Response of the weeping lizard to distress calls: the effect of witnessing predation.

ABSTRACT: Escaping from predation saves life, but costs energy and time. The "threat-sensitive predator-avoidance" hypothesis proposes that prey may modulate their antipredator responses, and thus the associated costs, in accordance with the magnitude of predation risk. This process requires that prey accurately assess this risk by decoding available information from various sources. For example, distress calls are uttered by prey when a predator traps them and can serve as public information on predation risk. Such is the case for the weeping lizard whose distress calls trigger immobility in conspecifics. Here, we tested whether this antipredator response of the weeping lizard is modulated by witnessing predation. We exposed lizards to distress calls alone or paired with models of a prey (conspecif

SUBMITTER: Labra A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10066144 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature