Data from: Prenatal exposure to predation affects predator recognition learning via lateralization plasticity

Prey with cerebral lateralization often shows a bias in escape direction and asymmetrical use of eyes for scanning. Such asymmetries are likely to cause ecological disadvantages when, for example, predators attack from the side in which the prey is more susceptible. However, lateralized individuals are diffuse in many species and, paradoxically, their frequency increases via developmental plasticity in environments with high-predation risk. Using wood frog tadpoles, Lithobates sylvaticus, we tested the hypothesis that cerebral lateralization enhances predator recognition learning and thus overcomes the costs of behavioral asymmetries in high predation risk environments. In the first experiment, we found tadpoles exposed to risk as embryos developed more intense lateralization in a rotational test compared to predator-naive controls. Risk exposure led to the more frequent development of clockwise swimming preference. In the second experiment, we found that tadpoles exhibiting no behavioral lateralization and tadpoles with marked clockwise swimming preference learned to recognize the novel predator odor, with the latter showing a better performance as predicted. Tadpoles with anticlockwise swimming preference did not learn to associate the predator with risk. Exposure to a high-risk environment during early ontogeny appears to favor the development of either a lateralization phenotype with refined predator recognition learning skills, or, to a lesser extent, a lateralization phenotype with poor predator recognition learning skills. Such individuals likely cope with predation using mechanisms other than learning.具有大脑偏侧化（cerebral lateralization）的猎物通常在逃逸方向上表现出偏倚，且在环境扫描时存在不对称的用眼行为。此类行为不对称性往往会带来生态劣势——例如，当捕食者从猎物更易受攻击的一侧发起袭击时。然而，诸多物种中均广泛存在偏侧化个体，且矛盾的是，在高捕食风险环境中，这类个体的频率会通过发育可塑性（developmental plasticity）升高。 本研究以林蛙蝌蚪（*Lithobates sylvaticus*）为实验对象，验证了如下假说：大脑偏侧化能够提升捕食者识别学习能力，进而抵消高捕食风险环境中行为不对称性带来的代价。 在第一项实验中，相较于未接触过捕食者的对照组蝌蚪，胚胎期暴露于风险环境的蝌蚪在旋转测试中表现出更显著的偏侧化特征，且更易形成顺时针游泳偏好。 在第二项实验中，研究发现无行为偏侧化的蝌蚪与具有显著顺时针游泳偏好的蝌蚪均能学会识别新型捕食者气味，其中后者的学习表现正如预期般更优；而具有逆时针游泳偏好的蝌蚪则未能将捕食者气味与风险建立关联。 早期个体发育阶段暴露于高风险环境，似乎会促进两类偏侧化表型的形成：一类是具备更优异捕食者识别学习能力的表型，另一类是捕食者识别学习能力较弱的表型（占比相对更低）。这类个体大概率通过非学习的其他机制来应对捕食压力。