Natural visual cues eliciting predator avoidance in fiddler crabs
(2011) In Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences 278(1724). p.3584-3592- Abstract
- To efficiently provide an animal with relevant information, the design of its visual system should reflect
the distribution of natural signals and the animal’s tasks. In many behavioural contexts, however, we
know comparatively little about the moment-to-moment information-processing challenges animals face
in their daily lives. In predator avoidance, for instance, we lack an accurate description of the natural
signal stream and its value for risk assessment throughout the prey’s defensive behaviour.We characterized
the visual signals generated by real, potentially predatory events by video-recording bird approaches towards
an Uca vomeris colony. Using four synchronized cameras allowed... (More) - To efficiently provide an animal with relevant information, the design of its visual system should reflect
the distribution of natural signals and the animal’s tasks. In many behavioural contexts, however, we
know comparatively little about the moment-to-moment information-processing challenges animals face
in their daily lives. In predator avoidance, for instance, we lack an accurate description of the natural
signal stream and its value for risk assessment throughout the prey’s defensive behaviour.We characterized
the visual signals generated by real, potentially predatory events by video-recording bird approaches towards
an Uca vomeris colony. Using four synchronized cameras allowed us to simultaneously monitor predator
avoidance responses of crabs. We reconstructed the signals generated by dangerous and non-dangerous
flying animals, identified the cues that triggered escape responses and compared them with those triggering
responses to dummy predators. Fiddler crabs responded to a combination of multiple visual cues
(including retinal speed, elevation and visual flicker) that reflect the visual signatures of distinct bird and
insect behaviours. This allowed crabs to discriminate between dangerous and non-dangerous events. The
results demonstrate the importance of measuring natural sensory signatures of biologically relevant
events in order to understand biological information processing and its effects on behavioural organization. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/2254640
- author
- Smolka, Jochen LU ; Zeil, Jochen and Hemmi, Jan M.
- organization
- publishing date
- 2011
- type
- Contribution to journal
- publication status
- published
- subject
- keywords
- fiddler crabs, Uca vomeris, predator avoidance, vision, natural visual signals
- in
- Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences
- volume
- 278
- issue
- 1724
- pages
- 3584 - 3592
- publisher
- Royal Society Publishing
- external identifiers
-
- wos:000296579800017
- scopus:80054890083
- pmid:21490009
- ISSN
- 1471-2954
- DOI
- 10.1098/rspb.2010.2746
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 35f98f8e-5c87-4c9d-8a6d-a57aae66f853 (old id 2254640)
- alternative location
- http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/278/1724/3584.full
- date added to LUP
- 2016-04-01 13:41:00
- date last changed
- 2025-04-04 15:21:52
@article{35f98f8e-5c87-4c9d-8a6d-a57aae66f853,
abstract = {{To efficiently provide an animal with relevant information, the design of its visual system should reflect<br/><br>
the distribution of natural signals and the animal’s tasks. In many behavioural contexts, however, we<br/><br>
know comparatively little about the moment-to-moment information-processing challenges animals face<br/><br>
in their daily lives. In predator avoidance, for instance, we lack an accurate description of the natural<br/><br>
signal stream and its value for risk assessment throughout the prey’s defensive behaviour.We characterized<br/><br>
the visual signals generated by real, potentially predatory events by video-recording bird approaches towards<br/><br>
an Uca vomeris colony. Using four synchronized cameras allowed us to simultaneously monitor predator<br/><br>
avoidance responses of crabs. We reconstructed the signals generated by dangerous and non-dangerous<br/><br>
flying animals, identified the cues that triggered escape responses and compared them with those triggering<br/><br>
responses to dummy predators. Fiddler crabs responded to a combination of multiple visual cues<br/><br>
(including retinal speed, elevation and visual flicker) that reflect the visual signatures of distinct bird and<br/><br>
insect behaviours. This allowed crabs to discriminate between dangerous and non-dangerous events. The<br/><br>
results demonstrate the importance of measuring natural sensory signatures of biologically relevant<br/><br>
events in order to understand biological information processing and its effects on behavioural organization.}},
author = {{Smolka, Jochen and Zeil, Jochen and Hemmi, Jan M.}},
issn = {{1471-2954}},
keywords = {{fiddler crabs; Uca vomeris; predator avoidance; vision; natural visual signals}},
language = {{eng}},
number = {{1724}},
pages = {{3584--3592}},
publisher = {{Royal Society Publishing}},
series = {{Royal Society of London. Proceedings B. Biological Sciences}},
title = {{Natural visual cues eliciting predator avoidance in fiddler crabs}},
url = {{https://lup.lub.lu.se/search/files/3530874/2533922.pdf}},
doi = {{10.1098/rspb.2010.2746}},
volume = {{278}},
year = {{2011}},
}