Grasshoppers do not flee from their alarmed predators but from non-alarmed ones.
Proc Biol Sci
; 291(2030): 20240841, 2024 Jan.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-39255842
ABSTRACT
Alarm calls produced by basal prey have a well-known informative value. In multi-predator communities, mesopredators, when faced with top predators, may emit alarm calls that could inform basal prey about their lowered predation risk. To test this unexplored possibility, we conducted one field and one mesocosm experiment in which we simulated alarm and non-alarm calls from little owls (Athene noctua) as mesopredators and measured their effects on grasshoppers as prey of little owls but not of top predators. In the field experiment, we found that grasshopper species were significantly more abundant in patches where we simulated either the presence of scared little owls (alarm treatment) or no owls (control treatment) compared to patches where the presence of non-scared little owls (non-alarm treatment) was simulated. In the mesocosm experiment, locusts (Locusta migratoria) moved significantly more to exposed areas when we simulated the presence of scared little owls (alarm treatment) or of a granivorous bird (control treatment), while they moved to sheltered areas when we simulated the presence of non-scared owls (non-alarm treatment). These results show that prey could cue on predators' calls to assess their predation risk and make decisions, revealing unprecedented potential ecological consequences of alarm calls in invertebrate communities.
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Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Comportamento Predatório
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Cadeia Alimentar
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Gafanhotos
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Proc Biol Sci
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Proc. - Royal Soc., Biol. sci. (Print)
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Proceedings - Royal Society. Biological Sciences (Print)
Assunto da revista:
BIOLOGIA
Ano de publicação:
2024
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Espanha
País de publicação:
Reino Unido