Abstract
Predation risk is a strong selective force shaping prey morphology, life history and behavior. Anti-predator behaviors may be innate, learned or both but little is known about the transgenerational behavioral effects of maternally experienced predation risk. We examined intraguild predation (IGP) risk-induced maternal effects on offspring anti-predator behavior, including learning, in the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis. We exposed predatory mite mothers during egg production to presence or absence of the IG predator Amblyseius andersoni and assessed whether maternal stress affects the anti-predator behavior, including larval learning ability, of their offspring as protonymphs. Protonymphs emerging from stressed or unstressed mothers, and having experienced IGP risk as larvae or not, were subjected to choice situations with and without IG predator traces. Predator-experienced protonymphs from stressed mothers were the least active and acted the boldest in site choice towards predator cues. We argue that the attenuated response of the protonymphs to predator traces alone represents optimized risk management because no immediate risk existed. Such behavioral adjustment could reduce the inherent fitness costs of anti-predator behaviors. Overall, our study suggests that P. persimilis mothers experiencing IGP risk may prime their offspring to behave more optimally in IGP environments.
Highlights
Predation risk is a strong selective force shaping prey morphology, life history and behavior
We investigated whether P. persimilis mothers internally modify the nutritional and/or hormonal and/or epigenetic status of their eggs under intraguild predation (IGP) risk posed by A. andersoni and induce phenotypic behavioral changes in offspring, including their ability to learn about predators
Our study suggests that P. persimilis mothers experiencing IGP risk during internal egg formation prenatally influence the behavior of their offspring, including learning, in IGP environments
Summary
Predation risk is a strong selective force shaping prey morphology, life history and behavior. We examined intraguild predation (IGP) risk-induced maternal effects on offspring anti-predator behavior, including learning, in the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis. We exposed predatory mite mothers during egg production to presence or absence of the IG predator Amblyseius andersoni and assessed whether maternal stress affects the anti-predator behavior, including larval learning ability, of their offspring as protonymphs. We argue that the attenuated response of the protonymphs to predator traces alone represents optimized risk management because no immediate risk existed Such behavioral adjustment could reduce the inherent fitness costs of anti-predator behaviors. Learning may affect every important life activity (such as foraging, mating, anti-predator behavior) but little is known about maternal effects, and here those induced by predation risk, on offspring learning ability. We secondly hypothesized that the IGP risk experienced by predatory mite mothers affects, and may interact with, the learning ability of their offspring in IGP environments
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