4.2 Article

Response of juvenile rainbow trout to varying concentrations of chemical alarm cue: response thresholds and survival during encounters with predators

Journal

CANADIAN JOURNAL OF ZOOLOGY
Volume 81, Issue 1, Pages 88-95

Publisher

CANADIAN SCIENCE PUBLISHING
DOI: 10.1139/Z02-216

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Prey animals may mediate the intensity of their behavioural responses to predators to reflect their risk of predation. However, in the absence of an overt (observable) behavioural response to a particular predation-risk cue, we need to ask whether or not prey animals are still using the cue to assess predation risk. Behavioural responses that are not readily observable within the time frame of the experiment are considered covert. In this study we exposed juvenile rainbow trout, Oncorhynchus mykiss, to varying concentrations of conspecific chemical alarm cue to determine their observable response threshold. In a subsequent experiment we exposed the trout to alarm-cue concentrations above and below their behavioural-response threshold and allowed them to interact with an unknown predator (northern pike, Esox lucius). Trout exposed to concentrations below the observable response threshold were able to evade the predator equally as well as trout exposed to alarm-cue concentrations above the observable response threshold. This study illustrates the sophistication with which prey animals employ chemosensory risk assessment. We must use caution when relying on overt behavioural responses for assessing whether prey are utilizing specific cues to mediate their risk of predation.

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