Landscapes of fear and safety: the integration of two different sensory landscapes determines behavioral responses in the crayfish Faxonius rusticus and is mediated by chemical cues

Abstract

Research into predator–prey interactions has focused on the landscape of fear and nonconsumptive effects that result from prey responses. Prey behavior is influenced by predator presence and the location and quality of foraging resources in habitats. These areas have been fruitful, but the role of prey refuges has lagged. We investigated how refuge spatial distribution and quality influence prey behavior. To determine the role of the landscape of safety (LOS) in prey decision-making, we altered spatial relationships between refuges, refuge quality, and predation threats in mesocosms. Mesocosms were constructed such that prey only received predatory chemical cues. We employed a behavioral assay including largemouth bass ( Micropterus salmoides (Lacepède, 1802): predator) and virile crayfish ( Faxonius rusticus (Girard, 1852): prey). Crayfish shelter use was significantly influenced by quality and spatial relationship of shelters to predatory threats, and the interaction of these two factors. Particularly, crayfish used high-quality shelters more often when located closer to predatory cues than farther away and did not use low-quality shelters more than controls. High-quality shelter usage decreased as threat level (measured by gape ratio) decreased. These results support the idea that prey utilize an LOS, and information contained in these two landscapes may alter behavioral decisions.