title: Mass enhances speed but diminishes turn capacity in terrestrial pursuit predators.
abstract: The dynamics of predator-prey pursuit appears complex, making the development of a framework explaining predator and prey strategies problematic. We develop a model for terrestrial, cursorial predators to examine how animal mass modulates predator and prey trajectories and affects best strategies for both parties. We incorporated the maximum speed-mass relationship with an explanation of why larger animals should have greater turn radii; the forces needed to turn scale linearly with mass whereas the maximum forces an animal can exert scale to a 2/3 power law. This clarifies why in a meta-analysis, we found a preponderance of predator/prey mass ratios that minimized the turn radii of predators compared to their prey. It also explained why acceleration data from wild cheetahs pursuing different prey showed different cornering behaviour with prey type. The outcome of predator prey pursuits thus depends critically on mass effects and the ability of animals to time turns precisely.
authors.affiliation: Swansea Lab for Animal Movement, Department of Biosciences, College of Science, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales.
authors.forename: Rory P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: College of Engineering, Swansea University, Swansea, Wales.
authors.forename: Iwan W
authors.initials: IW
authors.lastname: Griffiths
authors.affiliation: The Lewis Foundation, Johannesburg, South Africa.
authors.forename: Michael G L
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Mills
authors.affiliation: Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London, London, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: Chris
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Carbone
authors.affiliation: Department of Zoology and Entomology, University of Pretoria, Pretoria, South Africa.
authors.forename: John W
authors.initials: JW
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.affiliation: School of Biological Sciences, Institute for Global Food Security, Queen's University Belfast, Belfast, United Kingdom.
authors.forename: David M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Scantlebury
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001835:Body Weight; D002335:Carnivora / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000502:physiology*; D008124:Locomotion; D008954:Models, Biological; D011235:Predatory Behavior
keywords: cheetah; ecology; megacarnivores; pursuit predators