Social information use by predators: expanding the information ecology of prey defences

Hamalainen, Liisa, Rowland, Hannah M ORCID: 0000-0002-1040-555X, Mappes, Johanna and Thorogood, Rose (2022) Social information use by predators: expanding the information ecology of prey defences. OIKOS, 2022 (10).

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Official URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/oik.08743

Abstract

<jats:p>Social information use is well documented across the animal kingdom, but how it influences ecological and evolutionary processes is only just beginning to be investigated. Here we evaluate how social transmission may influence species interactions and potentially change or create novel selection pressures by focusing on predator–prey interactions, one of the best studied examples of species coevolution. There is extensive research into how prey can use social information to avoid predators, but little synthesis of how social transmission among predators can influence the outcome of different stages of predation. Here we review evidence that predators use social information during 1) encounter, 2) detection, 3) identification, 4) approach, 5) subjugation and 6) consumption. We use this predation sequence framework to evaluate the implications of social information use on current theoretical predictions about predator–prey dynamics, and find that social transmission has the potential to alter selection pressures for prey defences at each predation stage. This suggests that considering social interactions can help answer open questions about species coevolution, and also predict how populations and communities respond to rapid human‐induced changes in the environment.</jats:p>

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	antipredator defences, information ecology, predator-prey interactions, social information
Divisions:	Faculty of Health and Life Sciences Faculty of Health and Life Sciences > Institute of Infection, Veterinary and Ecological Sciences
Depositing User:	Symplectic Admin
Date Deposited:	20 Jul 2023 08:43
Last Modified:	02 Sep 2023 20:55
DOI:	10.1111/oik.08743
Open Access URL:	https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/o...
Related URLs:	Author Publisher
URI:	https://livrepository.liverpool.ac.uk/id/eprint/3171778