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The effect of hypoxia on the vulnerability of guppies (Poecilia reticulata, Poeciliidae) to an aquatic predator (Astronotus ocellatus, Cichlidae)

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When dissolved oxygen concentration was near saturation in a laboratory experiment, guppies that spent (a) more time at the surface and (b) more time moving had a higher probability of being captured by a predatory cichlid fish. With decreasing oxygen concentration surface time and percent time moving increased, but prey risk decreased. In addition, the qualitative correlates of risk changed; under hypoxic conditions, predation risk was lower for prey which spent more time at the surface and in motion. Thus, dissolved oxygen concentration influences both quantitative and qualitative aspects of risk from water-breathing predators.

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Author notes

  1. Robert Poulin

    Present address: Département de Biologie, Université Laval, G1K 7P4, Sainte-Foy, Québec, Canada

  2. Nancy G. Wolf

    Present address: Department of Ichthyology, Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, 02138, Cambridge, MA, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Biology, McGill University, 1205 Avenue Docteur Penfield, H3A 1B1, Montréal, Québec, Canada

    Robert Poulin, Nancy G. Wolf & Donald L. Kramer

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  1. Robert Poulin
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  2. Nancy G. Wolf
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  3. Donald L. Kramer
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Poulin, R., Wolf, N.G. & Kramer, D.L. The effect of hypoxia on the vulnerability of guppies (Poecilia reticulata, Poeciliidae) to an aquatic predator (Astronotus ocellatus, Cichlidae). Environ Biol Fish 20, 285–292 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005299

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00005299

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