Abstract
Prey animals can assess the risks predators present in different ways. For example, direct cues produced by predators can be used, but also signals produced by prey conspecifics that have engaged in non-lethal predator-prey interactions. These non-lethal interactions can thereby affect the physiology, behavior, and survival of prey individuals, and may affect offspring performance through maternal effects. We investigated how timing of exposure to predation-related cues during early development affects offspring behavior after weaning. Females in the laboratory were exposed during pregnancy or lactation to one of three odor treatments: (1) predator odor (PO) originating from their most common predator, the least weasel, (2) odor produced by predator-exposed conspecifics, which we call conspecific alarm cue (CAC), or (3) control odor (C). We monitored postnatal pup growth, and we quantified foraging and exploratory behaviors of 4-week-old pups following exposure of their mothers to each of the three odour treatments. Exposure to odors associated with predation risk during development affected the offspring behavior, but the timing of exposure, i.e., pre- vs. postnatally, had only a weak effect. The two non-control odors led to different behavioral changes: an attraction to CAC and an avoidance of PO. Additionally, pup growth was affected by an interaction between litter size and maternal treatment, again regardless of timing. Pups from the CAC maternal treatment grew faster in larger litters; pups from the PO maternal treatment tended to grow faster in smaller litters. Thus, in rodents, offspring growth and behavior are seemingly influenced differently by the type of predation risk perceived by their mothers.
Highlights
Lethal and non-lethal effects of predators influence the life history of prey (Sih, 1994; Ylönen and Ronkainen, 1994; Werner and Peacor, 2003; Nelson et al, 2004; Ylönen and Brown, 2007; Sheriff et al, 2009)
Prey can either detect odors produced directly by a predator or odors produced by conspecifics that engaged in non-lethal interactions with predators (Haapakoski et al, 2018)
There were no differences in litter size between maternal treatments [n = 35, early vs. late p = 0.680, C vs. conspecific alarm cue (CAC) p = 0.664, C vs. predator odor (PO) p = 0.801, Table 1 and Supplementary Table 1]
Summary
Lethal and non-lethal effects of predators influence the life history of prey (Sih, 1994; Ylönen and Ronkainen, 1994; Werner and Peacor, 2003; Nelson et al, 2004; Ylönen and Brown, 2007; Sheriff et al, 2009). Over the last two decades, increasing attention has been paid to non-lethal effects that relate to fear in the face of high predation risk. Prey can either detect odors produced directly by a predator (predator odor, PO) or odors produced by conspecifics that engaged in non-lethal interactions with predators (conspecific alarm cue, CAC) (Haapakoski et al, 2018). Irrespective of terminology, mechanisms and consequences associated with CAC production and release are well-documented (Gomes et al, 2013), including in anthozoa (Howe and Sheikh, 1975), insects (Bowers et al, 1972; Beale et al, 2006), amphibians (Hempel et al, 2009), and mammals (Boissy et al, 1998; Gutiérrez-García et al, 2007). Work in laboratory rodents has led to analyses of CAC from Wistar rats (Inagaki et al, 2014) and C57BL/6J and OMP-GFP mice (Brechbühl et al, 2013)
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