title: Risk-taking behaviour may explain high predation mortality of GH-transgenic common carp Cyprinus carpio.
abstract: The competitive ability and habitat selection of juvenile all-fish GH-transgenic common carp Cyprinus carpio and their size-matched non-transgenic conspecifics, in the absence and presence of predation risk, under different food distributions, were compared. Unequal-competitor ideal-free-distribution analysis showed that a larger proportion of transgenic C. carpio fed within the system, although they were not overrepresented at a higher-quantity food source. Moreover, the analysis showed that transgenic C. carpio maintained a faster growth rate, and were more willing to risk exposure to a predator when foraging, thereby supporting the hypothesis that predation selects against maximal growth rates by removing individuals that display increased foraging effort. Without compensatory behaviours that could mitigate the effects of predation risk, the escaped or released transgenic C. carpio with high-gain and high-risk performance would grow well but probably suffer high predation mortality in nature.
authors.affiliation: State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, P. R. China; Key Laboratory of Biodiversity and Conservation of Aquatic Organisms, Institute of Hydrobiology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan 430072, P. R. China.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Duan
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Zhang
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hu
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Xie
authors.forename: L F
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Sundström
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Z
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zhu
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D030801:Animals, Genetically Modified / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D002347:Carps / Q000254:growth & development / Q000502:physiology*; D003163:Competitive Behavior; D017753:Ecosystem; D005247:Feeding Behavior; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality; D012309:Risk-Taking
keywords: food distribution; foraging; growth hormone; predation risk; transgene