Tag: predator

#StoryBehindThePaper, Guest post

Asymmetric foraging in aquatic animals

This blog post is provided by Junjie Zheng and tells the #StoryBehindThePaper for the paper “Asymmetric foraging lowers the trophic level and omnivory in natural food webs“, which was recently published in Journal of Animal Ecology. The authors found a prevalence of asymmetric foraging in natural aquatic food webs. Featured image by Tingnan Zhou Food webs depict the network of “who eats whom” in nature. … Continue reading Asymmetric foraging in aquatic animals

Julie SheardLeave a comment
Video

Video: Nowhere to Hide

A couple of weeks ago, we heard from Dr Craig DeMars about his recent publication on linear features and predator-prey dynamics in the forests of Canada. Craig has been kind enough to share some of the camera-trap footage obtained from this study, which we have used to create a short video summarising the research. Check it out below! Nowhere to hide… from Journal of Animal Ecology … Continue reading Video: Nowhere to Hide

Sarah MarleyLeave a comment
Guest post

Nowhere to Hide: Changing landscapes and predator highways

Whilst we often think about human activities negatively altering the landscape, sometimes these changes can have unexpected benefits for predators. Of course, this is not necessarily good news for prey species! A paper recently published in the Journal of Animal Ecology examined this with regard to linear features and predator-prey dynamics in the forests of Canada. Lead author Dr Craig DeMars, a postdoctoral fellow at the … Continue reading Nowhere to Hide: Changing landscapes and predator highways

Sarah Marley1 Comment
Guest post

High Society – The social network of vultures

When you think of vultures, you might just think “feathered carrion-eaters”.  But do you think of their social networks, foraging strategies, and daily lives?  Probably not!  Dr Adam Kane (University College Cork) and Dr Kevin Healy (University of St Andrews) are postdoctoral researchers working on the behaviour, conservation and evolutionary ecology of scavengers.  As International Vulture Awareness Day was on the 3rd September, they have … Continue reading High Society – The social network of vultures

Sarah MarleyLeave a comment
Guest post

Giving a hoot about owl populations

International Owl Day – who gives a hoot?  Dr Sarah Hoy sure does!  Sarah completed her PhD at the University of Aberdeen, which studied how the demography and dynamics of tawny owls have changed over the last 30 years in response to changing environmental conditions.  She is now a researcher in the School of Forest Resources and Environmental Science at Michigan Technological University, working with the … Continue reading Giving a hoot about owl populations

Sarah Marley1 Comment
Press release

Baby fish breathe easier around large predators

Fig 1
Small – hungry mesopredator common on coral reefs. Photo: C.E. Mirbach

This blog post is a press release from the authors of Journal of Animal Ecology paper “Top predators negate the effect of mesopredators on prey physiology” by Maria M. Palacios et al. Press release issued by by James Cook University & ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral reef Studies

Scientists have discovered that the presence of large fish predators can reduce stress on baby fish.

The researchers – from the ARC Centre of Excellence for Coral Reef Studies, James Cook University and the University of Glasgow- have found that physiological stress on baby fish can be reduced by more than a third if large predatory fish are around to scare off smaller, hungry predators, known as mesopredators. Continue reading “Baby fish breathe easier around large predators”

Journal of Animal EcologyLeave a comment