About this Research Topic
This Research Topic brings together work from across different spatial and temporal scales in order to illustrate the connections between them. We are specifically interested in exploring the intersection of neurobiology and ecology, and in understanding the impact of predator stress across time. For example, we might look 'back' into the evolution of predator responses, mechanisms [neuro] to consequences [eco]… and into the forces and processes that govern fear relaxation. In the 'present', we could examine behavior, the neural underpinnings of threat detection, and how this framework scales upward to determine the outcome of predator-prey interactions. The impact of anthropogenic environmental change could also be explored - what can neurobiology tell us, for instance, about how nocturnal prey perceive stress in brightly-lit human environments? Going 'forward', we could explore research seeking to alter fear's shadow (e.g., PTSD, chemical enhancers and inhibitors of fear effects) and how maternal effects might alter future generations' neurobiology and perception of risk. The recent publication of ground-breaking studies that take such an across-scale approach in free-living organisms has confirmed that such work is feasible - and the findings have transformed our understanding of how risk structures all aspects of an organism's life and interactions. This collection brings together work from researchers interested in such across-scale questions, moving us closer to a holistic understanding of when, where, why, and how predation risk matters.
Keywords: Predator, prey, risk, behavior, fear
Important Note: All contributions to this Research Topic must be within the scope of the section and journal to which they are submitted, as defined in their mission statements. Frontiers reserves the right to guide an out-of-scope manuscript to a more suitable section or journal at any stage of peer review.