Abstract
The predator avoidance behaviours of two littoral mysid species, Neomysis integer (Leach) and Praunus flexuosus (Müller), were studied experimentally. In ingestion experiments, mysids responded to a combination of chemical and visual signals of perch (Perca fluviatilis), but not to each stimulus alone. In the presence of the combined visual and chemical predator signal the swimming activity and choice of habitat (open vs. artificial vegetation, the Charophyte Chara tomentosa or the brown alga Fucus vesiculosus) were also influenced. The two mysid species behaved differently when perceiving predation risk: N. integer reduced swimming activity, whereas P. flexuosus increased their use of the vegetation. The different antipredator strategies of the two mysid species reflect their different lifestyles, N. integer being a swarm-forming species and P. flexuosus living in association with aquatic macrophyte vegetation.
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Acknowledgements
We thank R. Munsterhjelm for his help in the determination of macrophytes, and T. Hakala, A. Hirvonen, S. Londesborough and T. Meriläinen for their help in the collection of macrophytes. The Tvärminne Zoological Station, University of Helsinki, provided the field and laboratory facilities. This study was financed by the Walter and Andrée de Nottbeck Foundation and the Academy of Finland. The experiments comply with the current laws of Finland.
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Communicated by L. Hagerman, Helsingør
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Lindén, E., Lehtiniemi, M. & Viitasalo, M. Predator avoidance behaviour of Baltic littoral mysids Neomysis integer and Praunus flexuosus . Marine Biology 143, 845–850 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1149-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00227-003-1149-x