Data and code from: Microscale temperatures affect the incidence and implications of predator-avoidance behavior in monarch caterpillars

The non-consumptive effects associated with the predator-avoidance
behaviors of potential prey species may commonly be context-dependent. In
this study, we examined how temperature differences between the plant
surface and the ground change the consequences of predator-avoidance
dropping behavior in monarch caterpillars. We hypothesized that these
temperature differences change on both diel and seasonal timescales, and
that the risk associated with exposure to potentially high ground
temperatures is likely to be greater for smaller caterpillars that have
less thermal inertia and movement ability. We conducted field experiments
to assess the mortality risk associated with dropping to the ground for
different-sized caterpillars at a wide range of ground temperatures and to
assess whether caterpillars show a willingness to drop that is consistent
with their actual survival probability. We found that the survivorship
consequences of dropping depend on both temperature and caterpillar size
and that monarch caterpillars show context-dependent predator-avoidance
behaviors consistent with adaptive expectations across a wide range of
temperatures and body sizes. However, we also observed a potentially
non-adaptive willingness to drop at high temperatures, consistent with a
biological constraint imposed by increased reactivity. These results
contribute to a general knowledge gap regarding the context dependence of
non-consumptive effects in nature.