Many predators and parasites eavesdrop on the communication signals of their prey. Eavesdropping is typically studied as dyadic predator-prey species interactions; yet in nature, most predators target multiple prey species and most prey must evade multiple predator species. The impact of predator communities on prey signal evolution is not well understood. Predators could converge in their pref...

Hyperpredation refers to an enhanced predation pressure on a secondary prey due to either an increase in the abundance of a predator population or a sudden drop in the abundance of the main prey. This scarcely documented mechanism has been previously studied in scenarios in which the introduction of a feral prey caused overexploitation of native prey. Here we provide evidence of a previously un...

BACKGROUND Bayesian mixing models have allowed for the inclusion of uncertainty and prior information in the analysis of trophic interactions using stable isotopes. Formulating prior distributions is relatively straightforward when incorporating dietary data. However, the use of data that are related, but not directly proportional, to diet (such as prey availability data) is often problematic b...

Predator switching is often assumed to be a stabilizing force in predator–prey interactions. Recent models, however, have shown that predator switching can have a destabilizing effect on populations, creating cycles or even extinctions of predators and prey. However, most of these models have been traditional top-down mathematical models that do not incorporate individual variability or evoluti...

A predator consuming multiple prey species usually causes indirect effects. Ap parent mutualism results when multiple prey species reduce predation risk for each other by altering a predator’s functional response. Short-term apparent competition occurs when multiple prey species increase predation risks for each other through the numerical response, i.e. increasing the predator’s birth rate, or...

The Colorado River drainage basin is home to a diverse but imperiled fish fauna; one putative challenge facing natives is competition with nonnatives. We examined fishes from Colorado River tributaries to address the following questions: Do natives and nonnatives from the same trophic guild consume the same prey items? Will a given species alter its behavior when presented with different prey t...