Antipredator behavior of European rabbits by day and night

Most fear ecology research focusses on daytime escape, yet nighttime escape is also likely to be critical to survival. Current research on fear ecology is predicated on the assumption that escape is the same by day and night, yet recent research alludes to greater complexity in responses. Many prey species are active at night to avoid predators, some predators are nocturnal, and prey likely must rely on a different mix of sensory modalities to detect approaching predators at night. By incorporating thermal imaging technology, we measured alertness, distance to cover and Flight-initiation Distances (FIDs) by day and night, across different predator regimes of European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, an invasive species in Australia with a long history of coexistence with predators. Distance to cover increased by night, decreased with rabbit alertness, and increased with Starting Distance (SD). The probability of being alert increased closer to cover during day and night. FIDs were longer with longer SDs. Rabbits fled more directly towards cover the further they were from cover at night (but not day) time, and only in the absence of cats and foxes. We demonstrate intense antipredator behavior of rabbits by day and night, and specific nocturnal antipredator adaptations, such as using more open areas and only escaping towards cover where terrestrial nocturnal predators are absent. Given the nuanced changes in antipredator behavior by day and night, our results call for future studies to compare daytime and nighttime behaviors.