Abstract
Predator–prey interactions exist on a variety of spatial and temporal scales; one of the earliest measurable responses to changes in these interactions is behavior. We examined the behavior of southern California kelp forest predators in response to a concentrated increase in the abundance of abalone during a restoration stocking experiment. We tested three hypotheses: (1) kelp forest predator density will increase following abalone stocking, (2) variations in predator characteristics will create an unequal impact on abalone, and (3) predation intensity will be greatest early in the experiment. Octopus discovered and exploited the influx of prey within the first week following stocking; their densities surged and then returned to pre-stocking levels after 2 months. This was not observed with any other predator. Damage from crustacean, fish, and octopus predation was observed on the recovered abalone shells, but were not correlated with predator densities. A larger percentage of recovered small shells had evidence of crustacean and fish predation, indicating there may be size-specific impacts of predators on abalone. Our results demonstrate that restoration stocking experiments can quantitatively test the predatory community’s response to reintroductions, as well as predation risk of newly stocked prey species when exposed to a diverse suite of predators.
| Original language | English (US) |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 123-136 |
| Number of pages | 14 |
| Journal | Hydrobiologia |
| Volume | 813 |
| Issue number | 1 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - May 1 2018 |
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Keywords
- Octopus bimaculatus
- Predation risk
- Predator behavior
- Predator diversity
- Red abalone
- Restoration ecology
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Aquatic Science
Cite this
Temporal and spatial patterns in behavioral responses of marine predators to a sudden influx of abalone prey (Haliotis rufescens). / Hofmeister, Jennifer K.K.; Kawana, Shelby K.; Walker, Benjamin J.; Catton, Cynthia A.; Taniguchi, Ian; Stein, Derek M.; Sowul, Kathleen; Rogers-Bennett, Laura.
In: Hydrobiologia, Vol. 813, No. 1, 01.05.2018, p. 123-136.Research output: Contribution to journal › Article
}
TY - JOUR
T1 - Temporal and spatial patterns in behavioral responses of marine predators to a sudden influx of abalone prey (Haliotis rufescens)
AU - Hofmeister, Jennifer K.K.
AU - Kawana, Shelby K.
AU - Walker, Benjamin J.
AU - Catton, Cynthia A.
AU - Taniguchi, Ian
AU - Stein, Derek M.
AU - Sowul, Kathleen
AU - Rogers-Bennett, Laura
PY - 2018/5/1
Y1 - 2018/5/1
N2 - Predator–prey interactions exist on a variety of spatial and temporal scales; one of the earliest measurable responses to changes in these interactions is behavior. We examined the behavior of southern California kelp forest predators in response to a concentrated increase in the abundance of abalone during a restoration stocking experiment. We tested three hypotheses: (1) kelp forest predator density will increase following abalone stocking, (2) variations in predator characteristics will create an unequal impact on abalone, and (3) predation intensity will be greatest early in the experiment. Octopus discovered and exploited the influx of prey within the first week following stocking; their densities surged and then returned to pre-stocking levels after 2 months. This was not observed with any other predator. Damage from crustacean, fish, and octopus predation was observed on the recovered abalone shells, but were not correlated with predator densities. A larger percentage of recovered small shells had evidence of crustacean and fish predation, indicating there may be size-specific impacts of predators on abalone. Our results demonstrate that restoration stocking experiments can quantitatively test the predatory community’s response to reintroductions, as well as predation risk of newly stocked prey species when exposed to a diverse suite of predators.
AB - Predator–prey interactions exist on a variety of spatial and temporal scales; one of the earliest measurable responses to changes in these interactions is behavior. We examined the behavior of southern California kelp forest predators in response to a concentrated increase in the abundance of abalone during a restoration stocking experiment. We tested three hypotheses: (1) kelp forest predator density will increase following abalone stocking, (2) variations in predator characteristics will create an unequal impact on abalone, and (3) predation intensity will be greatest early in the experiment. Octopus discovered and exploited the influx of prey within the first week following stocking; their densities surged and then returned to pre-stocking levels after 2 months. This was not observed with any other predator. Damage from crustacean, fish, and octopus predation was observed on the recovered abalone shells, but were not correlated with predator densities. A larger percentage of recovered small shells had evidence of crustacean and fish predation, indicating there may be size-specific impacts of predators on abalone. Our results demonstrate that restoration stocking experiments can quantitatively test the predatory community’s response to reintroductions, as well as predation risk of newly stocked prey species when exposed to a diverse suite of predators.
KW - Octopus bimaculatus
KW - Predation risk
KW - Predator behavior
KW - Predator diversity
KW - Red abalone
KW - Restoration ecology
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85040700939&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85040700939&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10750-018-3514-2
DO - 10.1007/s10750-018-3514-2
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85040700939
VL - 813
SP - 123
EP - 136
JO - Hydrobiologia
JF - Hydrobiologia
SN - 0018-8158
IS - 1
ER -