In a large behavioral experiment we reconstructed the evolution of behavioral responses to predators to explore how interactions with predators have shaped the evolution of their prey's behavior. All Enallagma damselfly species reduced both movement and feeding in the presence of coexisting predators. Some Enallagma species inhabit water bodies with both fish and dragonflies, and these species ...

The introduction of predatory mammals to oceanic islands has led to the extinction of many endemic birds. Although introduced predators should favour changes that reduce predation risk in surviving bird species, the ability of island birds to respond to such novel changes remains unstudied. We tested whether novel predation risk imposed by introduced mammalian predators has altered the parental...

Although predators affect prey both via consumption and by changing prey migration behavior, the interplay between these two effects is rarely incorporated into spatial models of predator-prey dynamics and competition among prey. We develop a model where generalist predators have consumptive effects (i.e., altering the likelihood of local prey extinction) as well as nonconsumptive effects (alte...

Introduced predators have caused declines and extinctions of native species worldwide, seemingly able to find and hunt new, unfamiliar prey from the time of their introduction. Yet, just as native species are often naïve to introduced predators, in theory, introduced predators should initially be naïve in their response to novel native prey. Here we examine the response of free-living introduce...

There is growing recognition of the important roles played by predators in regulating ecosystems and sustaining biodiversity. Much attention has focused on the consequences of predator-regulation of herbivore populations, and associated trophic cascades. However apex predators may also control smaller 'mesopredators' through intraguild interactions. Removal of apex predators can result in chang...

The ecological impacts of the indirect effects of predators are well established, but the evolutionary consequences are unknown. Predators often decrease prey density, which indirectly increases the resources available to surviving prey. This ecological effect could provide a link to evolution because it is generally assumed that resource availability influences life history evolution. Yet, pre...

The importance of interactions between sharks and cetaceans has been a subject of much conjecture, but few studies have addressed these interactions. Sharks (order Selachii) have been hypothesized to be important predators on dolphins and porpoises (suborder Odontoceti). Unfortunately, there are often few data to back up claims that certain shark species are major threats to cetaceans. To help ...

Knowledge of factors causing mortality in herbivorous insects is essential to developing a better understanding of their population dynamics and more effective strategies to manage their abundance in crops. In this study we used 2 methods of predator exclusion to evaluate the effects of arthropod predators on Pieris rapae L. eggs and larvae on cabbages (Brassica oleracea variety capitata L.) in...

We study the survival of a prey that is hunted by N predators. The predators perform independent random walks on a square lattice with V sites and start a direct chase whenever the prey appears within their sighting range. The prey is caught when a predator jumps to the site occupied by the prey. We analyze the efficacy of a lazy, minimal-effort evasion strategy according to which the prey trie...

An analysis is given of a mathematical model of two predators feeding on a single prey growing in the chemostat. In the case that one of the predators goes extinct, a global stability result is obtained. Under appropriate circumstances, a bifurcation theorem can be used to show that coexistence of the predators occurs in the form of a limit cycle.