Thesis Colloquium at CES on 27 June 2018 at 3:00 pm titled "Ecology of predator-prey interactions in the context of mate searching" by Viraj R. Torsekar from IISc

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Topic: 
Ecology of predator-prey interactions in the context of mate searching
Speaker: 
Viraj R. Torsekar, IISc
Date & Time: 
27 Jun 2018 - 3:00pm
Event Type: 
Thesis Colloquium
Venue: 
CES Seminar Hall, 3rd Floor, Biological Sciences Building
Coffee/Tea: 
After the talk
Abstract:

Animals communicating in the context of mate searching benefit by obtaining mates, but also experience costs. Studies on the effect of predation on such communication has largely been addressed in an evolutionary context. How individuals trade-off risks and benefits of communication in an ecological context has, however, received much less attention. In this context, my thesis aims at understanding the ecology of predator-prey interactions in the context of communication, using the tree cricket Oecanthus henryi as a model system. I first estimated the relative predation risk experienced by communicating and non-communicating, male and female crickets from their primary predators, green lynx spiders, at multiple spatial scales within a night. I then went on to manipulate predation risk in enclosure experiments and observed how it affects communication and survival, to compare their relative fitness consequences. Finally, I examined how crickets and spiders use space at two different spatial scales, in order to explore whether crickets behaviourally manage the risk they experience while searching for mates.