Interacting effects of predation risk and signal patchiness on activity and communication in house mice

The Journal of Animal Ecology
Nelika K Hughes, Peter B Banks

Abstract

1. Social signalling can be risky when signals are open to exploitation by eavesdropping predators. Unlike other signal modalities, olfactory signals cannot be 'switched off' in the presence of an eavesdropping predator, leaving receivers of scent signals at an increased risk of predation long after the signaller has moved on. Yet individuals of some olfactorily communicating species appear unwilling to forego the receiving of signals under an increased risk of predation. Foraging theory predicts that predation risk can operate at multiple spatial scales, however, such that prey behaviour should be sensitive to the broader olfactory environment beyond the risks of a single point source of odour. 2. Here, we use the house mouse Mus domesticus to test whether the spatial distribution and overall level of receiving activity varies with the spatial distribution of conspecific scent signals and the risks posed by an eavesdropping predator, the cat Felis catus. We assessed the mice's responses to these risks using overall visitation, activity and scent marking rates at conspecific scented locations (in clumped, random or regular distributions) and the surrounding matrix (non-scented) locations with and without a predator cue (cat uri...Continue Reading

References

Sep 21, 1979·Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Containing Papers of a Biological Character·R Dawkins, J R Krebs
Dec 16, 1998·Animal Behaviour·T J Rich, J L Hurst
Nov 30, 1999·Nature·G M ViswanathanH E Stanley
Jul 27, 2001·Proceedings. Biological Sciences·P B BanksE Korpimäki
Nov 26, 2003·The American Journal of Cardiology·Evan A SteinUNKNOWN HeFH Study Group
Nov 20, 2004·BioEssays : News and Reviews in Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology·Jane L Hurst, Robert J Beynon
Oct 3, 2006·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Gösta Nachman
Jan 26, 2007·Nature·Massimo VergassolaBoris I Shraiman
Apr 14, 2009·Oecologia·Nelika K HughesPeter B Banks
Aug 1, 1988·Oecologia·Joel S BrownWilliam O Wirtz

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Citations

Oct 17, 2012·Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America·Catherine J Price, Peter B Banks
May 3, 2013·Biology Letters·Caragh ThrelfallPeter B Banks
Oct 12, 2010·PloS One·Nelika K HughesPeter B Banks
Aug 29, 2012·Ecology Letters·Nelika K HughesPeter B Banks

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