Meeting Abstract
Non-consumptive effects (NCEs) of predators can impact prey as much or more as consumptive effects (CEs) and to explain these effects the concept of the landscape of fear has been created. Within the landscape of fear, any alteration in predatory actions (such as hunting mode) impacts prey behavior and ecological functions. NCEs are mediated through the prey’s knowledge of a predator’s presence via sensory signals. The purpose of this study was to understand how the physics of the environment interacts with different hunting modes to create spatially and temporally dynamic impact spaces where prey are influenced by the sum total of sensory signals produced by the presence of predators. To understand the creation of an impact space, we placed prey in two different aquatic habitats (flow and non-flow) and in the presence of one of two different types of predators (an active predator and sit and pursue predator). The behavior of prey (crayfish) were quantified over a 21 hour period while being exposed to only sensory signals from the predators (bass or catfish) as the predators moved throughout mesocosm habitats. Changes in the prey behavior were correlated to the movement and hunting patterns of predators and in addition, alterations in prey behavior were influenced by the physics of the habitat. Thus, it appears as if the sensory signals from predators create a spatially and temporally dynamic impact space where NCEs are influential.
