| Summary: | Non-consumptive effects of predation can alter foraging time, stress levels, and habitat use by prey, potentially resulting in reduced fitness. However, prey can mitigate the non-consumptive effects of predation by increasing vigilance, chewing and vigilance synchronization (i.e., multitasking), and spatiotemporal avoidance of predators. We quantified the effects of the Mexican wolf ( Canis lupus baileyi ) predation risk on elk ( Cervus canadensis ) behavior in the southwestern United States. We conducted behavioral observations on adult female elk and developed predation risk indices using Mexican wolf GPS collar data, locations of elk killed by Mexican wolves, and landscape covariates. We compared a priori models to determine the best predictors of adult female behavior and multitasking, separately. Metrics that quantified both spatial and temporal predation risk were top predictors in both datasets. Adult female vigilance was positively associated with increased predation risk. Increased predation risk had little effect on the probability of foraging, but resulted in decreased time spent resting. In a post hoc analysis, the effect of predation risk on foraging and resting differed across diurnal periods. During midday when wolf activity was relatively low, the probability of foraging increased while resting decreased, in areas with high spatial predation risk. During crepuscular periods when elk and wolves were most active, increased predation risk was associated with increased vigilance and slight decreases in foraging. Our results suggest elk are temporally avoiding predation risk from Mexican wolves by trading resting for foraging, a trade-off often not evaluated in behavioral studies. The probability of multitasking increased with predation risk, suggesting that adult female elk may be offsetting the non-consumptive effects of risk on feeding time. These results highlight potentially important but often excluded behaviors and trade-offs prey species may use to reduce the indirect effects of predation and ...
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