Abstract
How foraging predators explore their environment is a fundamental aspect
of predator-prey interactions. Girling et al. (2007) tested Coccinella septempunctata
in a Y-maze, finding that approximately 45% of individuals displayed
significant turning biases. We extend the work of Girling et al. in
three ways: (1) turning bias was tested on vertical as well as
horizontal structures, (2) turning bias was tested on natural Y-shaped
twigs as well as artificial twigs and (3) turning bias was recorded both
as the pre-designated ‘left’ or ‘right’ physical branch selected and
from the perspective of ladybirds. No significant patterns of
‘handedness’ were apparent with vertical orientation, on either
substrate. With horizontal orientation, significant turning biases were
exhibited on artificial but not natural twigs. Overall, although turning
biases are theoretically efficient when searching branched structures,
we propose that in natural environments ladybirds will base their
foraging movements on environmental cues.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 205-230 |
Number of pages | 26 |
Journal | Behaviour |
Volume | 157 |
Issue number | 3-4 |
Early online date | 24 Feb 2020 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 20 Mar 2020 |
Keywords
- Handedness
- Foraging efficiency
- Orientation
- Substrate
- Turning bias