Abstract
In open, arid environments with limited shelter there may be strong selection on small prey species to develop behaviors that facilitate predator avoidance. Here, we predicted that rodents should avoid predator odor and open habitats to reduce their probability of encounter with potential predators, and tested our predictions using a native Australian desert rodent, the spinifex hopping-mouse (Notomys alexis). We tested the foraging and movement responses of N. alexis to non-native predator (fox and cat) odor, in sheltered and open macro- and microhabitats. Rodents did not respond to predator odor, perhaps reflecting the inconsistent selection pressure that is imposed on prey species in the desert environment due to the transience of predator-presence. However, they foraged primarily in the open and moved preferentially across open sand. The results suggest that N. alexis relies on escape rather than avoidance behavior when managing predation risk, with its bipedal movement probably allowing it to exploit open environments most effectively.
Highlights
Olfactory recognition of predators is especially widespread in mammalian predator-prey systems
In Experiment 2, N. alexis again showed no preference for stations with or without predator odors and no interactions between odor and microhabitat (Table 1)
Our results indicate that predator odor had no influence on the foraging behavior, movement paths or habitat use of Notomys alexis, and provide no support for our general hypothesis that predator odor would provide a cue to gauge predation risk
Summary
Olfactory recognition of predators is especially widespread in mammalian predator-prey systems (for a review see: [1]). [2]) and, in small mammals, lower trapping success at sites scented with predator odors [3]. Predator scent may indicate sites where there is an elevated risk of encountering a predator, and animals that use olfaction to detect and avoid these riskier habitats are likely to be at a selective advantage compared to those that do not [4,5]. The large impacts of these predators could be expected to drive native prey to develop strategies to manage predation risk; studies on the use of odor cues by mammalian prey species in Australia have yielded contradictory results. Native mammals show no evident avoidance of the odors of native or introduced predators [14,15]
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