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Predator prey interactions: predator choice for prey group size and composition in Crenicichla alta , a natural predator of the Trinidadian guppy, Poecilia reticulata
Author(s) -
Botham M.,
Krause J.
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
journal of fish biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.672
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1095-8649
pISSN - 0022-1112
DOI - 10.1111/j.1095-8649.2003.216au.x
Subject(s) - guppy , poecilia , predation , predator , biology , shoaling and schooling , shoal , ecology , zoology , fishery , fish <actinopterygii> , oceanography , geology
The anti‐predator benefits of shoaling behaviour in fish are well documented. As a result many studies have investigated the shoaling decisions that prey species make. Although the effects on predator success of different groups have been researched, the choices that predators make when confronted with multiple shoals of different size and composition have received much less attention. We investigated the decisions made by pike cichlids, Crenicichla alta , caught in the Arima river, Trinidad, when offered shoals of guppies, Poecilia reticulata , of different size and composition. The predators showed a significant preference for larger over small shoals and for shoals of large over shoals of small individuals. They showed no preference for shoals consisting of an odd individual over those without.