NCEAS Project 9140

When, and how much, does fear matter? Quantitatively assessing the impact of predator intimidation of prey on community dynamics

  • Preisser, Evan
  • Bolnick, Daniel

ActivityDatesFurther Information
Working Group13th—15th April 2005Participant List   Agenda
Working Group12th—16th December 2005Participant List  
Working Group6th—9th November 2006Participant List  

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Abstract
Interactions between predators and their prey are the cornerstone of food-web ecology. Ecologists have traditionally thought of such interactions in terms of the number of prey consumed by predators. A mounting array of evidence suggests that prey are far from helpless victims, however, and that they employ a wide array of defensive strategies. The costs of these strategies can include reduced energy income, lower mating success, or increased vulnerability to other predators. Predators can thus reduce prey density both through direct consumption (density-mediated interactions, ?DMIs?) and through the costs arising from anti-predator strategies (trait-mediated interactions, ?TMIs?). The presence of TMIs can introduce nonlinearities into species interactions that profoundly affect both short-term interactions and longterm population dynamics. We will use meta-analysis to evaluate patterns of TMIs across a range of ecosystems, taxa, and as a function of predator, prey, and resource density, and to determine the relative importance of different forms of TMIs (reductions in feeding, mating opportunities, reproductive allocation, etc) in shaping predator-prey interactions. Our empirical results will be used to help develop models of predator-prey interactions incorporating both density-mediated and a range of trait-mediated effects, in turn allowing us to generate new hypotheses testable by meta-analysis. We will produce: 1) a series of articles, including one which proposes TMIappropriate experimental methodologies; 2) an article for the general public; and 3) a comprehensive database of TMI research.

TypeProducts of NCEAS Research
PublicationAbrams, Peter A.2007. Defining and measuring the impact of dynamic traits on interspecific interactions. Ecology. Vol: 88(10). Pages 2555-2562.
PublicationAbrams, Peter A.2007. Habitat choice in predator-prey systems: Spatial instability due to interacting adaptive movements. The American Naturalist. Vol: 169(5). Pages 581-594.
PublicationAbrams, Peter A.In-press. Measuring the population-level consequences of predator-induced prey movement. Evolutionary Ecology Research.
PublicationAbrams, Peter A.In-press. The use of predator-cue experiments to quantify behavioral effects in tri-trophic systems: A theoretical analysis. Ecology.
PublicationOrrock, John L.; Grabowski, Jonathan ; Peacor, Scott D.; Peckarsky, Barbara ; Preisser, Evan L.; Sih, Andrew ; Werner, Earl E.In press. Consumptive and non-consumptive effects of predators on metacommunities of competing prey. Ecology.
PublicationPeckarsky, Barbara ; Abrams, Peter A.; Bolnick, Daniel I.; Dill, Lawrence M.; Grabowski, Jonathan ; Luttbeg, Barney ; Orrock, John L.; Peacor, Scott D.; Preisser, Evan L.; Schmitz, Oswald J.; Trussell, Geoffrey In press. Revisiting the classics: Considering non-consumptive effects in textbook examples of predator-prey interactions. Ecology.
PublicationPreisser, Evan L.; Orrock, John L.; Schmitz, Oswald J.2007. Predator hunting mode and habitat domain alter nonconsumptive effects in predator-prey interactions. Ecology. Vol: 88(11). Pages 2744-2751.
PublicationSchmitz, Oswald J.; Grabowski, Jonathan ; Peckarsky, Barbara ; Preisser, Evan L.; Trussell, Geoffrey ; Vonesh, James R.In press. From individuals to ecosystem function: Towards an integration of evolutionary and ecosystem ecology. Ecology.
Data setPreisser, Evan L.2007. Data on nonconsumptive predator effects. (Online version)