Local predation risk shapes spatial and foraging neophobia patterns in Trinidadian guppies

The “dangerous niche” hypothesis posits that neophobia functions to reduce the cost of habitat use among animals exposed to unknown risks. For example, more dangerous foraging or higher competition may lead to increased spatial neophobia. Likewise, elevated ambient predation threats have been shown to induce phenotypically plastic neophobic predator avoidance. In both cases, neophobia is argued to reduce the cost of living associated with ecological uncertainty. Here, we test the hypothesis that ambient predation shapes both neophobic predator avoidance and spatial and foraging neophobia in Trinidadian guppies. Guppies were exposed to a novel foraging arena paired with a known cue (conspecific alarm cue), a novel cue (lemon odor), or a stream water control in three streams differing in ambient predation risk. We demonstrate that guppies from a high-predation-risk stream exhibited risk-averse foraging patterns regardless of the chemical stimulus presented (high spatial neophobia) and that those from a low-predation-risk stream were only risk-averse when the foraging arenas were paired with conspecific alarm cue (lower spatial neophobia). Those tested in the intermediate-predation-risk stream were consistently intermediate to the high-risk vs. low-risk populations. Our study suggests that ambient predation risk shapes both neophobic predator avoidance and space-use patterns and that neophobia may function as a “generalized” response to ecological uncertainty.