Tracing the battle: Role of mucus trails in information warfare between predator snail and prey limpet

Predator-prey interactions have long been recognized as important
selective forces in the evolution and maintenance of multiple traits in
both predators and prey. Certain animal species leave information
intentionally or unintentionally, in the form of urine, feces, feeding
traces, and chemical trails, even after they have moved. This residual
information, left behind by animals, has the potential to affect predation
efficiency. However, information warfare—the use of information between
predator and prey, in which predators exploit prey cues to increase
predation efficiency, while prey exploit predator cues to reduce
it—remains largely unexplored, especially in the context of residual
information. Marine gastropods leave a mucus trail that contains
individual information as they crawl. In this study, we investigated the
existence of information warfare between the predator snail Reishia
clavigera and the prey limpet Siphonaria sirius through mucus trails. We
observed the responses of predators and prey to their respective mucus
trails under laboratory conditions. The predators followed the prey’s
mucus trails. In contrast, the prey exhibited movements, such as looping,
upon confrontation with the predator’s mucus trails. The looping behavior
reduced the probability of the predator reaching the endpoint of the
prey’s mucus trail. These results suggest a potential strategy whereby
predators exploit prey mucus trails for localization, along with a
counter-strategy through which prey minimize the risk of detection. Our
findings provide novel insights into how information shapes predator-prey
interactions, indicating the potential existence of an information-induced
arms race.