Predator–prey
- Functional flexibility in a spider's orb web
Summary: Testing of an orb weaver's predation strategy in distorted webs reveals that despite the distortion, spiders remained effective at identifying, locating and capturing prey, but take somewhat longer to do so.
- The effects of temperature on the defensive strikes of rattlesnakes
Highlighted Article: Viper strike kinematics across a range of ecologically relevant temperatures show that defensive strikes of vipers are affected by temperature, but less than would be expected if the movement was purely muscle-driven.
- Using on-board sound recordings to infer behaviour of free-moving wild animals
Summary: We review new possibilities for monitoring the behaviour of wild animals in the field using on-board audio recordings.
- Turning performance of brief squid Lolliguncula brevis during attacks on shrimp and fish
Summary: Squid display differences in attack strategies and use of turning performance measures depending on the type of prey they encounter.
- Multiple sensory modalities used by squid in successful predator evasion throughout ontogeny
Summary: The lateral line analogue of squid contributes to successful escape response at the earliest life stages and continues to increase successful evasion by aiding visual cues in juvenile and adult squid.
- How moths escape bats: predicting outcomes of predator–prey interactions
Summary: Three-dimensional reconstructions of bat–insect interactions reveal that prey survive chases by escaping into ‘safety zones’ that flank predators.
- The big squeeze: scaling of constriction pressure in two of the world's largest snakes, Python reticulatus and Python molurus bivittatus
Summary: Constriction performance increases with size in large pythons, and involves pressures that are high enough to stop the prey's circulation and possibly disrupt neural function in the brain.