Summary
-
1.
Predator avoidance behavior of fathead minnow (Pimephales promelas) attacked by four teleosts (tiger musky,Esox sp; rainbow trout,Salmo gairdneri; smallmouth bass,Micropterus dolomieu; rock bass,Ambloplites rupestris) was analyzed using stop-action video-tape recordings of predator-prey interactions. The predators represented a range of body forms.
-
2.
75 to 90% of minnows responded to strikes by trout, bass and rock bass, but only 28% responded to strikes by tiger musky. Responses were 54 to 94% successful in evading a strike.
-
3.
Two prey avoidance response patterns were found. Type-1 responses were low intensity, non-sustained turning maneuvers away from more distant and more slowly moving predators. Type-2 responses were high intensity turning maneuvers followed by sustained swimming away from closer and faster-moving predators. All responses to tiger musky were type-2 responses. Prey speeds in avoidance responses were lower for rock bass than for the other three predators.
-
4.
Response thresholds for fathead minnow escape maneuvers were calculated at the start of the motor response, and evaluated with respect to predator size. Predator size was calculated from the dimensions of the silhouette viewed by the prey as the mean of predator depth and width. Prey reaction distance decreased and predator visual angle increased with predator size for trout, bass and rock bass. Reaction distance was smaller, and visual angle larger for responses to tiger musky.
-
5.
The rates of change of the visual angle at the start of a response, the apparent looming threshold (ALT), were similar for trout, bass and rock bass, but 15–80 times larger for tiger musky.
-
6.
The results suggest that configuration differences between the predators are important contributors to the stimulus initiating avoidance responses. It is suggested that the rounded body cross-section of esocids is associated with higher response thresholds than elliptical and lenticular cross-sections of trout, bass and rock bass.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
Abbreviations
- ALT :
-
used throughout the text is the apparent looming threshold for prey avoidance responses to a predator strike
- ALT:
-
is defined as the rate of change of the angle subtended by the approaching predator viewed by the prey as calculated at the beginning of the prey's avoidance motor response
References
Blight AR (1977) The muscular control of vertebrate swimming movements. Biol Rev 52:181–218
Cohen AC (1961) Tables for maximum likelihood estimates: singly truncated and singly censored samples. Technometrics 3:535–541
Curio E (1976) The ethology of predation. Springer Berlin Heidelberg New York
Dill LM (1973) An avoidance learning submodel for a general predation model. Oecologia 13:291–312
Dill LM (1974a) The escape response of the zebra danio (Brachydanio rerio). I. The stimulus for escape. Anim Behav 22:711–722
Dill LM (1974b) The escape response of the zebra danio (Brachydanio rerio). II. The effects of experience. Anim Behav 22:723–730
Ewert JP (1980) Neuro-ethology. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York
Ewert JP, Rehn B (1969) Quantitative Analyse der Reiz-Reaktions- Beziehungen bei visuellem Auslösen des Fluchtverhaltens der Wechselkröte (Bufo viridis Laur.). Behaviour 35:212–234
Hurley AC, Hartline PH (1974) Escape responses in damselfishChromis cyanea (Pisces: Pomacentridae): A quantitative study. Anim Behav 22:430–437
Karplus I, Algom D (1981) Visual clues for predator face recognition by reef fishes. Z Tierpsychol 55:343–364
Lighthill MJ (1977) Mathematical theories of fish swimming. In: Steele JH (ed) Fisheries mathematics. Academic Press, New York, pp 131–144
Major PF (1978) Predator-prey interactions in two schooling fishes,Caranx ignobilis andStolephorus purpureus. Anim Behav 26:760–777
Neill SRSJ, Cullen JM (1974) Experiments on whether schooling by their prey affects the hunting behavior of cephalopods and fish predators. J Zool 172:549–569
Northmore D, Volkmann FC, Yager D (1978) Vision of fishes: color and pattern. In: Mostofksy DI (ed) The behavior of fish and other aquatic animals. Academic Press, New York, pp 76–136
Nursall JR (1973) Some behavioral interactions of spottail shiners (Notropis hudsonius), yellow perch (Perca flavescens), and Northern pike (Esox lucius). J Fish Res Board Can 30:1161–1178
Nyberg DW (1971) Prey capture in the largemouth bass. Am Midl Nat 86:128–144
Schiff W (1965) Perception of impending collision. Psychol Monogr 79:1–26
Sutherland NS (1968) Shape discrimination in goldfish. In: Ingle D (ed) The central nervous system and fish behavior. Univ Chicago Press, Chicago, pp 35–50
Treisman M (1975) Predation and the evolution of gregariousness. II. An economic model for predator-prey interaction. Anim Behav 23:801–825
Trevarthen C (1968) Vision in fishes: The origins of the visual frame for action in vertebrates. In: Ingle D (ed) The central nervous system and fish behavior, Univ Chicago Press, Chicago pp 61–94
Webb PW (1977) Effects of median-fin amputation on fast-start performance of rainbow trout (Salmo gairdneri). 68:123–135
Webb PW (1978) Fast-start performance and body form in seven species of teleost fish. J Exp Biol 74:211–226
Webb PW (1982a) Responses of Northern anchovy,Engraulis mordax, larvae to predation by a biting planktivore,Amphiprion percula. Fish Bull 79:727–735
Webb PW (1982b) Locomotor patterns in the evolution of actinopterygian fishes. Am Zool (in press)
Webb PW, Skadsen JM (1980) Strike tactis ofEsox. Can J Zool 58:1462–1469
Weihs D (1972) A hydrodynamical analysis of fish turning maneuvers. Proc R Soc Lond [Biol] 182:59–72
Weihs D (1973) The mechanism of rapid starting of slender fish. Biorheology 10:343–350
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Webb, P.W. Avoidance responses of fathead minnow to strikes by four teleost predators. J. Comp. Physiol. 147, 371–378 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00609671
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00609671