Sensory signals and the reaction space in predator–prey interactions

Abstract

Non-consumptive effects of predators (NCEs) often occur when prey alter their behavior in response to sensory signals indicative of predatory threats. The purpose of this study was to assess how the reaction to predation risk by prey changes with environmental context and predator hunting mode. We placed prey (crayfish) in two different environments (flow and no flow) in one of the three predator treatments (active predator [bass], sit-and-wait predator [catfish], no predator) and monitored the behavior of the crayfish in a resource patchy environment. Crayfish rely on chemically mediated behaviors including foraging, agonistic, and predator detection, and inhabit flow and no flow environments. Our results show predator hunting mode changes prey behavior, but only in flow water that would enhance the transmission of predator cues. The most significant interaction between predator treatment and environmental conditions was found with the active predator in flow habitats, but changes in stimulus transmission dynamics did not alter NCEs from a sit-and-wait predator.