Assessment of predator naiveté for an insular fish species: the White Sands Pupfish, Cyprinodon tularosa

Authors: Molly Johnson, Brian Wisenden, Craig Stockwell

Year: 2024

Abstract

Populations may lose anti-predator behavioral responses due to limited predation pressure over an extended period of time. This predator naiveté (hypothesis) may make them more vulnerable to non-native predators. White Sands pupfish, Cyprinodon tularosa, have been isolated for 2.5 million years and are the only native fish in the Tularosa Basin, New Mexico, making the predator naiveté hypothesis plausible. Previous experimental work has shown White Sands pupfish are vulnerable to non-native predators. Here, we tested if White Sands pupfish recognize and respond to conspecific alarm cue. White Sands pupfish responded to alarm cue with a significant decrease in activity, but they did not perform all behaviors typically associated with predator recognition. These findings suggest that White Sands pupfish may have retained anti-predator behaviors, despite their evolutionary history in allopatry.