Individual and intergenerational consequences of nest predation pressure in smallmouth bass

Predation pressure is considered an important selective force able to influence the behavior and morphology of prey individuals. Our work focuses on nest predation pressure in a species which provides parental care, where it is not the parent who faces immediate predation threat but vulnerable offspring. Our research sets out to examine the individual and intergenerational consequences of predation pressure using the smallmouth bass as a model. Our research has shown that nesting males from lakes of high predation pressure are more often engaged in behavioral antipredator activities and have overall higher activity levels than males from lakes of low predation pressure. The behavioral implications for larvae seem more complex but it is clear that developmental environment plays a key role in the antipredator behavior of larval smallmouth bass. Furthermore, the recovery following exercise of larvae was influenced by predation pressure, where larvae from sites with high predation pressure have lower active metabolic rates and recover more quickly from exercise than larvae from sites of low predation pressure. Together, our work shows that natural gradients in predation pressure can have important behavioral and physiological implications for both parents and larvae of a nest-guarding species.