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Predator and prey activity levels jointly influence the outcome of long-term foraging bouts.

ABSTRACT: Consistent interindividual differences in behavior (i.e., "behavioral types") may be a key factor in determining the outcome of species interactions. Studies that simultaneously account for the behavioral types of individuals in multiple interacting species, such as predator-prey systems, may be particularly strong predictors of ecological outcomes. Here, we test the predator-prey locomotor crossover hypothesis, which predicts that active predators are more likely to encounter and consume prey with the opposing locomotor tendency. We test this hypothesis using intraspecific behavioral variation in both a predator and prey species as predictors of foraging outcomes. We use the old field jumping spider, Phidippus clarus (Araneae, Salticidae), and the house cricket, Acheta domesticus (Orthoptera, Gryllidae), as a model predator-prey system in laboratory mesocosm trials. Stable individual differences in locomotor tendencies were identified in both P. clarus and A. domesticus, and the outcome of foraging bouts depended neither on the average activity level of the predator nor on the average activity level of prey. Instead, an interaction between the activity level of spiders and crickets predicted spider foraging success and prey survivorship. Consistent with the locomotor crossover hypothesis, predators exhibiting higher activity levels consumed more prey when in an environment containing low-activity prey items and vice versa. This study highlights 1) the importance of intraspecific variation in determining the outcome of predator-prey interactions and 2) that acknowledging behavioral variation in only a single species may be insufficient to characterize the performance consequences of intraspecific trait variants.

SUBMITTER: Sweeney K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3739417 | biostudies-literature | 2013 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Predator and prey activity levels jointly influence the outcome of long-term foraging bouts.

Sweeney Kayla K Cusack Brian B Armagost Fawn F O'Brien Timothy T Keiser Carl N CN Pruitt Jonathan N JN

Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology 20130617 5

Consistent interindividual differences in behavior (i.e., "behavioral types") may be a key factor in determining the outcome of species interactions. Studies that simultaneously account for the behavioral types of individuals in multiple interacting species, such as predator-prey systems, may be particularly strong predictors of ecological outcomes. Here, we test the predator-prey locomotor crossover hypothesis, which predicts that active predators are more likely to encounter and consume prey w ...[more]

PMID: 23935257

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Project description:Variation in behaviour among group members often impacts collective outcomes. Individuals may vary both in the task that they perform and in the persistence with which they perform each task. Although both the distribution of individuals among tasks and differences among individuals in behavioural persistence can each impact collective behaviour, we do not know if and how they jointly affect collective outcomes. Here, we use a detailed computational model to examine the joint impact of colony-level distribution among tasks and behavioural persistence of individuals, specifically their fidelity to particular resource sites, on the collective trade-off between exploring for new resources and exploiting familiar ones. We developed an agent-based model of foraging honeybees, parametrized by data from five colonies, in which we simulated scouts, who search the environment for new resources, and individuals who are recruited by the scouts to the newly found resources, i.e. recruits. We varied the persistence of returning to a particular food source of both scouts and recruits and found that, for each value of persistence, there is a different optimal ratio of scouts to recruits that maximizes resource collection by the colony. Furthermore, changes to the persistence of scouts induced opposite effects from changes to the persistence of recruits on the collective foraging of the colony. The proportion of scouts that resulted in the most resources collected by the colony decreased as the persistence of recruits increased. However, this optimal proportion of scouts increased as the persistence of scouts increased. Thus, behavioural persistence and task participation can interact to impact a colony's collective behaviour in orthogonal directions. Our work provides new insights and generates new hypotheses into how variations in behaviour at both the individual and colony levels jointly impact the trade-off between exploring for new resources and exploiting familiar ones.

Dataset Information

Predator and prey activity levels jointly influence the outcome of long-term foraging bouts.

Publications

Predator and prey activity levels jointly influence the outcome of long-term foraging bouts.

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