Visual recognition and coevolutionary history drive responses of amphibians to an invasive predator

During biotic invasions, native prey are abruptly exposed to novel predators and are faced with unprecedented predatory pressures. Under these circumstances, the lack of common evolutionary history may hamper predator recognition by native prey, undermining the expression of effective anti-predatory responses. Nonetheless, mechanisms allowing prey to overcome evolutionary naïveté exist. For instance, in naïve prey, history of coevolution with similar native predators or recognition of general traits characterizing predators can favor recognition of stimuli released by invasive predators. However, few studies assessed how these mechanisms shape prey response at the community level. Here, we evaluated behavioral responses in naïve larvae of 13 amphibian species to chemical and visual cues associated with an invasive predator, the American red swamp crayfish (Procambarus clarkii). Moreover, we investigated how variation among species responses was related to their coexistence with a simila...