Abstract
Non-consumptive predator effects (NCEs) are now widely recognized for
their capacity to shape ecosystem structure and function. Yet,
forecasting the propagation of these predator-induced trait changes
through particular communities remains a challenge, in part because we
lack a predictive framework that accounts for environmental and species
context. Accordingly, focusing on plasticity in prey anti-predator
behaviors, we conceptualize the multi-stage process by which predators
trigger direct and indirect NCEs, review and then distill potential
drivers of NCE contingencies into three key categories (properties of
the prey, predator, and setting), and conduct a meta-analysis to
quantify the extent to which prey behavioral plasticity in response to
predation risk hinges on a well-studied driver – prey energetic state.
Our synthesis underscores the myriad factors that can generate NCE
contingencies while guiding how research might better anticipate and
account for them. We highlight two key knowledge gaps that continue to
hinder development of a comprehensive framework for exploring
non-consumptive predator-prey interactions. These are insufficient
exploration of 1) context-dependent indirect NCEs and 2) the ways in
which direct and indirect NCEs are shaped interactively by multiple
drivers of context dependence.