Predator Avoidance in Seagrass Meadows: Prey Behavior, Microhabitat Selection, and Cryptic Coloration
Predator Avoidance in Seagrass Meadows: Prey Behavior, Microhabitat Selection, and Cryptic Coloration
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海草草甸的捕食者躲避：猎物行为、微生境选择和隐秘的颜色
作者：
K. Main
对捕食者的行为反应可能影响猎物的分布和丰度模式。早期的捕食者偏好实验和分析的自然饮食显示，caridean虾Tozeuma carolinense是代表不足的饮食中的pinfish，Lagodon rhomboides，占主导地位的掠食性鱼类在海洋海草草甸在美国东南部。我研究了猎物的行为反应，微栖息地的变化，和神秘的着色猎物可访问性Lagodon与现场观察和实验室实验相结合的影响。Tozeuma的行为和微栖息地的选择是非常相似的领域和实验室，并紧密耦合到海草Tozeuma栖息。在捕食性鱼类的存在下，Tozeuma增加了一些其他罕见行为的时间。特别是，实验室实验表明，围绕着草叶片移动的行为反应，其中虾是坚持，导致在虾的生存显着增加，因此是强适应性。此外，Tozeuma改变微栖息地以应对捕食者;没有反应的个体通常会被消耗。对于虾类来说，躲避捕食者的行为远比隐藏的颜色更重要。单独的物理结构的存在并不一定提供保护虾从这些视觉捕食者的主动捕食者回避行为和存在的结构复杂，不透明的基板相结合，导致捕食者和猎物之间的视觉障碍。这种猎物的行为，微栖息地的链接可能是更重要的比物理干扰的栖息地的视觉捕食者觅食成功的影响因素。
Behavioral responses to predators may influence distribution and abundance patterns of prey. Earlier predator—preference experiments and analyses of natural diets revealed that the caridean shrimp Tozeuma carolinense is underrepresented in the diet of pinfish, Lagodon rhomboides, the dominant predatory fish in marine seagrass meadows in the southeastern USA. I examined the influence of prey behavioral responses, microhabitat shifts, and cryptic coloration on prey accessibility to Lagodon with a combination of field observations and laboratory experiments. Tozeuma's behavior and microhabitat choice were extremely similar in the field and the laboratory and were tightly coupled to the seagrasses Tozeuma inhabits. In the presence of predatory fishes, Tozeuma increased the time spent in some otherwise rare behaviors. In particular, laboratory experiments revealed that the behavioral response of moving around the grass blade, to which a shrimp was clinging, resulted in a significant increase in shrimp survival, and thus is strongly adaptive. In addition, Tozeuma shifted microhabitats in response to predators; individuals that did not respond were often consumed. For the shrimp, predator—avoidance behaviors were far more important than cryptic coloration in eluding predatory fish. The presence of a physical structure alone did not necessarily provide protection for shrimp from these visual predators; the combination of active predator—avoidance behaviors and the presence of a structurally complex, opaque substrates resulted in a visual barrier between predator and prey. Such prey behavior—microhabitat links can be more important than physical interference of the habitat as factors affecting foraging success of visual predators.