Antipredator behavior of European rabbits by day and night.
- 1School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Faculty of Science, Engineering and the Built Environment, Deakin University, 221 Burwood Hwy, Burwood, Victoria 3124, Australia.
- 2Deakin Centre for Marine Science, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, Deakin University, 75 Pigdons Road, Waurn Ponds, Victoria 3220, Australia.
Abstract
Most fear ecology research focusses on daytime escape, yet nighttime escape is also likely to be critical to survival. Current research on fear ecology is predicated on the assumption that escape is the same by day and night, yet recent research alludes to greater complexity in responses. Many prey species are active at night to avoid predators, some predators are nocturnal, and prey likely must rely on a different mix of sensory modalities to detect approaching predators at night. By incorporating thermal imaging technology, we measured alertness, distance to cover and Flight-initiation Distances (FIDs) by day and night, across different predator regimes of European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, an invasive species in Australia with a long history of coexistence with predators. Distance to cover increased by night, decreased with rabbit alertness, and increased with Starting Distance (SD). The probability of being alert increased closer to cover during day and night. FIDs were longer with longer SDs. Rabbits fled more directly towards cover the further they were from cover at night (but not day) time, and only in the absence of cats and foxes. We demonstrate intense antipredator behavior of rabbits by day and night, and specific nocturnal antipredator adaptations, such as using more open areas and only escaping towards cover where terrestrial nocturnal predators are absent. Given the nuanced changes in antipredator behavior by day and night, our results call for future studies to compare daytime and nighttime behaviors.
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BibTeX
@article{stefano2026antipredator,
title = {{Antipredator behavior of European rabbits by day and night.}},
author = {Sam A Di Stefano and Michael A Weston and Roan D Plotz and Joel Krauss and Kaori Yokochi and Anthony R Rendall},
journal = {Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.1093/beheco/arag123},
url = {https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923419},
note = {CC BY},
}
RIS
TY - JOUR
TI - Antipredator behavior of European rabbits by day and night.
AU - Sam A Di Stefano
AU - Michael A Weston
AU - Roan D Plotz
AU - Joel Krauss
AU - Kaori Yokochi
AU - Anthony R Rendall
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/16
JO - Behavioral ecology : official journal of the International Society for Behavioral Ecology
DO - 10.1093/beheco/arag123
UR - https://europepmc.org/article/MED/42923419
AB - Most fear ecology research focusses on daytime escape, yet nighttime escape is also likely to be critical to survival. Current research on fear ecology is predicated on the assumption that escape is the same by day and night, yet recent research alludes to greater complexity in responses. Many prey species are active at night to avoid predators, some predators are nocturnal, and prey likely must rely on a different mix of sensory modalities to detect approaching predators at night. By incorporating thermal imaging technology, we measured alertness, distance to cover and Flight-initiation Distances (FIDs) by day and night, across different predator regimes of European Rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus, an invasive species in Australia with a long history of coexistence with predators. Distance to cover increased by night, decreased with rabbit alertness, and increased with Starting Distance (SD). The probability of being alert increased closer to cover during day and night. FIDs were longer with longer SDs. Rabbits fled more directly towards cover the further they were from cover at night (but not day) time, and only in the absence of cats and foxes. We demonstrate intense antipredator behavior of rabbits by day and night, and specific nocturnal antipredator adaptations, such as using more open areas and only escaping towards cover where terrestrial nocturnal predators are absent. Given the nuanced changes in antipredator behavior by day and night, our results call for future studies to compare daytime and nighttime behaviors.
SN - 1045-2249
SN - 1465-7279
ER -