Predatory blue crabs induce stronger nonconsumptive effects in eastern oysters Crassostrea virginica than scavenging blue crabs

Abstract

By influencing critical prey traits such as foraging or habitat selection, predators can affect entire ecosystems, but the nature of cues that trigger prey reactions to predators are not well understood. Predators may scavenge to supplement their energetic needs and scavenging frequency may vary among individuals within a species due to preferences and prey availability. Yet prey reactions to consumers that are primarily scavengers versus those that are active foragers have not been investigated, even though variation in prey reactions to scavengers or predators might influence cascading nonconsumptive effects in food webs. Oysters Crassostrea virginica react to crab predators by growing stronger shells. We exposed oysters to exudates from crabs fed live oysters or fed aged oyster tissue to simulate scavenging, and to controls without crab cues. Oysters grew stronger shells when exposed to either crab exudate, but their shells were significantly stronger when crabs were fed live oysters. The stronger response to predators than scavengers could be due to inherent differences in diet cues representative of reduced risk in the presence of scavengers or to degradation of conspecific alarm cues in aged treatments, which may mask risk from potential predators subsisting by scavenging.

Keywords: Callinectes sapidus; Chemical ecology; Crassostrea virginica; Inducible defenses; Nonconsumptive effects; Plasticity; Predator diet; Predator prey interactions.

Figure 1. Mean ± SEM shell crushing force.

Letter designations indicate significant differences at α = 0.05 as indicated by linear contrasts.

Figure 2. Mean ± SEM shell weight.

No significant differences were found between predation treatments.