Search

To link to full-text access for this article, visit this link: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2006.09.005 Byline: Antoine O.H.C. Leduc, Ellie Roh, Cindy Breau, Grant E. Brown Abstract: The ability to learn context-specific information regarding local predation risk is of prime importance for prey individuals balancing the conflicting demands of predator avoidance with other fitness-enhancing activities. Many taxonomically diverse prey species must learn to recognize novel predators and make context-appropriate responses. Predator-recognition learning in freshwater prey fish is commonly facilitated through the association of a novel predator cue with a damage-released chemical alarm cue. While a multitude of laboratory studies have demonstrated the sophistication of chemically mediated predator-recognition learning, no field verifications of this mechanism have been conducted. We conducted an experiment to determine whether the single pairing of a novel odour (lemon essence) with a damage-released chemical alarm cue could function to facilitate learning in wild juvenile Atlantic salmon under fully natural conditions. Tagged juvenile salmon were initially exposed to either a paired stimulus of conspecific alarm cue and lemon odour or a control of stream water and lemon odour. As predicted, salmon exposed to the alarm cue during the conditioning trials showed a significant increase in antipredator response. When salmon were subsequently exposed to lemon odour alone, only those initially exposed to the alarm cue paired with the lemon odour showed a significant increase in alarm response. Those initially exposed to the stream water and lemon odour control did not show any change in behaviour (i.e. did not learn). As such, these data demonstrate that chemically mediated, acquired predator recognition can occur under fully natural conditions. Author Affiliation: (a) Department of Biology, Concordia University, Canada (a ) Department of Biology, University of New Brunswick, Canada Article History: Received 10 March 2006; Revised 11 April 2006; Accepted 11 September 2006 Article Note: (miscellaneous) MS. number: A10386R

Abstract: Many prey fishes rely on damage-released chemical alarm cues to detect and avoid predators. The ability to use these cues has been shown to confer considerable survival benefits to [...]

Abstract: The threat-sensitive predator avoidance model predicts that prey should balance the intensity of antipredator responses against perceived predation risk, resulting in a graded response pattern. Recent studies have demonstrated [...]