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Gradients in predation risk in a tropical river system

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Deacon_2018_CZ_gradients_CC.pdf (558.6Kb)
Date
01/04/2018
Author
Deacon, Amy E.
Jones, Faith A. M.
Magurran, Anne E.
Funder
European Research Council
European Research Council
Grant ID
250189
727440
Keywords
Abundance currency
Gradients
Poecilia reticulata
Predation risk
Trinidad
Trinidadian guppy
QH301 Biology
NDAS
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Abstract
The importance of predation risk as a key driver of evolutionary change is exemplified by the Northern Range in Trinidad, where research on guppies living in multiple parallel streams has provided invaluable insights into the process of evolution by natural selection. Although Trinidadian guppies are now a textbook example of evolution in action, studies have generally categorized predation as a dichotomous variable, representing high or low risk. Yet, ecologists appreciate that community structure and the attendant predation risk vary substantially over space and time. Here, we use data from a longitudinal study of fish assemblages at 16 different sites in the Northern Range to quantify temporal and spatial variation in predation risk. Specifically we ask: 1) Is there evidence for a gradient in predation risk? 2) Does the ranking of sites (by risk) change with the definition of the predator community (in terms of species composition and abundance currency), and 3) Are site rankings consistent over time? We find compelling evidence that sites lie along a continuum of risk. However, site rankings along this gradient depend on how predation is quantified in terms of the species considered to be predators and the abundance currency is used. Nonetheless, for a given categorization and currency, rankings are relatively consistent over time. Our study suggests that consideration of predation gradients will lead to a more nuanced understanding of the role of predation risk in behavioral and evolutionary ecology. It also emphasizes the need to justify and report the definition of predation risk being used.
Citation
Deacon , A E , Jones , F A M & Magurran , A E 2018 , ' Gradients in predation risk in a tropical river system ' , Current Zoology , vol. 64 , no. 2 , pp. 213-221 . https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoy004
Publication
Current Zoology
Status
Peer reviewed
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1093/cz/zoy004
ISSN
1674-5507
Type
Journal article
Rights
© The Author(s) (2018). Published by Oxford University Press. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/), which permits non-commercial re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. For commercial re-use, please contact journals.permissions@oup.com
Description
We are grateful for 2 European Research Council grants (BIOTIME 250189 and BioCHANGE 727440).
Collections
  • University of St Andrews Research
URI
http://hdl.handle.net/10023/13594

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