Testing the ecological and behavioural responses of mammals to the Landscape of Fear.

Abstract

The fear of being predated can influence many decisions taken by preys and this may have important consequences for the ecosystems. Preys can respond to the risk of being predated in three ways: habitat selection, diel activity modifications and adoption of behaviors to detect predators before they constitute a danger. However, rarely these strategies have been analyzed simultaneously within an entire community. Through a camera trapping study conducted in the Julian Prealps Natural Park and surrounding territories (North-East of Italy), we analyze these three antipredator responses to understand which strategy is adopted by target species. Results show how, for the majority of species, the main antipredator response is the selection of time intervals when corresponding predators are inactive. On the opposite, habitat selection seems to be more influenced by environmental characteristics of the area. Similar, behavioral traits do not result related to presence probability of predators. Therefore, in the area analyzed, we demonstrated the existence of a landscape of fear that influences species choices regarding mainly diel activities. The study underlines also the importance of simultaneous consideration of antipredator responses for a more accurate understanding of how fear structures communities and ecosystems.