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Antipredator responses to invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans: interspecific differences in cue utilization by two coral reef gobies

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Abstract

Understanding prey response to predators and their utilization of sensory cues to assess local predation risk is crucial in determining how predator avoidance strategies affect population demographics. This study examined the antipredator behaviors of two ecologically similar species of Caribbean coral reef fish, Coryphopterus glaucofraenum and Gnatholepis thompsoni, and characterized their responses to different reef predators. In laboratory assays, the two species of gobies were exposed to predator visual cues (native Nassau grouper predator vs. invasive lionfish predator), damage-released chemical cues from gobies, and combinations of these, along with appropriate controls. Behavioral responses indicate that the two prey species differ in their utilization of visual and chemical cues. Visual cues from predators were decisive for both species’ responses, demonstrating their relative importance in the sensory hierarchy, whereas damage-released cues were a source of information only for C. glaucofraenum. Both prey species could distinguish between native and invasive predators and subsequently altered their antipredator responses.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank Cole Easson, Ashlei Evans, Sylvester Lee, and Caroline Williams for their help in all aspects of this study, both underwater and in the laboratory. We also thank the staff at the Perry Institute for Marine Science for their logistical support. Fish were collected under permits from the Bahamas Department of Marine Resources. All experimental methods were approved by and are in compliance with the guidelines of the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the University of Mississippi. This research was supported in part by grant #NA16RU1496 to MS jointly funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the National Institute for Undersea Science and Technology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pharmacognosy, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA

    K. Erica Marsh-Hunkin & Marc Slattery

  2. National Center for Natural Products Research, The University of Mississippi, University, MS, 38677, USA

    Deborah J. Gochfeld & Marc Slattery

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  1. K. Erica Marsh-Hunkin
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  2. Deborah J. Gochfeld
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  3. Marc Slattery
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Correspondence to Marc Slattery.

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Communicated by K. D. Clements.

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Marsh-Hunkin, K.E., Gochfeld, D.J. & Slattery, M. Antipredator responses to invasive lionfish, Pterois volitans: interspecific differences in cue utilization by two coral reef gobies. Mar Biol 160, 1029–1040 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-012-2156-6

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