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Related Experiment Videos

Behaviourally mediated indirect effects: interference competition increases predation mortality in foraging

Jeroen Minderman1, Johan Lind, Will Cresswell

  • 1Centre for Ecological and Evolutionary Studies, Animal Ecology Group, University of Groningen, PO Box 14, 9750 AA Haren, The Netherlands. Jeroen.Minderman@newcastle.ac.uk

The Journal of Animal Ecology
|May 13, 2006
PubMed
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Competition for food can indirectly increase predation risk for redshanks (Tringa totanus). Interference competition, driven by prey behavior, forces redshanks to increase activity, raising their mortality from predators like sparrowhawks.

Area of Science:

  • Ecology
  • Behavioral Ecology
  • Population Dynamics

Background:

  • Competition for resources often impacts population dynamics directly via starvation.
  • Indirect effects of competition can influence survival through behaviorally mediated changes in predation risk.
  • Competition can cascade through multiple trophic levels, affecting predator-prey interactions.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To provide an example of how interference competition affects predator-prey dynamics and trophic interactions.
  • To investigate the foraging success and behavior of redshanks (Tringa totanus) under varying prey availability and flock dynamics.
  • To link interference competition to indirect effects on predation risk and mortality.

Main Methods:

  • Observational study of redshank foraging behavior in flocks.

Related Experiment Videos

  • Analysis of foraging success in relation to flock position and prey type (active vs. inactive).
  • Quantification of redshank activity levels (e.g., walking rate) and correlation with foraging success and flock spacing.

    • Main Results:

    • Redshank foraging success on active prey was highest at the flock front and decreased with more birds passing through a patch, indicating interference competition.
    • No significant interference competition was observed when redshanks foraged on inactive prey.
    • Redshanks with lower foraging success exhibited higher activity rates, which is associated with increased predation risk from sparrowhawks (Accipiter nisus).

    Conclusions:

    • Behavioral adaptations of prey can induce interference competition in foraging redshanks, indirectly increasing their mortality risk.
    • Interference competition acts as a mechanism for behaviorally mediated indirect effects in ecological communities.
    • This study demonstrates how a species at an intermediate trophic level can experience simultaneous top-down control by predators and bottom-up control via prey behavior.