Empirical Studies of Predator and Prey Behavior

Abstract

Empirical studies of predator and prey behavior need to consider that behaviors arise from a dynamic interaction between predators and prey, operating over varying spatial and temporal scales; there are a wide range of alternative, condition-dependent behaviors that can be used; there are two different levels of behavior (avoidance or encounter, and capture or escape) that require different approaches; there are ethical problems of experimenting with predation systems. Therefore empirical studies of predator and prey behavior are often field-based observational studies of more complete natural systems, involving measurements of starvation–predation risk trade-offs, targeted field-experiments, and statistical methods to measure biologically significant effects and to infer causation.