Prenatal stress by predator threat results in behavioral, physiological, endocrine, transcript abundance and epigenetic (DNA methylation) modifications. In this review, we compare the phenotypic outcomes of these commonly-used prenatal stressors to an ecologically-relevant, psychogenic stressor that has been present over evolutionary times, predator or predator cues presence. These exposures typically lead to pathological phenotypes supporting the development origin of health and disease hypothesis. prenatal restraint stress and prenatal chronic variable stress) are typically administered at high intensities. However, prenatal stressors commonly-used in the laboratory (e.g. Prenatal toxins and stress-inducing physical agents are important factors programming the developmental trajectory of mammals that The mother is the major interface between the offspring and its prenatal environment. Our results suggest that protected areas management policies that restrict dogs but permit human access may in some cases be of limited value for large carnivores. We previously demonstrated that pumas exhibit strong responses to human cues, and here show that perceived risk from human presence far exceeds that from dogs. We show that the perceived presence of dogs has minimal impacts on puma behavior at their kill sites, and is no more likely to affect total feeding time at kills than non-threatening controls. We experimentally quantified dog impacts on the behavior of a native large carnivore, presenting playbacks of dog vocalizations to pumas in central California. However, observational approaches used to date have led to ambiguity regarding the effects of dog presence on wildlife. Dog impacts may be further exacerbated if these human-associated predators are also perceived as indicators of risk from humans. If native large carnivores perceive dogs as threatening, impacts could extend to the community level by altering interactions between large carnivores and their prey. This could have implications for plant species composition but may not affect the overall level of granivory.ĭomestic dogs are the most abundant large carnivore on the planet, and their ubiquity has led to concern regarding the impacts of dogs as predators of and competitors with native wildlife.

Predator urine significantly affected removal of one seed taxon (Dimocarpus, ∼0.8 g), suggesting that removal by granivores may be affected by predation risk for some seed species but not others. Granivory was the lowest for the largest-seeded (>6 g) plant in our study, but was not influenced by predation risk.

Murid visits to seed plots were positively related to overall seed removal, but were not affected by predator scent. We also explored the influence of seed traits (e.g., seed size) on removal by granivores and assessed whether granivore preferences for particular species were affected by predator urine. We used camera traps and seed predation experiments to test the effects of perceived predation risk (via predator urine gel) on foraging behaviour of and seed removal by murid rodents in an unlogged and unhunted rainforest in Malaysian Borneo. Experimental field studies that manipulate predation risk can help address these knowledge gaps and reveal whether antipredator responses among small mammals influence plant survival. The extent to which predation risk indirectly alters plant survival in tropical forests via impacts on granivory is unclear, making it difficult to assess the cascading impacts of widespread predator loss on tree recruitment and species composition.

Seed predation by rodents can strongly influence plant recruitment and establishment.

Squirrel repellent