Humans perceive but animals don't: pitfalls in using plasticine models for assessing biotic interactions

Area of Science:

• Ecology
• Behavioral Ecology
• Predator-Prey Dynamics

Background:

• Observation methods are vital for understanding ecological processes.
• Plasticine models mimicking prey are widely used to assess biotic interactions.
• Concerns exist regarding the accuracy of plasticine models in capturing specific interaction intensity and types.

Purpose of the Study:

• To synthesize previous studies using plasticine models for quantifying biotic interactions.
• To experimentally assess the accuracy of plasticine models in representing distinct prey types.
• To identify and minimize anthropocentric biases in ecological experimental designs.

Main Methods:

• Synthesized data from previous studies on plasticine models.
• Deployed 2430 plasticine models of varying sizes, shapes, and colors across two biomes and multiple seasons.
• Analyzed attack rates on models, differentiating by animal guilds.

Main Results:

• No significant differences in attack rates were found among plasticine models with varying characteristics.
• Attack rates were influenced by overall animal richness and activity, not solely specific biotic interactions.
• Animals did not consistently distinguish visually different plasticine models as distinct prey.

Conclusions:

• The use of plasticine models may introduce anthropocentric biases in assessing biotic interactions.
• Ecological experimental designs must incorporate animal habits and behaviors for accurate assessments.
• Rethinking the application of plasticine models is crucial for reliable ecological data.