Journal
BEHAVIORAL ECOLOGY
Volume 17, Issue 2, Pages 303-309Publisher
OXFORD UNIV PRESS INC
DOI: 10.1093/beheco/arj032
Keywords
interscan interval; predation risk; starlings; vigilance; visibility; vision
Categories
Funding
- Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council [BB/B502044/1] Funding Source: researchfish
Ask authors/readers for more resources
Practically all animals must find food while avoiding predators. An individual's perception of predation risk may depend on many factors, such as distance to refuge and group size, but it is Unclear whether individuals respond to different factors ill a similar manner. We tested whether flocks of foraging starlings responded in the same way to an increased perception of predation risk by assessing three factors: (1) neighbor distances, (2) habitat obstruction, and (3) recent exposure to a predator. We found that in all three scenarios of increased risk, starlings reduced their interscan intervals (food-searching bouts), which increased the frequency of their vigilance periods. We then examined how one of these factors, habitat obstruction, affected escape speed by simulating an attack with a model predator. Starlings were slower to respond in visually Obstructed habitats (long grass swards) and slower when the), had their head down in obstructed habitats than when they had their head down in open habitats. In addition, reaction times were quicker when starlings could employ their peripheral fields of vision. Our results demonstrate that. different Sources of increased risk call generate similar behavioral responses within a species. The degree of Visibility in the physical and social environment affects both the actual and perceived risk of predation.
Authors
I am an author on this paper
Click your name to claim this paper and add it to your profile.
Reviews
Recommended
No Data Available