the new moon (moon phase) was determined from a moon phase calendar available from MoonConnection and divided into 3 levels: 0 to 10 days, 11 to 20 days, and Ն21 days. Moonlight has been found to influence nocturnal rodent behavior, with reduced rodent activity reported during periods of bright moonlight (24). Trap success was calculated by dividing the number of rodents captured by the number of trap nights (number of traps set multiplied by the number of nights) and assigned to 3 categories: 0 to 10%, 11 to 20%, and Ն21%.…”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Fecal Shedding of Zoonotic Food-Borne Pathogens by Wild Rodents in a Major Agricultural Region of the Central California Coast

Kilonzo

Vivas

et al. 2013

Appl Environ Microbiol

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bRecent outbreaks of food-borne illness associated with the consumption of produce have increased concern over wildlife reservoirs of food-borne pathogens. Wild rodents are ubiquitous, and those living close to agricultural farms may pose a food safety risk should they shed zoonotic microorganisms in their feces near or on agricultural commodities. Fecal samples from wild rodents trapped on 13 agricultural farms (9 produce, 3 cow-calf operations, and 1 beef cattle feedlot) in Monterey and San Benito Counties, CA, were screened to determine the prevalence and risk factors for shedding of several food-borne pathogens. Deer mice (Peromyscus maniculatus) were the most abundant rodent species trapped (72.5%). Cryptosporidium species (26.0%) and Giardia species (24.2%) were the predominant isolates from rodent feces, followed by Salmonella enterica serovars (2.9%) and Escherichia coli O157:H7 (0.2%). Rodent trap success was significantly associated with detection of Salmonella in rodent feces, while farm type was associated with fecal shedding of Cryptosporidium and Giardia. Seasonal shedding patterns were evident, with rodents trapped during the spring and summer months being significantly less likely to be shedding Cryptosporidium oocysts than those trapped during autumn. Higher rodent species diversity tended to correlate with lower fecal microbial prevalence, and most spatiotemporal pathogen clusters involved deer mice. Rodents in the study area posed a minimal risk as environmental reservoirs of E. coli O157:H7, but they may play a role in environmental dissemination of Salmonella and protozoa. Rodent control efforts that potentially reduce biodiversity may increase pathogen shedding, possibly through promotion of intraspecific microbial transmission.

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“…Therefore, artificial light could actually benefit owls if it extends the period of time that they can see prey at night. Conversely, although light increases the detectability of prey, it could be detrimental if prey availability decreases because prey remain closer to cover when it is brighter (Lockard & Owings 1974, Kaufman & Kaufman 1982, Clarke 1983, Wolfe & Tan Summerlin 1989, Kotler et al 1991, Daly et al 1992. With increased illumination, prey move and forage less (Abramsky et al 2004, Bird et al 2004, Rotics et al 2011, likely in response to in creased predation risk (Clarke 1983, Kotler et al 1991, so predators may need to search larger areas to find the same amount of prey under such conditions (Rockhill et al 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of human footprint and sensory disturbances on night-time space use of an owl

Scobie¹,

Bayne²,

Wellicome³

2016

Endang. Species. Res.

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Artificial sensory disturbances (sound and light) can extend far beyond the physical footprint of human development. Nocturnal predators such as owls may be influenced by artificial sound and light, as they depend on aural and visual cues when hunting. Owl nocturnal movements may also be altered by physical changes to the landscape, as these can affect prey availability. The burrowing owl population in Canada has declined by 90% and was classified as endangered in 1995. We tracked adult male burrowing owls Athene cunicularia with GPS dataloggers, and used resource selection models to examine their night-time movement patterns in relation to human infrastructure and associated artificial light and sound. The amount of sound and light from compressor stations, oil wells, traffic, towns and buildings was calculated for each owl and random location. We found that owl night-time space use was better predicted by distance to infrastructure on the landscape than by intensity of sensory disturbance. Burrowing owls did not show a pronounced avoidance of artificial sound. Infrastructure best predicts owl space use, perhaps because associated changes to vegetation alter prey abundance and availability. While human infrastructure most influenced owl nocturnal space use, the extent to which ecosystems are impacted by artificial sound and light is becoming clearer and needs to be considered when assessing the total effect of human development on species.

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Moonlight's influence on predator/prey interactions between short-eared owls (Asio flammeus) and deermice (Peromyscus maniculatus)

Cited by 271 publications

References 14 publications

An island-wide predator manipulation reveals immediate and long-lasting matching of risk by prey

An island-wide predator manipulation reveals immediate and long-lasting matching of risk by prey

Fecal Shedding of Zoonotic Food-Borne Pathogens by Wild Rodents in a Major Agricultural Region of the Central California Coast

Influence of human footprint and sensory disturbances on night-time space use of an owl

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