We report results that suggest that the anthropogenic depletion of daytime active predators (species that are either diurnal or cathemeral) in a coral reef ecosystem is associated with rapid temporal niche expansions in a multi-species assemblage of nocturnal prey fishes. Here we present evidence to the contrary. Thus, diel prey niches are often assumed to be relatively unlikely to respond to changes in predation risk at short timescales. However, the traits that control a prey organism's capacity to operate during a particular portion of the diel cycle are diverse and complex. Partitioning of time is an important mechanism by which prey avoid interactions with predators. Uncertainty remains, however, about whether predators can influence patterns of temporal niche construction at ecologically relevant timescales. Predation shapes many fundamental aspects of ecology.
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