Understanding antipredator strategies of insects: Human presence and escape behaviour in Odonata

Ecological Entomology, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Feb. 18, 2025

Abstract Insects, like many organisms, face widespread human‐driven habitat transformations which are major threats to biodiversity. However, at the same time, transformed areas including cities increasingly being colonised by wildlife, sometimes serving as important refuges for vulnerable species. Most studies on traits that enable insects thrive in urban environments have focused morphology, physiology, and feeding or reproductive strategies, often overlooking behavioural traits, despite evidence from vertebrates showing tolerance towards humans is key wildlife successfully colonise cities. In this study, we tested effects of urbanisation, along with a range life‐history, environmental contextual humans—measured flight initiation distance—in 14 Odonata (dragonflies damselflies) species western Poland. We found escape distances were moderately repeatable within Urbanisation had generally weak effect behaviour; however, odonates delayed their sites high human presence. also tended increase observer’ starting distance species‐specific body size decrease perch height. Additionally, male more likely earlier than females. These results suggest can sense levels anthropogenic disturbance adjust behaviour accordingly. Furthermore, our findings indicate some basic patterns principles commonly reported vertebrates, such ability tolerate presence mass, may apply invertebrates. This implications understanding ecology evolution antipredator strategies conservation.

Language: Английский

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Urban birds become less fearful following COVID-19 reopenings

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Jan. 5, 2023

Abstract Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many people around world stayed home, drastically altering human activity in cities. This exceptional moment provided researchers opportunity to test how urban animals respond disturbance, some cases testing fundamental questions on mechanistic impact of behaviors animal behavior. However, at end this “anthropause,” returned How might each these strong shifts affect wildlife short and long term? We focused fear response, a trait essential tolerating life. measured flight initiation distance—at both individual population-levels—for an bird before, during, after anthropause examine if birds experienced longer-term changes year lowered presence. Dark-eyed juncos did not change levels during anthropause, but they became less fearful afterwards. These surprising counter-intuitive findings, made possible by following behavior individuals over time, has led novel understanding that response can be driven plasticity, yet habituation-like processes. The pandemic-caused have shown there is great complexity humans modify behavioral tolerance animals.

Language: Английский

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Urban birds become less fearful following COVID-19 reopenings

Proceedings of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences, Journal Year: 2023, Volume and Issue: 290(2005)

Published: Aug. 23, 2023

Following the COVID-19 pandemic, many people around world stayed home, drastically altering human activity in cities. This exceptional moment provided researchers opportunity to test how urban animals respond disturbance, some cases testing fundamental questions on mechanistic impact of behaviours animal behaviour. However, at end this 'anthropause', returned How might each these strong shifts affect wildlife short and long term? We focused fear response, a trait essential tolerating life. measured flight initiation distance-at both individual population levels-for an bird before, during after anthropause examine if birds experienced longer-term changes year half lowered presence. Dark-eyed juncos did not change levels anthropause, but they became less fearful afterwards. These surprising counterintuitive findings, made possible by following behaviour individuals over time, has led novel understanding that response can be driven plasticity, yet habituation-like processes. The pandemic-caused have shown there is great complexity humans modify behavioural tolerance animals.

Language: Английский

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Nearest neighbour distance does not affect escape behaviour in urban hooded crows

Behavioural Processes, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 219, P. 105057 - 105057

Published: May 22, 2024

Language: Английский

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