Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef.
Organisms often undergo shifts in habitats as their requirements change with ontogeny.Upon entering a new environment, it is vitally important to be able to rapidly assess predation risk. Predation pressure should selectively promote mechanisms that enable the rapid identification of novel predators...
Main Authors: | , , , |
---|---|
Format: | Article |
Language: | English |
Published: |
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2011-01-01
|
Series: | PLoS ONE |
Online Access: | http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3018412?pdf=render |
id |
doaj-c83f4412baa247138c9751dfabe52a05 |
---|---|
record_format |
Article |
spelling |
doaj-c83f4412baa247138c9751dfabe52a052020-11-25T02:30:16ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032011-01-0161e1576410.1371/journal.pone.0015764Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef.Matthew D MitchellMark I McCormickMaud C O FerrariDouglas P ChiversOrganisms often undergo shifts in habitats as their requirements change with ontogeny.Upon entering a new environment, it is vitally important to be able to rapidly assess predation risk. Predation pressure should selectively promote mechanisms that enable the rapid identification of novel predators. Here we tested the ability of a juvenile marine fish to simultaneously learn the identity of multiple previously unknown predators. Individuals were conditioned with a 'cocktail' of novel odours (from two predators and two non-predators) paired with either a conspecific alarm cue or a saltwater control and then tested for recognition of the four odours individually and two novel odours (one predator and one non-predator) the following day. Individuals conditioned with the 'cocktail' and alarm cue responded to the individual 'cocktail' odours with an antipredator response compared to controls. These results demonstrate that individuals acquire recognition of novel odours and that the responses were not due to innate recognition of predators or due to a generalised response to novel odours. Upon entering an unfamiliar environment prey species are able to rapidly assess the risk of predation, enhancing their chances of survival, through the assessment of chemical stimuli.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3018412?pdf=render |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Matthew D Mitchell Mark I McCormick Maud C O Ferrari Douglas P Chivers |
spellingShingle |
Matthew D Mitchell Mark I McCormick Maud C O Ferrari Douglas P Chivers Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. PLoS ONE |
author_facet |
Matthew D Mitchell Mark I McCormick Maud C O Ferrari Douglas P Chivers |
author_sort |
Matthew D Mitchell |
title |
Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. |
title_short |
Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. |
title_full |
Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. |
title_fullStr |
Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. |
title_full_unstemmed |
Coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. |
title_sort |
coral reef fish rapidly learn to identify multiple unknown predators upon recruitment to the reef. |
publisher |
Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
series |
PLoS ONE |
issn |
1932-6203 |
publishDate |
2011-01-01 |
description |
Organisms often undergo shifts in habitats as their requirements change with ontogeny.Upon entering a new environment, it is vitally important to be able to rapidly assess predation risk. Predation pressure should selectively promote mechanisms that enable the rapid identification of novel predators. Here we tested the ability of a juvenile marine fish to simultaneously learn the identity of multiple previously unknown predators. Individuals were conditioned with a 'cocktail' of novel odours (from two predators and two non-predators) paired with either a conspecific alarm cue or a saltwater control and then tested for recognition of the four odours individually and two novel odours (one predator and one non-predator) the following day. Individuals conditioned with the 'cocktail' and alarm cue responded to the individual 'cocktail' odours with an antipredator response compared to controls. These results demonstrate that individuals acquire recognition of novel odours and that the responses were not due to innate recognition of predators or due to a generalised response to novel odours. Upon entering an unfamiliar environment prey species are able to rapidly assess the risk of predation, enhancing their chances of survival, through the assessment of chemical stimuli. |
url |
http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC3018412?pdf=render |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT matthewdmitchell coralreeffishrapidlylearntoidentifymultipleunknownpredatorsuponrecruitmenttothereef AT markimccormick coralreeffishrapidlylearntoidentifymultipleunknownpredatorsuponrecruitmenttothereef AT maudcoferrari coralreeffishrapidlylearntoidentifymultipleunknownpredatorsuponrecruitmenttothereef AT douglaspchivers coralreeffishrapidlylearntoidentifymultipleunknownpredatorsuponrecruitmenttothereef |
_version_ |
1724828924506013696 |