Context-dependent behavior in predator-prey interactions: an evidence synthesis approach

长期以来，捕食者与猎物之间的相互作用一直被认为是一种强大且相关的选择性力量。考虑到这种生态关系涉及的风险很高，不适当的行为策略很可能会被排除在种群之外。这些特征使捕食者与猎物的相互作用成为研究行为进化的极佳模型。在这种情况下，我计划为行为生态学中的两个重要假设综合经验证据(使用最先进的荟萃分析技术)，即：i)动物可以评估捕食的风险并做出相应的行为(即在涉及更高风险的情况下执行更频繁/更强烈的反捕食者行为)，即所谓的“威胁敏感性假说”；以及ii)饥饿的捕食者将变得对他们攻击的猎物类型变得不那么挑剔，这是“状态依赖的选择性假说”。重要的是，我还将通过在元分析模型(即元回归)中包括生物学(和方法)相关性的调节因素，来调查造成数据异质性的因素。该项目将为未来对这两个主题的研究提供预测能力，并确定知识差距，从而通过显示哪些领域值得进一步研究来作为经验主义者的指南。最终，这个项目将阐明面对捕食者-猎物相互作用的挑战，动物可以在多大范围和多大程度上优化它们的行为。

Predator-prey interactions have long been known as a strong and relevant selective force. Given the high stakes involved in such ecological relationships, chances are that inadequate behavioral strategies will be excluded from the population. These features make predator-prey interactions great models to study the evolution of behavior. In this position, I plan to synthesize the empirical evidence (using state-of-the-art meta-analytic techniques) for two important hypotheses in behavioral ecology, namely: i) that animals can assess the risk of predation and behave accordingly (i.e., performing more often/intense anti-predator behaviors in situations that involve a higher risk), the so called "Threat Sensitivity Hypothesis"; and ii) that hungry predators will become less selective regarding the prey types that they attack "State-Dependent Choosiness Hypothesis". Importantly, I will also investigate the factors generating heterogeneity in the data, by including moderators of biological (and methodological) relevance in the meta-analytical models (i.e. meta-regressions). This project will provide predictive power for future studies on these two topics and identify knowledge gaps, and thus can serve as a guide to empiricists by showing what areas deserve further research. Ultimately, this project will shed light on how broadly and to what extent animals can optimize their behavior facing the challenges of predator-prey interactions.