Data from: Effects of danger cues on mating interactions are size dependent in freshwater crayfish
Data files
Sep 04, 2025 version files 3.32 KB
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data_for_BE_manuscript_2025.csv
2.01 KB
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README.md
1.30 KB
Abstract
Non-consumptive effects (NCEs) can have substantial effects on prey populations. For example, they may alter mating interactions or interfere with foraging behavior, with potential repercussions for the entire community. Crayfish, the dominant macroinvertebrates in many temperate freshwater ecosystems, are prey to many aquatic and terrestrial species, and show behavioral responses to both predator and conspecific alarm cues. However, effects of danger cues on mating interactions have not been investigated. We exposed heterosexual pairs of Faxonius virilis to conspecific alarm cues in the mating season and compared their interactions with those of unexposed pairs. We found that almost all crayfish in both groups mated within the experimental period, but latency to begin mating varied with treatment and body size. Specifically, in the exposed group, small pairs showed increased latency to begin mating relative to larger pairs, while crayfish in the unexposed group showed the opposite pattern. Thus, crayfish responses to danger cues may be a function of their perceived risk based on body size, as smaller crayfish are likely to be more vulnerable to predators. We propose that, under natural conditions including the presence of mate competition, an increased latency to begin mating is likely to result in decreased mating success for smaller crayfish in the presence of danger cues. Such behavioral NCEs may result in differential selection on body size in environments with different predator pressure with consequent effects on crayfish populations and aquatic communities.
Greta Achenbach, Josephine Conlon, Divya Kumar, Madeleine Ruley, Brooke Struble, Lauren Mathews
Department of Biology, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester, MA 01609, USA
Corresponding author (LM): lmathews@wpi.edu, Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5966-570X
Dataset DOI: 10.5061/dryad.f1vhhmh8b
Description of the data and file structure
All data are included in a single .csv file. The dataset includes information on crayfish body size as well as behavioral interactions, including whether or not pairs mated, and if they did so, how long it took them to begin mating (latency) and how long that mating event lasted.
Files and variables
File: data_for_BE_manuscript_2025.csv
- maleID
- femaleID
- condition (1=treated, 2=control)
- maleCP (male carapace length in mm)
- femaleCP (female carapace length in mm)
- mating (whether or not mating occurred, 0=mated, 1= did not mate)
- latency (time to begin mating in seconds; N/A=did not mate)
- duration (duration of first mating in seconds; 0=did not mate)
Code/software
Any program that can read a .csv file can be used.
