Top predators negate the effect of mesopredators on prey physiology
Top predators negate the effect of mesopredators on prey physiology
Summary: Predation theory and empirical evidence suggest that top predators benefit the survival of resource prey through the suppression of mesopredators. However, whether such behavioural suppression can also affect the physiology of resource prey has yet to be examined.
Using a three-tier reef fish food web and intermittent-flow respirometry, our study examined changes in the metabolic rate of resource prey exposed to combinations of mesopredator and top predator cues.
Under experimental conditions, the mesopredator (dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus) continuously foraged and attacked resource prey (juveniles of the damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis) triggering an increase in prey O2 uptake by 38 ± 12·9% (mean ± SE). The visual stimulus of a top predator (coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus) restricted the foraging activity of the mesopredator, indirectly allowing resource prey to minimize stress and maintain routine O2 uptake. Although not as strong as the effect of the top predator, the sight of a large non-predator species (thicklip wrasse, Hemigymnus melapterus) also reduced the impact of the mesopredator on prey metabolic rate.
We conclude that lower trophic-level species can benefit physiologically from the presence of top predators through the behavioural suppression that top predators impose on mesopredators. By minimizing the energy spent on mesopredator avoidance and the associated stress response to mesopredator attacks, prey may be able to invest more energy in foraging and growth, highlighting the importance of the indirect, non-consumptive effects of top predators in marine food webs.
coral reef fish, metabolic rate, non-consumptive effects, predator-prey interactions, respirometry, trait-mediated indirect effects
1078-1086
Palacios, Maria M.
0419c10b-b138-4ab1-be22-482818c6992a
Killen, Shaun S.
1264c6da-6ec7-4d54-8ceb-2d462626743c
Nadler, Lauren E.
1d1f8e6a-e951-41f5-888c-cfcb4b4b19dc
White, James R.
dfa7b3c6-2efe-4467-9a23-82f8a777b1a3
McCormick, Mark I.
18c6b112-782f-443c-b4f5-fda311b3d344
1 July 2016
Palacios, Maria M.
0419c10b-b138-4ab1-be22-482818c6992a
Killen, Shaun S.
1264c6da-6ec7-4d54-8ceb-2d462626743c
Nadler, Lauren E.
1d1f8e6a-e951-41f5-888c-cfcb4b4b19dc
White, James R.
dfa7b3c6-2efe-4467-9a23-82f8a777b1a3
McCormick, Mark I.
18c6b112-782f-443c-b4f5-fda311b3d344
Palacios, Maria M., Killen, Shaun S., Nadler, Lauren E., White, James R. and McCormick, Mark I.
(2016)
Top predators negate the effect of mesopredators on prey physiology.
Journal of Animal Ecology, 85 (4), .
(doi:10.1111/1365-2656.12523).
Abstract
Summary: Predation theory and empirical evidence suggest that top predators benefit the survival of resource prey through the suppression of mesopredators. However, whether such behavioural suppression can also affect the physiology of resource prey has yet to be examined.
Using a three-tier reef fish food web and intermittent-flow respirometry, our study examined changes in the metabolic rate of resource prey exposed to combinations of mesopredator and top predator cues.
Under experimental conditions, the mesopredator (dottyback, Pseudochromis fuscus) continuously foraged and attacked resource prey (juveniles of the damselfish Pomacentrus amboinensis) triggering an increase in prey O2 uptake by 38 ± 12·9% (mean ± SE). The visual stimulus of a top predator (coral trout, Plectropomus leopardus) restricted the foraging activity of the mesopredator, indirectly allowing resource prey to minimize stress and maintain routine O2 uptake. Although not as strong as the effect of the top predator, the sight of a large non-predator species (thicklip wrasse, Hemigymnus melapterus) also reduced the impact of the mesopredator on prey metabolic rate.
We conclude that lower trophic-level species can benefit physiologically from the presence of top predators through the behavioural suppression that top predators impose on mesopredators. By minimizing the energy spent on mesopredator avoidance and the associated stress response to mesopredator attacks, prey may be able to invest more energy in foraging and growth, highlighting the importance of the indirect, non-consumptive effects of top predators in marine food webs.
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Accepted/In Press date: 12 March 2016
Published date: 1 July 2016
Keywords:
coral reef fish, metabolic rate, non-consumptive effects, predator-prey interactions, respirometry, trait-mediated indirect effects
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 472556
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/472556
ISSN: 0021-8790
PURE UUID: 7b7dedf2-2ad5-4526-a0e8-8cfc27f60a8c
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Date deposited: 08 Dec 2022 17:31
Last modified: 17 Mar 2024 04:16
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Author:
Maria M. Palacios
Author:
Shaun S. Killen
Author:
Lauren E. Nadler
Author:
James R. White
Author:
Mark I. McCormick
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