Acoustic and visual stimuli combined promote stronger responses to aerial predation in fish.

ABSTRACT: Bird predation poses a strong selection pressure on fish. Since birds must enter the water to catch fish, a combination of visual and mechano-acoustic cues (multimodal) characterize an immediate attack, while single cues (unimodal) may represent less dangerous disturbances. We investigated whether fish could use this information to distinguish between non-threatening and dangerous events and adjust their antipredator response to the perceived level of risk. To do so, we investigated the antipredator behavior of the sulphur molly (Poecilia sulphuraria), a small freshwater fish which is almost exclusively preyed on by piscivorous birds in its endemic sulfide spring habitat. In a field survey, we confirmed that these fish frequently have to distinguish between disturbances stemming fro

SUBMITTER: Lukas J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8691536 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Nov-Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature