Meeting Abstract
Prey often alter their morphology, physiology, and behavior when presented with predatory cues. Alteration in behaviors such as habitat use, activity levels, and fluctuating food consumption are consequences of non-consumptive effects that can alter the dynamics of prey resources and cause changes in food web structure. One of the potentially important key factors in determining predation threat level by predators is the composition of the diet of the predator. We wanted to test the ability of prey to determine threat level based on cues produced by predators on different diets. Two different species of fish, Micropterus salmoides, a natural predator of crayfish, and Oreochromis aureus x niloticus, a non-natural predator of crayfish, were fed a vegetarian pellet, a protein diet, a heterospecific crayfish, and a conspecific crayfish. Anti-predator behavior was tested by placing the prey (Orconectes virilis) in a Y-maze and analyzing the posture, side of choice arena, climbing, walking speed, and shelter usage of the crayfish. Our results show that the diet of the predator and native versus non-native predators alters anti-predatory behaviors in crayfish. It appears as if diet plays an important role in the determination of predatory threat by crayfish.
