Testing the link between perceived and actual risk of predation: mosquito oviposition site selection and egg predation by native and introduced fish

1. According to the threat-sensitivity hypothesis, prey avoidance behaviour should reflect the magnitude of predation risk. Since predation can strongly affect reproduction success, ovipositing females are expected to adaptively adjust their predator-avoidance response, or local breeding patch selectivity, in accordance with the perceived level of threat posed for their progeny by specific predators. However, association between avoidance and predation can be disrupted when the prey and the predator lack spatio-temporal opportunities to co-evolve, such as in cases of non-native predator introductions.

2. We examined the interactions between mosquitoes (from the genus Culex) and three species of sympatric predaceous freshwater fish, a native cyprinid (Barbus paludinosus), a cichlid (Pseudocrenilabrus philander), and an introduced poeciliid, the Western mosquitofish (Gambusia affinis).

3. In an outdoor mesocosm experiment we quantified patterns of Culex oviposition site selection ac...

1. 根据威胁敏感性假说（threat-sensitivity hypothesis），猎物的避敌行为应当反映捕食风险的大小。由于捕食作用会强烈影响繁殖成功率，产卵雌体理应根据特定捕食者对子代造成的感知威胁水平，适应性地调整其避敌反应或局部繁殖位点选择性。然而，当猎物与捕食者缺乏时空共进化的机会时（如外来捕食者引入的情况），避敌行为与捕食风险之间的关联会被打破。
2. 本研究探究了库蚊属（Culex）蚊子与三种同域捕食性淡水鱼类之间的相互作用：一种本土鲤科鱼类（Barbus paludinosus）、一种慈鲷（Pseudocrenilabrus philander），以及一种引入的花鳉科鱼类——西部食蚊鱼（Gambusia affinis）。
3. 在室外中宇宙（mesocosm）实验中，我们量化了库蚊属蚊子的产卵位点选择模式……