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<p>The concept of the ‘landscape of fear’ assumes that animals perceive predation risk and adjust their behaviour to minimize it. If species share the same predator, the presence of one species displaying calm behaviour, may be perceived as a cue indicating a ‘landscape of safety’. We evaluated whether rodents (bank vole, <i>Myodes glareolus</i>, and yellow-necked mouse, <i>Apodemus flavicollis</i>) can detect landscapes of fear and safety, by using camera traps to monitor covered and uncovered feeders, and emitting sounds of a shared predator (tawny owl, <i>Strix aluco</i>) as well as a possible sentinel species (thrush nightingale, <i>Luscinia luscinia</i>). Additionally, we examined whether interspecific competition could have influenced the behaviour of both rodent species. We found that mouse visitation probability and the number of visits within each 1-hour period were lower at higher risk sites (uncovered feeders) than at safer sites (covered feeders), and the visitation probability was higher when sentinel species calls were played than when predator calls were emitted. Likewise, bank voles visited feeders more often on nights following sentinel species song being played than when predator calls were played on the previous night. The number of vole visitations was on average equal when nightingale song was played and when there was no sound, but was lower when tawny owl calls were played. Vole visitation probability decreased with the increasing number of past visits of a competitor (mouse) when the feeder was covered, but previous presence of a competitor had no effect on vole visitation probability at uncovered feeders. Voles visited feeders less as the number of previous visits of their competitor increased. These results imply that interactions within a community are often more complex than assumed, even if there are no apparent links between prey and sentinel species.</p>

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Not just fear: rodents eavesdrop on sentinel species to estimate the landscape of safety

  • 期刊论文

  • 出版模式：

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年5月9日

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  • Karolina Zalewska,
  • Andrzej Zalewski,
  • Marcin Brzeziński

摘要

The concept of the ‘landscape of fear’ assumes that animals perceive predation risk and adjust their behaviour to minimize it. If species share the same predator, the presence of one species displaying calm behaviour, may be perceived as a cue indicating a ‘landscape of safety’. We evaluated whether rodents (bank vole, Myodes glareolus, and yellow-necked mouse, Apodemus flavicollis) can detect landscapes of fear and safety, by using camera traps to monitor covered and uncovered feeders, and emitting sounds of a shared predator (tawny owl, Strix aluco) as well as a possible sentinel species (thrush nightingale, Luscinia luscinia). Additionally, we examined whether interspecific competition could have influenced the behaviour of both rodent species. We found that mouse visitation probability and the number of visits within each 1-hour period were lower at higher risk sites (uncovered feeders) than at safer sites (covered feeders), and the visitation probability was higher when sentinel species calls were played than when predator calls were emitted. Likewise, bank voles visited feeders more often on nights following sentinel species song being played than when predator calls were played on the previous night. The number of vole visitations was on average equal when nightingale song was played and when there was no sound, but was lower when tawny owl calls were played. Vole visitation probability decreased with the increasing number of past visits of a competitor (mouse) when the feeder was covered, but previous presence of a competitor had no effect on vole visitation probability at uncovered feeders. Voles visited feeders less as the number of previous visits of their competitor increased. These results imply that interactions within a community are often more complex than assumed, even if there are no apparent links between prey and sentinel species.