Dynamic landscapes of fear and safety alter prey refuge use in freshwater habitats

The non-consumptive effects of predators on prey behavior have been studied in many different systems. However, predator-prey ecology has placed a bulk of emphasis on how fear alters prey behavior, and new studies have begun to shift focus to the importance that safety in the form of refuges has in structuring prey behavioral responses. This project focuses on changes in the safety landscape as well as changes in the fear landscape and how these changes impact crayfish behavior. Using an established bass-crayfish predator prey system, we altered shelter quality and location in relation to the presence of bass odor signals. We measured shelter use by the crayfish in response to this changing landscape.

捕食者对猎物行为的非消耗性效应（non-consumptive effects）已在多种不同系统中得到研究。然而，捕食者-猎物生态学的研究重点长期集中于恐惧如何改变猎物行为，近期研究则开始转向避难所形式的安全在塑造猎物行为反应中的重要性。本项目聚焦于安全景观与恐惧景观的变化，以及这些变化如何影响小龙虾的行为。通过已建立的鲈鱼-小龙虾捕食者-猎物系统，我们根据鲈鱼气味信号的存在与否，改变了避难所的质量与位置。我们测量了小龙虾在这一动态景观下对避难所的利用情况。