Prey species increase activity in refugia free of terrestrial predators

• Published in: Oecologia Vol. 201; no. 3; pp. 661 - 671
• Main Authors: Potash, Alex D., Conner, L. Mike, Clinchy, Michael, Zanette, Liana Y., McCleery, Robert A.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Berlin/Heidelberg Springer Berlin Heidelberg 01.03.2023; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animals; Anthropogenic factors; Anti-predator behavior; antipredatory behavior; Behavioral Ecology–Original Research; Biomedical and Life Sciences; birds; cameras; Dogs; Ecology; Foxes; Hydrology/Water Resources; Interspecific relationships; Life Sciences; Plant Sciences; Playback; Population Dynamics; Predation; Predator control; Predator prey relations; Predator-prey interactions; Predators; Predatory Behavior; Prey; prey species; Red-tailed hawk; refuge habitats; Refuges; Refugia; risk; Rodents; Sciuridae; Snakes; Songbirds; Squirrels; Terrestrial environments; Thryothorus ludovicianus; Automated behavioral response; Predator exclosure; Antipredator response; Predation risk; Playback experiment

The decline of terrestrial predator populations across the globe is altering top-down pressures that drive predator–prey interactions. However, a knowledge gap remains in understanding how removing terrestrial predators affects prey behavior. Using a bifactorial playback experiment, we exposed fox s...