Quantification of multi-task predation reveals behavioural regulation and attentional processes in mantids.

Consecutive and even concurrent captures of prey items are very likely to make better use of prey in high densities and frequencies. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that mantids are able to attack another prey item while predating on a previous one (multi-task predation). Observations confirmed this ability and revealed that such actions could be extended to additional prey items if available. Analyses of behavioural timelines were conducted by quantifying the behavioural flexibility and effects of an upcoming prey item on efficiency and pauses while predating on the current prey. The behavioural elements exhibited by multi-task predators towards prey were flexible, and their order was partially independent on the order of capture. They also coordinated the flow of overlapping predation by arranging behavioural tasks, by adjusting efficiency, and by using pauses. Computational simulations demonstrated that multi-task predators make use of frequent prey encounters more efficiently than serial predators, and the ultimate limiting factor could be the satiation points. The strategy of multi-task predators introduces a new perspective about how well a predator could be physically and cognitively evolved for prey abundant opportunities. Significance statement: Our study explored the behavioural ecology of multi-task predatory behaviour in mantids through field surveys demonstrating their prey-busy patch choices, laboratory experiments examining cognitive control levels by testing a few critical hypotheses, and computational simulations quantifying respective foraging gains. Previous studies on vertebrate predators pursuing multiple prey items mostly revealed their physical tricks for reducing cognitive demands, while our findings on multi-task predation, in contrast, demonstrated the critical role of behavioural regulation and attentional processes in making use of prey-abundant scenarios in an invertebrate predator. Besides, the present study used the clear behavioural indicators of mantids as an innovative alternative to quantify the function of attention transitions in a multi-task animal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]