Predator Fitness Increases with Selectivity for Odd Prey
نویسنده
چکیده
The fundamental currency of normative models of animal decision making is Darwinian fitness. In foraging ecology, empirical studies typically assess foraging strategies by recording energy intake rates rather than realized reproductive performance. This study provides a rare empirical link, in a vertebrate predator-prey system, between a predator's foraging behavior and direct measures of its reproductive fitness. Goshawks Accipiter gentilis selectively kill rare color variants of their principal prey, the feral pigeon Columba livia, presumably because targeting odd-looking birds in large uniform flocks helps them overcome confusion effects and enhances attack success. Reproductive performance of individual hawks increases significantly with their selectivity for odd-colored pigeons, even after controlling for confounding age effects. Older hawks exhibit more pronounced dietary preferences, suggesting that hunting performance improves with experience. Intriguingly, although negative frequency-dependent predation by hawks exerts strong selection against rare pigeon phenotypes, pigeon color polymorphism is maintained through negative assortative mating.
منابع مشابه
Stability analysis of a fractional order prey-predator system with nonmonotonic functional response
In this paper, we introduce fractional order of a planar fractional prey-predator system with a nonmonotonic functional response and anti-predator behaviour such that the adult preys can attack vulnerable predators. We analyze the existence and stability of all possible equilibria. Numerical simulations reveal that anti-predator behaviour not only makes the coexistence of the prey and predator ...
متن کاملDynamics of an eco-epidemic model with stage structure for predator
The predator-prey model with stage structure for predator is generalized in the context of ecoepidemiology, where the prey population is infected by a microparasite and the predator completely avoids consuming the infected prey. The intraspecific competition of infected prey is considered. All the equilibria are characterized and the existence of a Hopf bifurcation at the coexistence equilibriu...
متن کامل1 Escape behavior : importance , scope , and variables
Prey that do not escape when attacked by lethal predators die. Even prey that suffer nonlethal injuries inflicted by predators may incur substantial costs, such as reduced ability to reproduce, reduced social status, reduced ability to forage, and reduced ability to escape in later encounters with predators. Unsuccessful escape reduces fitness. A prey that is killed by a predator loses all fitn...
متن کاملPrey-Predator System; Having Stable Periodic Orbit
The study of differential equations is useful in to analyze the possible past or future with help of present information. In this paper, the behavior of solutions has been analyzed around the equilibrium points for Gause model. Finally, some results are worked out to exist the stable periodic orbit for mentioned predator-prey system.
متن کاملPredator and Prey Habitat Selection Games: the Effects of How Prey Balance Foraging and Predation Risk
The spatial distributions of predators and prey can be shaped by both intraand interspecific games. Most predator–prey studies, however, have ignored the interspecific game by focusing on how either predators or prey distribute themselves while holding the distribution of the other species fixed. We use genetic algorithms to examine how the distributional outcome of the game between predators a...
متن کاملذخیره در منابع من
با ذخیره ی این منبع در منابع من، دسترسی به آن را برای استفاده های بعدی آسان تر کنید
برای دانلود متن کامل این مقاله و بیش از 32 میلیون مقاله دیگر ابتدا ثبت نام کنید
ثبت ناماگر عضو سایت هستید لطفا وارد حساب کاربری خود شوید
ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Current Biology
دوره 22 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2012