Predator-prey games emerge when predators and prey dynamically respond to the behavior of one another, driving the outcomes of predator-prey interactions. Predation success is a function of the combined probabilities of encountering and capturing prey, which are influenced by both prey behavior and environmental features. While the relative importance of encounter and capture probabilities have been evaluated in a spatial framework, temporal variation in prey behavior and intrinsic catchability are likely to also affect the distribution of predation events. Using a single-predator-single-prey (puma-vicuña) system, we evaluated which factors predict predation events across both temporal and spatial dimensions of the components of predation by testing the prey-abundance hypothesis (predators select for high encounter probability) and the prey-catchability hypothesis (predators select for high relative capture probability) in time and space. We found that for both temporal and spatial analyses, neither the prey-abundance hypothesis nor the prey-catchability hypothesis alone predicted kill frequency or distribution; puma kill frequency was static throughout the diel cycle and pumas consistently selected a single habitat type when hunting, despite temporal and spatial variation in encounter rates and intrinsic catchability. Our integrated spatiotemporal analysis revealed that an interaction between time of day and habitat influences kill probability, suggesting that trade-offs in the temporal and spatial components of predation drive the probability of predation events. These findings reinforce the importance of examining both the temporal and spatial patterns of the components of predation, rather than unidimensional measures of predator or prey behavior, to comprehensively describe the feedbacks between predator and prey in the predator-prey game.

中文翻译：

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何时何地狩猎？伏击食肉动物的分解捕食成功

当捕食者和猎物对彼此的行为做出动态反应时，捕食者-猎物博弈就出现了，从而推动了捕食者-猎物相互作用的结果。捕食成功是遭遇和捕获猎物的综合概率的函数，受猎物行为和环境特征的影响。虽然在空间框架中评估了遭遇和捕获概率的相对重要性，但猎物行为和内在可捕获性的时间变化也可能影响捕食事件的分布。使用单一捕食者单一猎物（puma-vicuña）系统，我们通过及时测试猎物丰富假设（捕食者选择高遭遇概率）和猎物可捕获性假设（捕食者选择高相对捕获概率）评估了哪些因素可以预测捕食成分的时间和空间维度上的捕食事件和空间。我们发现，对于时间和空间分析，猎物丰富假设和猎物可捕获性假设都不能单独预测杀戮频率或分布；美洲狮的捕杀频率在整个昼夜循环中都是静态的，美洲狮在狩猎时始终选择单一的栖息地类型，尽管遭遇率和内在可捕获性存在时间和空间变化。我们的综合时空分析表明，一天中的时间和栖息地之间的相互作用会影响杀死概率，表明捕食的时间和空间成分的权衡驱动了捕食事件的概率。这些发现强调了检查捕食成分的时间和空间模式的重要性，而不是捕食者或猎物行为的单维测量，以全面描述捕食者-猎物博弈中捕食者和猎物之间的反馈。