Abstract

The behavioural and physical mechanisms involved in the tactics used by predators to catch their prey have been explored for a wide variety of vertebrate taxa but most studies have considered the viewpoints of predator and prey independently. We tackled this issue using an ecologically relevant predator-prey model: wolf spiders (Pardosa spp.) and wood crickets, Nemobius sylvestris. Crickets are particularly challenging prey to catch because their air-sensing systems enable them to detect small air movements caused by approaching predators. Using a high-speed video camera, we found that freely behaving spiders adopted either a fast or a slow velocity tactic to approach crickets. We then developed a device using a piston to simulate, as faithfully as possible, the spider's attack. The air flow generated by the piston was quantified by particle image velocimetry and then used to test the escape success of crickets at different attack velocities. Cricket escape success was lower for low and high piston velocities, matching the two tactics adopted by the spiders. Based on our results, we propose that the escape probability of prey after a given predator signal can be explained by the distance between the prey and the predator, the velocity of the predator and the strength of the signal. Both methodological and conceptual approaches presented in this study could provide useful methods to understand the biological and physical basis of predatory tactics in other animals.