Predator-Naïve Brown Trout (Salmo trutta) Show Antipredator Behaviours to Scent from an Introduced Piscivorous Mammalian Predator Fed Conspecifics

Introduced mammalian predators may pose a high risk for native and naïve prey populations, but little is known about how native fish species may recognize and respond to scents from introduced mammalian predators. We investigated the role of diet‐released chemical cues in facilitating predator recog...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:	Ethology Vol. 119; no. 4; pp. 303 - 308
Main Authors:	Rosell, Frank, Holtan, Lars B, Thorsen, Jon G, Heggenes, Jan
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Hamburg Blackwell Publishing Ltd 01-04-2013
Subjects:	Animal behavior Animal populations Castor fiber Chemosensory perception Predation Salmo trutta Trout
Online Access:	Get full text
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Summary:	Introduced mammalian predators may pose a high risk for native and naïve prey populations, but little is known about how native fish species may recognize and respond to scents from introduced mammalian predators. We investigated the role of diet‐released chemical cues in facilitating predator recognition, hypothesizing that native brown trout (Salmo trutta) would exhibit antipredator behaviours to faeces scents from the introduced American mink (Neovision vison) fed conspecifics, but not to non‐trout diets. In treatments‐control and replicate stream tank experiments, brown trout showed significant antipredator responses to faeces scent from mink fed conspecifics, but not to faeces scent from mink fed a non‐trout diet (chicken), or the non‐predator food control, Eurasian beaver (Castor fiber). We conclude that native and naïve brown trout show relevant antipredator behaviours to an introduced mammalian predator, presumably based on diet‐released conspecific alarm cues and thereby estimate the predation risk.
Bibliography:	istex:B7A23880B0BBA7DDB55FFF243AE4C361F0007C2F ark:/67375/WNG-BT1S73KZ-7 ArticleID:ETH12065 ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	0179-1613 1439-0310
DOI:	10.1111/eth.12065