Journal
ECOLOGY
Volume 95, Issue 2, Pages 280-285Publisher
ECOLOGICAL SOC AMER
DOI: 10.1890/13-0836.1
Keywords
Allenby's gerbil; Gerbillus andersoni allenbyi; Barn Owls; Tyto alba; coexistence; community ecology; foraging game; predator-prey interactions
Categories
Funding
- United States-Israel Binational Science Foundation [2004150, 2008163]
- Division Of Chemistry
- Direct For Mathematical & Physical Scien [2004150] Funding Source: National Science Foundation
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In predator-prey foraging games, predators should respond to variations in prey state. The value of energy for the prey changes depending on season. Prey in a low energetic state and/or in a reproductive state should invest more in foraging and tolerate higher predation risk. This should make the prey more catchable, and thereby, more preferable to predators. We ask, can predators respond to prey state? How does season and state affect the foraging game from the predator's perspective? By letting owls choose between gerbils whose states we experimentally manipulated, we could demonstrate predator sensitivity to prey state and predator selectivity that otherwise may be obscured by the foraging game. During spring, owls invested more time and attacks in the patch with well-fed gerbils. During summer, owls attacked both patches equally, yet allocated more time to the patch with hungry gerbils. Energetic state per se does not seem to be the basis of owl choice. The owls strongly responded to these subtle differences. In summer, gerbils managed their behavior primarily for survival, and the owls equalized capture opportunities by attacking both patches equally.
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