Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests
Prey fish cohabit with specialized predator fish within structurally complex habitats. How the vertical stratification of the habitat affects lethal and behavioral predator–prey interactions and contributes to explaining these patterns has never been investigated within a forest-like marine habitat,...
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MDPI AG
2022-03-01
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| Series: | Animals |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/7/826 |
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| author | Pierre D. Thiriet Antonio Di Franco Adrien Cheminée Luisa Mangialajo Paolo Guidetti Samuel Branthomme Patrice Francour |
| author_facet | Pierre D. Thiriet Antonio Di Franco Adrien Cheminée Luisa Mangialajo Paolo Guidetti Samuel Branthomme Patrice Francour |
| author_sort | Pierre D. Thiriet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Prey fish cohabit with specialized predator fish within structurally complex habitats. How the vertical stratification of the habitat affects lethal and behavioral predator–prey interactions and contributes to explaining these patterns has never been investigated within a forest-like marine habitat, i.e., a habitat containing three vertical strata (understory, canopy, open-water above). We studied this in tank experiments, with a model prey (the wrasse <i>Symphodus ocellatus</i>) and two model predators (the stalk-and-attack comber <i>Serranus cabrilla</i> and the sit-and-wait scorpionfish <i>Scorpaena porcus</i>), which are among the most abundant prey and predators cohabiting in Mediterranean <i>Cystoseira</i> forests. Wrasse anti-predator behavior was predator-specific. When exposed to the scorpionfish, the wrasse increased its vertical distance from the predator, regardless of the habitat structure. Conversely, when exposed to the comber, the wrasse sought refuge within forest structures: (1) the canopy provides more hiding opportunities due to its high complexity, and (2) the understory provides more escape/avoidance opportunities due to (a) its low complexity that allows for fast prey movements, and (b) the presence of the canopy above that limits the comber’s access to the understory. Our results suggest that habitat vertical stratification mediates predator–prey interactions and potentially promotes the co-existence of prey and multiple predators within marine forests. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:11:25Z |
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| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2076-2615 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T12:11:25Z |
| publishDate | 2022-03-01 |
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| record_format | Article |
| series | Animals |
| spelling | doaj.art-11d8a1600be94b6f93b0b38510e7109e2023-11-30T22:50:55ZengMDPI AGAnimals2076-26152022-03-0112782610.3390/ani12070826Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal ForestsPierre D. Thiriet0Antonio Di Franco1Adrien Cheminée2Luisa Mangialajo3Paolo Guidetti4Samuel Branthomme5Patrice Francour6PatriNat (UAR OFB–CNRS–MNHN), Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle—Station Marine de Dinard, 38 rue de Port-Blanc, 35801 Dinard, FranceDepartment of Integrative Marine Ecology, Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn, Sicily Marine Center, Lungomare Cristoforo Colombo (Complesso Roosevelt), 90142 Palermo, ItalyUMR 7035 ECOSEAS, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, Parc Valrose, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, FranceUMR 7035 ECOSEAS, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, Parc Valrose, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, FranceDepartment of Integrative Marine Ecology (EMI), Stazione Zoologica Anton Dohrn–National Institute of Marine Biology, Ecology and Biotechnology, Genoa Marine Centre, 16126 Genoa, ItalyUMR 7035 ECOSEAS, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, Parc Valrose, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, FranceUMR 7035 ECOSEAS, CNRS, Université Côte d’Azur, Parc Valrose, 28 Avenue Valrose, 06108 Nice, FrancePrey fish cohabit with specialized predator fish within structurally complex habitats. How the vertical stratification of the habitat affects lethal and behavioral predator–prey interactions and contributes to explaining these patterns has never been investigated within a forest-like marine habitat, i.e., a habitat containing three vertical strata (understory, canopy, open-water above). We studied this in tank experiments, with a model prey (the wrasse <i>Symphodus ocellatus</i>) and two model predators (the stalk-and-attack comber <i>Serranus cabrilla</i> and the sit-and-wait scorpionfish <i>Scorpaena porcus</i>), which are among the most abundant prey and predators cohabiting in Mediterranean <i>Cystoseira</i> forests. Wrasse anti-predator behavior was predator-specific. When exposed to the scorpionfish, the wrasse increased its vertical distance from the predator, regardless of the habitat structure. Conversely, when exposed to the comber, the wrasse sought refuge within forest structures: (1) the canopy provides more hiding opportunities due to its high complexity, and (2) the understory provides more escape/avoidance opportunities due to (a) its low complexity that allows for fast prey movements, and (b) the presence of the canopy above that limits the comber’s access to the understory. Our results suggest that habitat vertical stratification mediates predator–prey interactions and potentially promotes the co-existence of prey and multiple predators within marine forests.https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/7/826habitat structural complexityunderstorycanopyforestsurvivalhabitat choice |
| spellingShingle | Pierre D. Thiriet Antonio Di Franco Adrien Cheminée Luisa Mangialajo Paolo Guidetti Samuel Branthomme Patrice Francour Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests Animals habitat structural complexity understory canopy forest survival habitat choice |
| title | Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests |
| title_full | Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests |
| title_fullStr | Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests |
| title_full_unstemmed | Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests |
| title_short | Adaptive Vertical Positioning as Anti-Predator Behavior: The Case of a Prey Fish Cohabiting with Multiple Predatory Fish within Temperate Marine Algal Forests |
| title_sort | adaptive vertical positioning as anti predator behavior the case of a prey fish cohabiting with multiple predatory fish within temperate marine algal forests |
| topic | habitat structural complexity understory canopy forest survival habitat choice |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2076-2615/12/7/826 |
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