Ecological uncertainty as a driver of neophobia in aquatic prey

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Prey use publicly available information about local habitat conditions to balance the conflicting demands of predator avoidance and other activities such as foraging and reproduction. However, environments undergo both short and long term changes resulting from a combination of natural and anthropogenic pressures, leading to increased uncertainty (the incomplete or imperfect information regarding local conditions) among prey animals. A major challenge for ecologists is to determine how prey can balance these conflicts when faced with ecological uncertainty. Given that the combined effects of global climate change, invasive species and anthropogenic habitat degradation are expected to dramatically alter environments, the need to explore the effects of ecological uncertainty is key. As a cognitive and behavioural ecologist, I examine `how aquatic prey use public information to adjust behavioural trade-offs to current environmental conditions'. Recently, I have focussed on neophobic predator recognition as an inducible response to elevated predation risk. However, mean predation risk is only one of many determinants of the ecological uncertainty experienced by prey. My long term objective for the next five years is to address the key question of how ecological uncertainty shapes the expression of neophobic predator avoidance and foraging patterns of prey and what are the cognitive cost associated with neophobia. Using a combination of innovative laboratory and field studies, I will address four specific questions. First, I will determine the role of predator diversity and spatial and temporal predictability of predation threats plays in shaping neophobic predator recognition. Second, the level of structural complexity within a habitat is known to determine what information is available to prey. I will examine the role habitat complexity plays in shaping the uncertainty of information. Third, the availability of suitable foraging opportunities is also expected to shape the decisions of prey. Thus, I will examine the potential links between neophobic predator recognition and neophobic foraging patterns. Finally, as prey increase their response to novel predator cues, they might be less attentive to novel foraging cues or situations. I will determine the cognitive (learning) costs associated with phenotypically plastic neophobia. This proposal will directly support 3 PhD, 3 MSc and several undergraduate students. Each will gain valuable experience in cognitive and behavioural ecology. While addressing fundamental questions, each of the goals presented here has clear links to real-life environmental issues. The HQP supported by these funds will benefit from the exposure to both fundamental and applied approaches. This exposure will ensure that students trained on this grant will become scientists that can make significant impacts as researchers and policy makers.