Behavioural ecology of foraging and predator avoidance trade-offs in Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens)
| dc.contributor.advisor | Chivers, Douglas P. | en_US |
| dc.contributor.advisor | Ferrari, Maud C. | en_US |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Clark, Robert G. | en_US |
| dc.contributor.committeeMember | Pollock, Michael S. | en_US |
| dc.creator | Wishingrad, Van | en_US |
| dc.date.accessioned | 2014-06-13T12:00:11Z | |
| dc.date.available | 2014-06-13T12:00:11Z | |
| dc.date.created | 2014-04 | en_US |
| dc.date.issued | 2014-06-12 | en_US |
| dc.date.submitted | April 2014 | en_US |
| dc.description.abstract | I investigated Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) foraging and anti-predator behaviour. My goals were to understand: (1) The role of environmental change on foraging and anti-predator behaviour trade-offs. (2) The relative cost/benefit trade-off between escape behaviour and cover-seeking behaviour. (3) How development of several independent morphological traits affects anti-predator behaviours. I used simulated river mesocosms to study Lake Sturgeon behavioural ecology under controlled conditions. I found: (1) Foraging intensity was significantly higher during the night than the day as well as in turbid environments versus clear environments, indicating that decreased turbidity alone, may in part drive anti-predator behaviour and constrain foraging activity. (2) In high-risk clear-water environments, Lake Sturgeon responded to danger by evoking an escape response and seeking cover in rocky microhabitats. However, in low-risk turbid environments, Lake Sturgeon responded to danger by seeking cover in rocky microhabitats, but not fleeing to a significant degree. Cover-seeking behaviour may therefore be a relatively low-cost/high-benefit anti-predator strategy. (3) Strong evidence for trait co-dependence between escape responses and body size, where larger fish were able to elicit stronger escape responses. I also found that cover-seeking behaviour exhibited a complex multi-tiered relationship, representing a mixture of trait compensation and trait co-specialization that is dependent on specific combinations of morphological traits. These findings are important because they help us understand: (1) The degree to which anti-predator behaviour can be influenced by changing environmental conditions. (2) The relative cost/benefit trade-off between two common anti-predator behaviours. (3) How behaviour and morphology interact in species with a complex anti-predator phenotype. | en_US |
| dc.identifier.uri | http://hdl.handle.net/10388/ETD-2014-04-1516 | en_US |
| dc.language.iso | eng | en_US |
| dc.subject | anti-predator behaviour | en_US |
| dc.subject | foraging | en_US |
| dc.subject | trade-off | en_US |
| dc.subject | optimality | en_US |
| dc.subject | predator-prey interactions | en_US |
| dc.subject | alarm cue | en_US |
| dc.subject | turbidity | en_US |
| dc.subject | morphology | en_US |
| dc.subject | crypsis | en_US |
| dc.subject | mottled | en_US |
| dc.subject | scutes | en_US |
| dc.subject | armour | en_US |
| dc.subject | spines | en_US |
| dc.subject | cover-seeking | en_US |
| dc.subject | habitat selection | en_US |
| dc.subject | escape response | en_US |
| dc.subject | escape behaviour | en_US |
| dc.subject | lake sturgeon | en_US |
| dc.subject | defensive morphology | en_US |
| dc.title | Behavioural ecology of foraging and predator avoidance trade-offs in Lake Sturgeon (Acipenser fulvescens) | en_US |
| dc.type.genre | Thesis | en_US |
| dc.type.material | text | en_US |
| thesis.degree.department | Biology | en_US |
| thesis.degree.discipline | Biology | en_US |
| thesis.degree.grantor | University of Saskatchewan | en_US |
| thesis.degree.level | Masters | en_US |
| thesis.degree.name | Master of Science (M.Sc.) | en_US |