What Does Elizabeth Telfer Says About Predation? Animals Do It Too

Experts weigh in nigh patterns of escape behavior displayed past a wide variety of animals

A recent book edited by Drs. William Cooper, Jr. and Daniel Blumstein (who was an undergraduate educatee of mine at the University of Colorado) calledEscaping From Predators: An Integrative View of Escape Decisions caught my eye because while there has been a practiced deal of research on how predators catch prey, there has been less research on how casualty escape from predators to avoid becoming a meal. And, much of this information is scattered and hard to assemble into a coherent whole. Escaping from Predators provides an excellent synthesis of this material.

With permission

Source: With permission

The volume'due south description reads:

When a predator attacks, prey are faced with a series of 'if', 'when' and 'how' escape decisions - these critical questions are the foci of this book. Cooper and Blumstein bring together a balance of theory and empirical inquiry to summarise over fifty years of scattered research and criterion current thinking in the apace expanding literature on the behavioural environmental of escaping. The volume consolidates current and new behaviour models with taxonomically divided empirical chapters that demonstrate the application of escape theory to different groups. The chapters integrate behaviour with physiology, genetics and evolution to atomic number 82 the reader through the complex decisions faced by prey during a predator attack, examining how these decisions collaborate with life history and individual variation. The chapter on all-time do field methodology and the ideas for hereafter enquiry presented throughout, ensure this volume is practical likewise as informative.

Most fortunately, I was able to interview the prolific Dr. Blumstein about this forwards-looking volume to larn more almost it.

Why did you and Dr. Cooper publishEscaping From Predators?

We are both fascinated past the multifariousness of escape behavior and had been collaborating on a number of large-scale reviews, comparative studies, and meta-analyses. We realized that at that place had been a pulse of research over the past decade or so and that escape behavior—in how information technology seamlessly integrated models, empirical studies and large scale comparative studies—illustrated one of the under-appreciated success stories of behavioral ecology. We wanted to share our excitement with others! Importantly, the volume is an edited volume and we brought together idea leaders and experts from a diverseness of fields and taxa to review both generalizations about taxa--mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians, fishes, invertebrates--and relevant concepts almost escape--sensory ecology, individuality, physiology, maternal effects, to proper name a few.

How does it build on your before work?

Both of us have a long history of studying escape behavior—for Bill mostly in lizards, for me mostly in birds, merely also detailed studies in marmots and some studies in lizards and fishes. Nosotros've been conducting both meta-analyses and comparative studies for a number of years and we've been collaborating on studies that move the theory of escape beliefs frontward. The basic theory is simple—escape is a behavioral response that is sensitive to both the costs of remaining and the benefits of escaping. Animals don't typically escape immediately upon detecting a predator (although 1 of my hypotheses—called Flush Early and Avoid the Blitz—fearfulness—suggests that many escape soon after and then every bit to reduce on-going monitoring costs) and there are many factors that influence how long they await after detecting a predator.

Why is it an important topic for people interested in beast behavior, behavioral ecology, and evolutionary biology?

Aside from how the field takes a Tinbergian approach [ethologist Niko Tinbergen shared the 1973 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine with Konrad Lorenz and Karl von Frisch] and is then wonderfully integrative, all animals must survive in a predator rich environment and escape behavior is one of those activities that has led to a remarkable variety of behavioral and morphological adaptations. Escape behavior is integrative and too illustrates compensation, whereby individuals that are 'tiresome' may modify their escape beliefs to compensate for their speed. Escape behavior is easily studied and also has profound implications for understanding how animals coexist with humans—some are tolerant while others are not and escape behavior gives the states quantifiable metrics of tolerance.
Why should not-researchers care about this full general topic?

Because escape behavior gives us a window on how animals perceive u.s.—as scary or not—and in so doing, lets us better reduce our impacts on nonhumans should we want to practice so. And, because animals have come up with a variety of effective ways to survive living in a risky world. This should inspire u.s.a. that at that place is non simply i way; a thought that has many implications in the currently highly charged political surround.

What are your major messages?

Escape behavior illustrates very nicely how animals merchandise-off costs and benefits of escape and by doing so minimize the costs of escaping and the probability of surviving.

What are some important lines of inquiry for the future?

Nosotros demand to go a better idea of how to properly quantify the fitness costs of escaping or not and do a better job estimating the exact relationships between say flying initiation altitude and the benefits and costs of escaping. This is quite difficult.

Is there anything else you'd like to share with readers?

Much of the volume focuses on flying initiation distance because there are pretty good comparative data sets with data from many individuals and species. Still, the corporeality of fourth dimension animals hide in response to being threatened follows the same logic. The book provides a variety of examples and approaches that will help readers who have not really thought much almost escape before to see information technology all around them. The book should open up up people's eyes to the wonders in nature that surround united states of america all.

Escaping From Predators should open up people's eyes to the wonders in nature that surroundings us all

I agree with Dr. Blumstein most the many wonders of nature that truly are fascinating and how lucky nosotros are to be able to acquire about them from solid comparative empirical research. I really enjoyed Escaping from Predators and highly recommend it for use in undergraduate and graduate courses in animal behavior, behavioral environmental, conservation behavior, and conservation biological science. Lay readers also will get a lot out of information technology.

How different animals avoid becoming a repast is a fascinating topic that deserves close attention and Escaping From Predators opens the door for future inquiries.

Marc Bekoff's latest books are Jasper'southward Story: Saving Moon Bears (with Jill Robinson), Ignoring Nature No More: The Example for Compassionate Conservation, Why Dogs Hump and Bees Get Depressed: The Fascinating Science of Animal Intelligence, Emotions, Friendship, and Conservation, Rewilding Our Hearts: Building Pathways of Pity and Coexistence, and The Jane Effect: Jubilant Jane Goodall (edited with Dale Peterson). The Animals' Agenda: Freedom, Compassion, and Coexistence in the Human Historic period (with Jessica Pierce) will exist published in early 2017.

Source: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/animal-emotions/201610/research-shows-how-animals-decide-escape-predators

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