How do freshwater prey respond to combinations of predation risk and salinity?

Freshwater salinization is a growing problem worldwide and negatively affects many freshwater organisms. Many of the prior experiments studying the effects of salinity on freshwater organisms have examined the effects of salinity in isolation from natural stressors such as predation risk. However, stressors such as predation risk can synergistically interact with many pollutants to affect prey survival and growth, so it is important to determine if it interacts with salt pollution. In this experiment, we looked for interactive effects of salinity and predation risk on freshwater snails using a full-factorial mesocosm experiment that crossed four salt concentrations (no added salt, 250 mg Cl- /L, 500 mg Cl-/L, and 1000 mg Cl-/L) with three predator regimes (no predator, crayfish cues, and water bug cues). Snails were raised in the mesocosms from juveniles to reproductively mature adults, and we measured their survival, mass, reproduction, and shell morphology. We discovered a synergistic..., , # Data from: How do freshwater prey respond to combinations of predation risk and salinity?

#### Description of the data and file structure

Freshwater salinization harms many organisms, and its effects can interact with natural stressors like predation risk. This experiment tested how salinity and predator cues together affect freshwater snails, finding that their combined impact greatly increased snail mortality at high salt levels. However, their effects on snail growth and reproduction were additive, highlighting the importance of studying multiple stressors together to understand salt pollution’s true impact.

**File: PHYSA-SaltPred_Morphology.csv**

**Column Explanation:**

* SnailID: Unique ID code for each snail

- Pool- Mesocosm of origin for this snail

* Pred - Predator treatment for this snail (Belostoma = water bug cue; Crayfish = crayfish/crushed snail cue; No Predator = no predator cue)

- Salt - Salt exposure for this snail (mgCl-/L)

* Mass- snail body/shell mass (g)

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