The effect of predator diet on the alarm response of red-legged frog, Rana aurora, tadpoles

Wilson, D.; Lefcort, Hugh

doi:10.1006/anbe.1993.1285

Cited by 133 publications

(89 citation statements)

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“…Finally, chemical interactions between bacteria and flagellates might also be obscured by choosing different bacteria as the food source for the predators (for the production of supernatants) and as test organisms (for subsequent examination of the effects). Various aquatic organisms exhibit a morphological defense against predators that is triggered only by conspecific chemical cues (10,33,38). Enhanced aggregate formation by our tested strain was induced only by flagellate grazing on cells from the same species (2).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Scent of Danger: Floc Formation by a Freshwater Bacterium Is Induced by Supernatants from a Predator-Prey Coculture

Blom

Zimmermann

Ammann

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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We investigated predator-prey interactions in a model system consisting of the bacterivorous flagellate Poterioochromonas sp. strain DS and the freshwater bacterium Sphingobium sp. strain Z007. This bacterial strain tends to form a subpopulation of grazing-resistant microscopic flocs, presumably by aggregation. Enhanced formation of such flocs could be demonstrated in static batch culture experiments in the presence of the predator. The ratio of aggregates to single cells reached >0.1 after 120 h of incubation in an oligotrophic growth medium. The inoculation of bacteria into supernatants from cocultures of bacteria and flagellates (grown in oligotrophic or in rich media) also resulted in a substantially higher level of floc formation than that in supernatants from bacterial monocultures only. After separation of supernatants on a C 18 cartridge, the aggregate-inducing activity could be assigned to the 50% aqueous methanolic fraction, and further separation of this bioactive fraction could be achieved by high-pressure liquid chromatography. These results strongly suggest the involvement of one or several chemical factors in the induction of floc formation by Sphingobium sp. strain Z007 that are possibly released into the surrounding medium by flagellate grazing.Interactions between free-living aquatic bacteria and predatory flagellates are determined by the balance between bacterial cell growth and mortality rates (1,8,23). High levels of grazing mortality have favored the evolution of various bacterial counterstrategies, such as small cell sizes, high-speed motility, and the production of toxins and other growth inhibitors (for a review, see reference 25). The particle uptake abilities of predators set tight constraints on the size of the prey that is preferentially ingested. As a consequence, filamentous cells inedible by protists may accumulate in heavily grazed freshwater bacterial communities, as may cells with other complex morphologies, such as aggregates and microcolonies, that are beyond the prey size spectrum of the predators (14,18,27). The formation of such grazing-resistant flocs at high protistan foraging levels is known both from static and continuous culture (13, 26) and from enrichments of natural waters (17).A shift toward cell aggregates or microcolonies might simply be a result of the elimination of single-celled morphotypes (13) but could also reflect an active response of bacteria to the presence of predators. Two nonexclusive causes can be envisaged for the enhanced growth of cells in aggregated form under such conditions. For one, higher levels of floc formation might be a consequence of higher bacterial growth rates due to the release of additional substrates and nutrients by the predator (5,8,14,36). Second, such growth behavior might be induced by a chemical factor. Inducible morphological defense due to compounds released by the predators is common in other planktonic organisms, e.g., the spine induction in rotifers (12) and daphnids (20, 34) and the formation of grazing-resistant col...

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

Scent of Danger: Floc Formation by a Freshwater Bacterium Is Induced by Supernatants from a Predator-Prey Coculture

Blom

Zimmermann

Ammann

et al. 2010

Appl Environ Microbiol

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“…1). Exposure to invertebrate predators results in tadpoles delaying hatching from eggs (Ireland et al, 2007), reducing growth rates and developing deeper, shorter tails for increased escape speeds (Middlemis Maher et al, 2013;Relyea, 2001b;Wilson and Lefort, 1993). Tadpoles exposed to fish predators develop similar morphological changes, but also develop larger tail muscles (Relyea, 2001a;Teplitsky et al, 2005).…”

Section: Effects Of Predator Odours and Diet Cues On Prey Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Mechanisms underlying the control of responses to predator odours in aquatic prey

Mitchell

Bairos‐Novak

Ferrari

2017

Journal of Experimental Biology

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In aquatic systems, chemical cues are a major source of information through which animals are able to assess the current state of their environment to gain information about local predation risk. Prey use chemicals released by predators (including cues from a predator's diet) and other prey (such as alarm cues and disturbance cues) to mediate a range of behavioural, morphological and life-history antipredator defences. Despite the wealth of knowledge on the ecology of antipredator defences, we know surprisingly little about the physiological mechanisms that control the expression of these defensive traits. Here, we summarise the current literature on the mechanisms known to specifically mediate responses to predator odours, including dietary cues. Interestingly, these studies suggest that independent pathways may control predator-specific responses, highlighting the need for greater focus on predator-derived cues when looking at the mechanistic control of responses. Thus, we urge researchers to tease apart the effects of predator-specific cues (i.e. chemicals representing a predator's identity) from those of dietmediated cues (i.e. chemicals released from a predator's diet), which are known to mediate different ecological endpoints. Finally, we suggest some key areas of research that would greatly benefit from a more mechanistic approach.

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“…We did not find an effect of the recent diet of the predator on the response of birds, although the ability to react to the recent diet of the predator has been shown in gastropods (Crowl and Covich 1990), insects (Chivers et al 1996;Wisenden et al 1997), arachnids (Persons et al 2001), fishes (Brown and Dreier 2002;Vilhunen and Hirvonen 2003) and amphibians (Wilson and Lefcort 1993;Murray and Jenkins 1999;Kiesecker et al 2002). In these studies, prey exposed to chemical cues from predators fed with conspecific prey displayed greater antipredatory responses than when confronted to chemical cues from predators fed with heterospecific prey.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 48%

Evidence that the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) uses scent to avoid omnivore mammals

Amo

López‐Rull

Pagán

et al. 2015

Rev. Chil. de Hist. Nat.

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Background: The detection of predator chemical cues is an important antipredatory behaviour as it allows an early assessment of predation risk without encountering the predator and therefore increases survival. For instance, since chemical cues are often by-products of metabolism, olfaction may gather information not only on the identity but also about the diet of predators in the vicinity. Knowledge of the role of olfaction in the interactions of birds with their environment, in contexts as important as predator avoidance, is still scarce. We conducted two two-choice experiments to explore 1) whether the house finch Carpodacus mexicanus can detect the chemical cues of a marsupial predatory mammal, the common opossum (Didelphis marsupialis), and 2) whether its response to such cues is influenced by the recent diet of this omnivorous predator, as this would increase the accuracy with which the risk of predation is assessed. Results: House finches avoided the area of the apparatus containing the scent of the predator, and this effect did not depend on the recent diet (bait used to lace the traps) of the predator. Conclusions: Our results provide clear evidence that house finches detect and use the chemical cues of predators to assess the level of predation risk of an area and avoid it.

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The effect of predator diet on the alarm response of red-legged frog, Rana aurora, tadpoles

Cited by 133 publications

References 0 publications

Scent of Danger: Floc Formation by a Freshwater Bacterium Is Induced by Supernatants from a Predator-Prey Coculture

Scent of Danger: Floc Formation by a Freshwater Bacterium Is Induced by Supernatants from a Predator-Prey Coculture

Mechanisms underlying the control of responses to predator odours in aquatic prey

Evidence that the house finch (Carpodacus mexicanus) uses scent to avoid omnivore mammals

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