Behavioral and physiological responses of nocturnal marine shellfish to predation pressure

Abstract

Predator-prey interactions are critical in ecological communities. As the wild resources of Pacific abalone are on the verge of exhaustion, efforts to reveal the effects of predation by hostile organisms on the efficiency of its bottom sowing and proliferation are crucial for the success of resource restoration. In this study, abalone and its predator, starfish Asterias amurensis, were placed in a customized monitoring unit. Through continuous infrared video monitoring, predation pressure was found to cause a significant decrease in the distance moved, duration of movement, cumulative feeding duration and orexin levels in hemolymph (P < 0.01). It also caused a significant increase in the average velocity of movement, group cohesion, coordination and cholecystokinin levels in hemolymph (P < 0.01). Surprisingly, when a shelter was set up in the environment, the cumulative feeding duration of abalone was significantly extended in the presence of the predator (P < 0.001), whereas when the predator was removed, the distance moved, duration of movement, and cumulative feeding duration of abalone were found to significantly increase during continuous 24 h monitoring (P < 0.01). These results first identified the anti-predation strategy by nocturnal marine organisms when exposed to predation risk, and supported the pivotal role of shelter in helping abalone make a trade-off between predation pressure and survival needs, which not only provides a new insight to optimizing the strategy for prevention and control of marine ecological disasters and strengthening the protection of marine endangered species, but also results in a productive attempt to restore the marine benthic ecosystem.