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  

Members Only Area

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
Publication Abrams, Peter A. 2007. Defining and measuring the impact of dynamic traits on interspecific interactions. Ecology. Vol: 88(10). Pages 2555-2562.
Publication Abrams, 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.
Publication Abrams, Peter A. In-press. Measuring the population-level consequences of predator-induced prey movement. Evolutionary Ecology Research.
Publication Abrams, Peter A. In-press. The use of predator-cue experiments to quantify behavioral effects in tri-trophic systems: A theoretical analysis. Ecology.
Publication Orrock, John L.; Grabowski, Jonathan; Pantel, Jelena; Peacor, Scott D.; Peckarsky, Barbara; Sih, Andrew; Werner, Earl E. 2008. Consumptive and non-consumptive effects of predators on metacommunities of competing prey. Ecology. Vol: 89(9). Pages 2426-2435.
Publication Peckarsky, 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. 2008. Revisiting the classics: Considering nonconsumptive effects in textbook examples of predator-prey interactions. Ecology. Vol: 89(9). Pages 2416-2425.
Publication Peckarsky, 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.
Publication Preisser, Evan L.; Bolnick, Daniel I. 2008. The many faces of fear: Comparing the pathways and impacts of nonconsumptive predator effects on prey populations. PLoS ONE. Vol: 3. Pages e2465.
Publication Preisser, Evan L.; Bolnick, Daniel I. 2008. When predators don't eat their prey: Nonconsumptive predator effects on prey dynamics. Ecology. Vol: 89(9). Pages 2414.
Publication Preisser, 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.
Publication Schmitz, 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 Set Preisser, Evan L. 2007. Data on nonconsumptive predator effects. (Online version)