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

Abstract

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.

Biologically meaningful scents: a framework for understanding predator–prey research across disciplines

“…After all, it is not in an animal's best interest to be overly cautious in environments under decreasing predator threat (Hollings et al., ). This assumption may partly explain why some prey responses to new predators are often learned during their development (Blumstein et al., ; Anson & Dickman, ; Carthey & Banks, ; Tortosa et al., ). And learning certainly influences the degree of responsiveness by predator‐naïve rabbits (Rödel, Monclús & von Holst, ).…”

Wild Norway Rats Do Not Avoid Predator Scents When Collecting Food in a Familiar Habitat: A Field Study

“…For these reasons, the negative results obtained in predator odor avoidance studies might reflect the mismatch of predator and prey configurations. However, other studies demonstrate that even certain pairings of prey and predator species without a shared evolutionary history may result in predator odor avoidance 2 , 20 and that reduced alien predation pressure after the initial impact might result in the selection for discriminating and avoiding danger in otherwise naïve species 21 .…”

“…Most studies on predator scent avoidance in rats have been conducted either on laboratory rats 2 or on wild-caught rats kept in laboratory settings in which they were tested 33 , 50 , and sometimes even housed, individually 50 . Only some studies investigated fear responses to predator scent in wild rodents in natural free-ranging conditions 31 , 32 , 38 , 51 , 52 (for an example of other species see 20 for a field study on rabbits, Oryctolagus cuniculus) . Our study was conducted near the wild rats’ burrows with the aim of investigating predator odor responses in a familiar environment.…”

Foraging, feeding, and physiological stress responses of wild wood mice to increased illumination and common genet cues

“…Most carnivores use secretions from glands, urine, and feces to mark their territory ( Hutchings and White 2000 ; Barja and List 2006 ; Barja 2009 ; Martín et al 2010 ; Piñeiro et al 2012 ) and multiple studies have revealed that several rodent species are sensitive to the scent of potential predators, avoiding such chemical signals without needing other cues ( Stoddart 1982 ; Dickman and Doncaster 1984 ; Calder and Gorman 1991 ; Jedrzejewski et al 1993 ; Navarro‐Castilla and Barja 2014a , 2014b ). Furthermore, prey species often alter their behavior in response to the auditory, visual, and chemosensory cues from predators ( Lima and Dill 1990 ; Kats and Dill 1998 ; Eilam et al 1999 ; Zanette et al 2011 ; Clinchy et al 2013 ; Tortosa et al 2015 ). Thus, in that prey species are at risk of predation while performing daily activities, there are tradeoffs between antipredator behavior and other fundamental activities like foraging and feeding ( Sih 1980 ; Brown et al 1988 ; Brown 1988 ; Orrock et al 2004 ; Gallego et al 2017 ; Sánchez-González et al 2017 ).…”