The role of sensory modalities in producing non-consumptive effects for a crayfish-bass predator prey system

The impact of non-consumptive effects in structuring predator-prey interactions and trophic cascades is a prominent area of ecological research. For non-consumptive effects to occur, prey need to be able to detect the presence of predators through sensory mechanisms. The investigation of the role of different sensory modalities in predator detection has lagged behind the development of NCE based theories. This study aimed to determine whether a hierarchy in the reliance upon sensory modalities exists in Orconectes rusticus (Girard, 1852) for predator detection and if this hierarchy is altered across different sensory environments (flowing and non-flowing environments). Crayfish were exposed to Micropterus salmoides (LacÊpède, 1802) odor in either a flowing or non-flowing arena where behavior was recorded under different sensory lesions. Linear mixed models were conducted to determine the impact of lesions, flowing environments, and the interactive effects of lesions and flowing environments on the crayfish ability to respond to predatory stimuli. Results from this study support the significance of sensory multimodality in crayfish for accurately detecting and assessing predatory threats. Results from this study also suggest a hierarchy in the reliance upon sensory modalities in crayfish which is dependent upon the environment and the location of crayfish within an environment.The accepted manuscript in pdf format is listed with the files at the bottom of this page. The presentation of the authors' names and (or) special characters in the title of the manuscript may differ slightly between what is listed on this page and what is listed in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript; that in the pdf file of the accepted manuscript is what was submitted by the author