Abstract
Capture success of many predator species has been shown to decrease with increasing prey group size and it is therefore suggested that predators should choose to attack stragglers and/or small groups. Predator choice in the laboratory has shown mixed results with some species preferentially attacking large groups and others preferring to attack stragglers over groups. Such predator choices have not been tested in the field. In our study we presented a binary choice between a shoal of guppies and a single guppy to predators in pools in the Arima river, Trinidad. We observed attacks in 11 different pools from a total of 53 predators (20 acara cichlids, Aequidens pulcher, 32 pike cichlids, Crenicichla frenata, and one wolf-fish, Hoplias malabaricus) and found that all predators showed a strong preference for the shoal of guppies in terms of both first choice and total number of attacks. We discuss the implications of these preferences with regards to predator–prey interactions.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Catherine Hathaway for help handling the data and Ronnie Hernandez for his general hospitality and help with equipment and facilities during our field season at Simla Research Station, Trinidad. We would also like to thank the editor, Ashley Ward, Charlotte Hemelrijk and an anonymous referee for their valuable comments on the manuscript. All experiments complied with the current laws of Trinidad and Tobago. M.B. was funded by a University of Leeds Scholarship
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Communicated by C. St. Mary
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Botham, M.S., Kerfoot, C.J., Louca, V. et al. Predator choice in the field; grouping guppies, Poecilia reticulata, receive more attacks. Behav Ecol Sociobiol 59, 181–184 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0018-7
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00265-005-0018-7