Meeting Abstract
Most of the time, terrestrial escape speed is measured as the fastest an animal can run in a straight line, and it’s assumed that this is a relevant index of survival. But animals rarely run this way in nature—instead, they often change direction, making their paths more curved than straight. To address this mismatch, we designed a mathematical model that uses acceleration, deceleration, maximum sprint speed and turning ability to predict an individual’s escape performance in paths of varying curvature. Our model suggests that smaller individuals (prey) are more likely to escape larger individuals (predators) by running along a curvy path: larger individuals are faster on a straight line. Using only these four parameters, it may be possible to estimate the escape success of prey (vs. predators) in nature and evaluate the extinction risk of natural populations following the introduction of feral predators.
