Condition dependence of (un)predictability in escape behavior of a grasshopper species.

ABSTRACT: (Un)predictability has only recently been recognized as an important dimension of animal behavior. Currently, we neither know if (un)predictability encompasses one or multiple traits nor how (un)predictability is dependent on individual conditions. Knowledge about condition dependence, in particular, could inform us about whether predictability or unpredictability is costly in a specific context. Here, we study the condition dependence of (un)predictability in the escape behavior of the steppe grasshopper Chorthippus dorsatus. Predator-prey interactions represent a behavioral context in which we expect unpredictability to be particularly beneficial. By exposing grasshoppers to an immune challenge, we explore if individuals in poor condition become more or less predictable. We quanti

SUBMITTER: Winter G 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10516674 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Sep-Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature