Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in the atmosphere and surface ocean are rising at an unprecedented rate due to sustained and accelerating anthropogenic CO2 emissions. Previous studies have documented that exposure to elevated CO2 causes impaired antipredator behavior by coral reef fish in response to chemical cues associated with predation. However, whether ocean acidification will impair visual re...

The present study surveyed the palatability of all sponge species that could be collected in sufficient quantities in a shallow-water area along the western Antarctic Peninsula. Of 27 species assayed, 78% had outermost tissues that were significantly unpalatable to the sympatric, omnivorous sea star Odontaster validus. Of those species with unpalatable outer tissues, 62% had inner tissues that ...

Odors of biological relevance (e.g., predator odors, sex odors) are known to effectively influence basic survival needs of rodents such as anti-predatory defensiveness and mating behaviors. Research focused on the effects of these odors on rats' behavior mostly includes multi-trial paradigms where animals experience single odor exposures in subsequent, separated experimental sessions. In the pr...

Predation by visual predators is often affected by light conditions and may therefore exhibit strong diel variation. The dominant predators on grass shrimp, Palaemonetes pugio, are finfish predators that are thought to locate their prey by visual cues. We examined the response of grass shrimp to diel variation in predation risk in the nearshore shallow waters of the Chesapeake Bay. We used diel...

New Zealand Journal of Ecology (1998) 22(1): 65-70 ©New Zealand Ecological Society However, if buffer zones do not reduce lagomorph abundance and consequently chick predation, there is a danger from relaxation of conventional predator control measures which could potentially increase rates of predation on chicks. In addition, increased predation on chicks may result if buffer zones actually inc...

The behavior of a California isolate of the predaceous nematode, Odontopharynx longicaudata de Man, was studied in water agar culture. When feeding on an Acrobeloides sp. the predator completed its life cycle in 13 to 14 days at 25 C. Optimum temperature for reproduction of the predator was 25 C, few individuals survived at 10 C, and 30 C was lethal. Males were necessary for reproduction, and a...

Most of the Human diseases affecting westernized countries are associated with dysbiosis and loss of microbial diversity in the gut microbiota. The Western way of life, with a wide use of antibiotics and other environmental triggers, may reduce the number of bacterial predators leading to a decrease in microbial diversity of the Human gut. We argue that this phenomenon is similar to the process...

Droop models of nutrient-phytoplankton-zooplankton interaction with intratrophic predation of zooplankton are introduced and investigated. The models proposed in this study are open ecosystems which include both a constant and a periodic input nutrient models. A simple stochastic model mimics a randomly varying nutrient input is also presented. For the deterministic models it is shown analytica...

Intraguild predation (IGP) is common in food web when two natural enemies share the same resources and prey. It may affect the success or failure of a biological control attempt. The role of intraguild predation by Geocoris ochropterus Fieber (Heteroptera: Geocoridae) on Trichogramma chilonis Ishii (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) developed on eggs of Helicoverpa armigera (Hubner) (Lepidoptera:...