Staying Alive Revision Notes
The behaviour, psychology and ecology of predator-prey interactions
Primary focus = behaviour
Mechanisms = psychology
Consequences = ecology
Glossary
Predator an organism that primarily obtains food by the killing and consuming of
other organisms, especially an animal that preys on other animals
Prey An animal taken by a predator as food
OR an animal that is hunted and killed for food by another animal
Exploitative fitness of one individual goes up at the cost of fitness to another individual
Camouflage Avoiding detection and recognition despite being “in plain sight”
Crypsis all traits that reduce an animal's risk of becoming detected when it is
potentially perceivable to an observer (Stevens & Merilaita 2009)
- Avoids detection, NOT recognition
Masquerade Mimicry of particular objects in the visual environment (e.g. stone or bird
dropping)
- Avoids recognition
Disruptive Breaking up shape and form by disguising the body outline (Thayer, 1909)
coloration and salient features like eyes (Cott, 1940), not just the body surface.
Distractive markings that through (and despite) their relative salience compared to the
markings rest of the coloration or morphology of an animal make it more difficult for
a viewer to perceive the characteristics useful for detection or recognition
of the animal, hence increasing its net camouflage (Merilaita et al. 2013)
Masquerade The resemblance of an organism to an inedible object to facilitate
misidentification of that organism by its predators or its prey (Skelhorn et
al., 2010)
Batesian mimicry The resemblance between unpalatable models and palatable mimics
Aposematism Warning coloration of distasteful or poisonous organisms, characterised by
bright conspicuous markings, to deter predators (Poulton, 1890)
Müllerian mimicry Mimicry between species that are both defended (toxic/unpalatable), to
share the costs of predator education (Müller)
Confusion effect a reduced attack-to-kill ratio experienced by a predator resulting from an
inability to single out and attack individual prey in a group (Krause &
Ruxton, 2002)
Deimatic any pattern of bluffing behaviour in an animal that lacks strong defences,
behaviour such as sudden display of conspicuous eyespots, to scare off or momentarily
distract a predator, thus giving the prey animal an opportunity to escape
Marginal Predation that occurs when aggregations of prey are preferentially targeted
predation on their periphery by predators
The selfish herd Theory that individuals within a population attempt to reduce their
predation risk by putting other conspecifics between themselves and
predators (Hamilton, 1971)
Domain of danger The area of ground in which every point is nearer to a particular individual
than to any other individual
The behaviour, psychology and ecology of predator-prey interactions
Primary focus = behaviour
Mechanisms = psychology
Consequences = ecology
Glossary
Predator an organism that primarily obtains food by the killing and consuming of
other organisms, especially an animal that preys on other animals
Prey An animal taken by a predator as food
OR an animal that is hunted and killed for food by another animal
Exploitative fitness of one individual goes up at the cost of fitness to another individual
Camouflage Avoiding detection and recognition despite being “in plain sight”
Crypsis all traits that reduce an animal's risk of becoming detected when it is
potentially perceivable to an observer (Stevens & Merilaita 2009)
- Avoids detection, NOT recognition
Masquerade Mimicry of particular objects in the visual environment (e.g. stone or bird
dropping)
- Avoids recognition
Disruptive Breaking up shape and form by disguising the body outline (Thayer, 1909)
coloration and salient features like eyes (Cott, 1940), not just the body surface.
Distractive markings that through (and despite) their relative salience compared to the
markings rest of the coloration or morphology of an animal make it more difficult for
a viewer to perceive the characteristics useful for detection or recognition
of the animal, hence increasing its net camouflage (Merilaita et al. 2013)
Masquerade The resemblance of an organism to an inedible object to facilitate
misidentification of that organism by its predators or its prey (Skelhorn et
al., 2010)
Batesian mimicry The resemblance between unpalatable models and palatable mimics
Aposematism Warning coloration of distasteful or poisonous organisms, characterised by
bright conspicuous markings, to deter predators (Poulton, 1890)
Müllerian mimicry Mimicry between species that are both defended (toxic/unpalatable), to
share the costs of predator education (Müller)
Confusion effect a reduced attack-to-kill ratio experienced by a predator resulting from an
inability to single out and attack individual prey in a group (Krause &
Ruxton, 2002)
Deimatic any pattern of bluffing behaviour in an animal that lacks strong defences,
behaviour such as sudden display of conspicuous eyespots, to scare off or momentarily
distract a predator, thus giving the prey animal an opportunity to escape
Marginal Predation that occurs when aggregations of prey are preferentially targeted
predation on their periphery by predators
The selfish herd Theory that individuals within a population attempt to reduce their
predation risk by putting other conspecifics between themselves and
predators (Hamilton, 1971)
Domain of danger The area of ground in which every point is nearer to a particular individual
than to any other individual
