Empirical studies of escape behavior find mixed support for the race for life model

Abstract

Escape theory has been exceptionally successful in conceptualizing and accurately predicting effects of numerous factors that affect predation risk and explaining variation in flight initiation distance (FID, predator-prey distance when escape begins). Less explored is the relative orientation of an approaching predator, prey, and its eventual refuge. The relationship between an approaching threat and its refuge can be expressed as an angle we call the “interpath angle” or “Φ”, which describes the angle between the paths of predator and prey to the prey’s refuge and thus expresses the degree to which prey must run towards an approaching predator. In general, we might expect that prey would escape at greater distances if they must flee toward a predator to reach its burrow. The ‘race for life’ model makes formal predictions about how interpath angle should affect FID. We evaluated the model by studying escape decisions in yellow-bellied marmots Marmota flaviventer, a species which flees to burrows. We found support for some of the model’s predictions, yet the relationship between interpath angle and FID was less clear. Marmots may not assess interpath angle in a continuous fashion; but we found that binning angle into four 45° bins explained a similar amount of variation as models that analyzed angle continuously. Future studies of interpath angle, especially those that focus on how different species perceive relative orientation, will likely enhance our understanding of its importance in flight decisions. Key words: escape behavior, escape trajectory, escape theory, antipredator behavior, race for life model

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