4/11/2024 0 Comments Food fight predator vs prey![]() ![]() Predators often elicit fear responses in prey that affect prey behaviour, energy budgets and the way they interact with the environment ( Brown & Kotler, 2004 Clinchy et al., 2004 Romero, 2004). Predators in many systems positively influence the local distribution and abundance of their prey ( Polis et al., 1998 Ayal, 2007 Estes et al., 2011 Weissburg, Smee & Ferner, 2014), and indirectly but positively influence the functioning of whole ecosystems via trophic cascades ( Prugh et al., 2009 Ritchie & Johnson, 2009 Estes et al., 2011 Ripple et al., 2014). We suggest, in particular, that non-invasive in situ investigations of endocrinology and ethology be partnered in conservation planning with surveys of habitat resources to incorporate and reduce the effects of fear and stress on wildlife. As such, we highlight the need for future studies to consider fear and stress in predator–prey ecology to preserve both biodiversity and ecosystem functioning, especially in areas where human disturbance occurs. We propose that mitigation of stress impacts on wildlife is crucial for preserving biodiversity, especially as the value of habitats within urban areas increases. Despite common knowledge of the negative effects of stress, however, it is rare that stress management is considered in conservation, except in intensive ex situ situations such as in captive breeding facilities or zoos. ![]() ![]() If fear responses are experienced by prey at elevated levels, on top of responses to multiple environmental stressors, chronic stress impacts may occur. Pressures from altered predator–prey interactions and human activity may each initiate fear responses in prey species above those that are triggered by natural stressors in ecosystems. The need to simultaneously manage both of these threats is particularly acute in urban areas that are, increasingly, being recognized as global hotspots of wildlife activity. The growth of human populations is, at the same time, causing degradation of natural habitats and increasing interaction rates of humans with wildlife, such that conservation management routinely considers the effects of human disturbance as tantamount to or surpassing those of predators. Predators induce stress in prey and can have beneficial effects in ecosystems, but can also have negative effects on biodiversity if they are overabundant or have been introduced. ![]()
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