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Predator recognition in birds : the use of key features
This SpringerBrief answers the question on how birds recognize their predators using multidisciplinary approaches and outlines paths of the future research of predator recognition. A special focus is put on the role of key features to discriminate against predators and non-predators. The first part of the book provides a comprehensive review of the mechanisms of predator recognition based on classical ethological studies in untrained birds. The second part introduces a new view on the topic treating theories of cognitive ethology. This approach involves examination of conditioned domestic pigeons and highlights the actual abilities of birds to recognize and categorize.
Book
Sharks : built for the hunt
\"With amazing speed and razor-sharp teeth, a shark is one of the deadliest hunters in the ocean. Learn what makes sharks such dangerous predators, from their hunting styles to what they like to eat. Fun facts and an \"Amazing but true!\" section give you a closer look at the lives of these incredible creatures.\"--Back cover.
Book
Crocodiles : built for the hunt
\"With shocking speed, a crocodile can lunge at its prey and grab it with its strong jaws and razor-sharp teeth. Learn what makes crocodiles such deadly predators, from their hunting styles to what they like to eat. Fun facts and an \"Amazing but true!\" section give you a closer look at the lives of these amazing creatures.\"--Back cover.
Book
Structural Characterisation of Bdellovibrio Bacteriovorus Predatory Peptidoglycan Modifying Proteins
Bdellovibrio bacteriovorus is an endobiotic bacterial predator that encodes multiple enzymes related to known peptidoglycan (PG) modifiers, which are necessary for predation to occur. Additionally, a plethora of cryptic proteins are expressed and upregulated during predation. It has been shown that L,D-transpeptidases (LDTs) are required for bdelloplast formation and stabilisation. These LDTs cluster in six groups in B. bacteriovorus HD100, nevertheless, no further LDT information has been previously described. Here we have determined and analysed the structures of LDTs Bd0566, Bd1075, Bd3334 and Bd3741, showing that even though they share a structurally conserved catalytic domain, they have acquired accessory domains and motifs characteristic to each LDT group. Moreover, we have integrated these novel structures with the previously solved structures of Bd0553, Bd0886 and Bd1402, generating a panel of seven LDTs representing the six groups of B. bacteriovorus HD100, allowing us to propose possible roles and the structural determinants defining the transferase/crosslinking or hydrolytic activities of each group. Further, we report the structure of two predatory NlpC/P60 amidohydrolases/peptidases, Bd0601 and Bd1177. We have determined that Bd0601 is a DUF1460 amidohydrolase, wherein the PG stem peptide binding groove is blocked by a tyrosine residue, suggesting the need of a conformational rearrangement for substrate binding. On the other hand, we have determined that Bd1177 is a bilobular NlpC/P60, wherein the active site is located in the interface between the catalytic N-terminal domain and a novel C-terminal regulatory domain, suggesting that Bd1177 fluctuates to an open conformation upon substrate binding. Finally, we have determined the crystallographic structure of the cryptic secreted protein Bd0675, depicting a novel fold. The solved structure depicts a prominent central acidic and aromatic groove delimited by a conserved disulphide-stabilised loop, suggesting that this protein has ligand binding functions. Based on the solved structure we have tested different candidate ligands; however further experiments are required to propose a function for Bd0675. In addition, due to its novelty, Bd0675 was used as target for multiple structure predicting algorithms in CASP14.
Dissertation
Snakes : built for the hunt
\"Some snakes squeeze their prey. Some snakes use their venom to kill their prey. Whatever their style, snakes are deadly predators. Learn what makes snakes such amazing predators, from their hunting styles to what they like to eat. Fun facts and an \"Amazing but true!\" section give you a closer look at the lives of these slithering creatures.\"--Back cover.
Book
Lateralisation and Sociability Under Natural and Experimental Predation Pressure in the Trinidadian Guppy (Poecilia Reticulata)
Predators impose a strong selective pressure on the behavioural traits of prey species. Group living, or sociability, allows individuals to reduce their own risk of predation through avoidance, dilution, and confusion effects. Another potentially beneficial mechanism is behavioural lateralisation, or \"handedness\", the asymmetrical expression of cognitive brain functions through a directional bias in visual or motor tasks. In my thesis, I explore the interaction between behavioural lateralisation, sociability, and predation in both natural and captive populations of Trinidadian guppies (Poecilia reticulata). In Chapter Two, I examine the consistency between current behavioural lateralisation methodologies and assess the assumptions behind these methods, including the number of incorporated turn choices and the impact of random chance. In Chapter Three, I present the use of environmental DNA in assessing natural piscine guppy predator communities at six sites across the Northern Range of Trinidad. Using this measure of predation, I assess its viability in predicting differentiation of adaptive anti-predatory behaviours in natural guppies, including sociability, activity, and both visual and motor lateralisation. In Chapter Four, I assess the visual lateralisation of guppies tested either solitarily or in groups in the presence or absence of a live predator, the blue acara (Andinoacara pulcher). Using a repeated measures design, I investigate the repeatability of guppies' visual lateralisation in terms of personality variation across the investigated contexts. In Chapter Five, I assess the visual lateralisation of natural guppies when viewing a social stimulus and their sociability across a gradient of predation risk using nineteen sites in the Northern Range of Trinidad. Overall, my research demonstrates relatively low levels of lateralisation throughout contexts and populations. However, subtle trends in the lateralisation of eye-use when viewing a predatory or social stimulus appear to exist in relation to predation risk, with an apparent social conformity in lateralisation when assessed in groups.
Dissertation
Tigers : built for the hunt
\"Using their keen eyesight, amazing sense of smell and sharp teeth and claws, tigers can stalk and kill prey twice their size. Learn what makes tigers such fearsome predators, from their hunting styles to what they like to eat. Fun facts and an \"Amazing but true!\" section give you closer look at the lives of these beautiful but deadly creatures.\"--Back cover.
Book
Size- and condition-dependent predation: a seabird disproportionately targets substandard individual juvenile salmon
Selection of prey that are small and in poor body condition is a widespread phenomenon in terrestrial predator–prey systems and may benefit prey populations by removing substandard individuals. Similar selection is widely assumed to operate in aquatic systems. Indeed, size‐selective predation is a longstanding and central tenet of aquatic food web theory. However, it is not known if aquatic predators select prey based on their condition or state, compared to their size. Surprisingly, no comparable information is available for marine systems because it is exceedingly difficult to make direct observations in this realm. Thus the role of body condition in regulating susceptibility to predation remains a black box in the marine environment. Here we have exploited an ideal model system to evaluate selective predation on pelagic marine fish: comparing characteristics (fork length, mass corrected for fork length) of fresh, whole, intact juvenile Pacific salmon delivered by a seabird to its single nestling with salmon collected concurrently in coastal trawl surveys. Three species of juvenile salmon (Oncorhynchus spp.) are consumed by provisioning Rhinoceros Auklets (Cerorhinca monocerata); an abundant, colonial, pursuit‐diving seabird. Samples were collected from multiple colonies and fisheries surveys in coastal British Columbia in two years. As predicted, Auklets preyed on small individuals in poor condition and consistently selected them at levels higher than their relative availability. This is the first study to provide direct evidence for both size‐ and condition‐selective predation on marine fish in the wild. We anticipate that our results will be a starting point in evaluating how selective predation may structure or influence marine fish populations and bridges a fundamental incongruity between ecological theory and application; although “bigger is better” is considered a fundamental tenet of marine food webs, marine predators are often assumed to consume indiscriminately.
Journal Article