Temporal partitioning of activity in large African carnivores: tests of multiple hypotheses
Africa’s large predator guild (lion, Panthera leo; leopard, Panthera pardus; spotted hyaena, Crocuta crocuta; cheetah, Acinonyx jubatus, and African wild dog, Lycaon pictus) occurs sympatrically with high dietary overlap. Temporal partitioning could facilitate coexistence, but there has been no study testing this or the factors that may Influence the evolution of predator activity patterns. The […]
Activity patterns of predator and prey: a simultaneous study of GPS-collared wolves and moose
We studied the simultaneous activity patterns of a breeding wolf, Canis lupus, pair and five adult moose, Alces alces, cows from April to November 2004 in a wolf territory in southeastern Norway. All study animals were GPS collared, and we used a total of 8297 fixes to analyse their temporal activity patterns. We examined the […]
Predator diet and prey behaviour: freshwater snails discriminate among closely related prey in a predator’s diet
Chemical cues are commonly used by prey to assess predation risk. Prey typically respond to predator cues by altering behaviour, but their response may depend on predator diet. There are few data on how predators feeding on prey types spanning a continuous gradient of relatedness affect prey behaviour. Here I present the results of a […]
Predator avoidance, breeding experience and reproductive success in endangered cheetahs, Acinonyx jubatus
I examine three hypotheses about predator avoidance behaviour: (1) avoidance increases an individual’s reproductive success; (2) avoidance changes with breeding experience according to one of three described models; and (3) any reproductive or experience benefits accrued to individuals by avoidance are reflected in their spatial distribution. These hypotheses were tested on cheetahs which incur substantial […]
Can bees simultaneously engage in adaptive foraging behaviour and attend to cryptic predators?
Bees foraging for nectar often have to discriminate between flowers with similar appearance but different nectar rewards. At the same time, they must be vigilant for ambush predators, such as crab spiders, which can camouflage themselves on flowers. We investigated whether bees, Bombus terrestris, can efficiently discriminate similar flower colours while exposed to predation threat […]