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On The Rocks: Changes In Substrate Alter Antipredator Behavior In Benthic Stream Fish, Sarah White
On The Rocks: Changes In Substrate Alter Antipredator Behavior In Benthic Stream Fish, Sarah White
MSU Graduate Theses
Natural selection should strongly favor characteristics that make prey difficult for predators to distinguish from the background, including both morphological and behavioral crypsis. The Rainbow Darter (Etheostoma caeruleum) is a small, cryptic, benthic fish that inhabits gravel-bottomed streams and is preyed upon by predators such as the benthic Knobfin Sculpin (Cottus immaculatus) and the pelagic Longear Sunfish (Lepomis megalotis). In three experiments, I tested whether the behavior of darters was influenced by the opportunity for crypticity offered by their substrate and by the presence of cues from benthic and pelagic predators. First, darters in …
Behavioral Responses Of Ringed And Spotted Salamanders To Diet-Related Cues From Predators, Kayla Shelton
Behavioral Responses Of Ringed And Spotted Salamanders To Diet-Related Cues From Predators, Kayla Shelton
MSU Graduate Theses
Multiple species of Ambystoma can sometimes coexist in ponds, often forming a prey guild. In the Ozarks, ringed salamanders (Ambystoma annulatum) can coexist with marbled salamanders (A. opacum) and spotted salamanders (A. maculatum). Ringed and marbled salamanders lay their eggs in ponds in the fall and overwinter as larvae, whereas spotted salamanders breed in the spring. Ringed and marbled salamander larvae can be cannibalistic and can prey upon larvae of the other two species. Larvae should experience increased survival if they can discriminate between predators that have recently consumed another salamander (high risk) versus those that have not (low risk). …