Researchers hunt each other in the Quebec wilderness — for science, of course

Carefully making his way through the forests of Quebec, his heart pounding as he fights for scarce resources and tries to avoid nearby predators, it's all Laval University ecologist David Bolduc's daily job.

To better understand the complex interactions between natural hunters and hunted animals, Bolduc, his colleagues, and a couple dozen students from around the world gathered one summer at Eco-Laurentides Park near Val Morenas, Quebec, to play a predator-prey game.

“The rules are pretty simple,” Bolduc said. How it happens presenter Neil Koksal. “You either die or you live.”

Bolduc is not speaking literally. The researchers played something of a tag game, running a 30-minute simulation to see if humans could replicate the predator-prey dynamics seen in wild animals.

According to their findings, published in the open source journal Methods in Ecology and Evolution.Humans are not so different from animals, often relying on the same survival strategies as, say, wolves or deer.

Scientists praise the experiment as an interesting and innovative way to learn about ecosystems, but warn that it has limitations – namely that we can't use human play to make inferences about animals in the wild, where the real stakes are life and death.

Eat, reproduce, survive

The experiment took place in July 2023. Participants were divided into three groups: prey, always hunted but never hunted; mesopredators, medium-sized animals that hunt smaller prey; and apex predators at the very top of the food chain.

The prey's job was to find resources that were scattered in envelopes around the designed play area, “multiply” by connecting with members of its own team, and avoid falling into the hands of predators.

The predator's job, of course, was to catch prey.

“If you have enough food and don’t get eaten, you survive and that’s considered a victory,” Bolduc said.

The researchers presented it as a new method for studying predator-prey interactions that is more grounded in reality than carefully controlled mathematical models, but much simpler than field work, which makes it difficult to observe predation in real time and even more difficult to control for all the variables at play.

By using the same control group of players and adjusting for variables such as landscape or resource distribution, scientists can test theories about how predator-prey dynamics might play out in different scenarios.

However, the researchers note, any conclusions must be accompanied by observations of real animals in their natural habitat.

“Let's say you're interested in some hypothesis that you'd like to test in the real world. It might be a good idea to test it with this game first, because you'll probably be able to see some very interesting things… that you hadn't thought about before,” Bolduc said.

“You can also easily develop the analytical tools you'll need once you try them out in the real world.”

Scientists not involved in the study were impressed.

“I'm almost jealous that I wasn't involved in this because it seems like a lot of fun,” said Matthew Leblond, an ecologist with Environment and Climate Change Canada who has studied predator-prey relationships.

“It’s just a great idea and an innovative way to study this behavior.”

Jean-Philippe Gibert, a biologist at Duke University in North Carolina, agreed.

“Reading the newspaper also made me smile,” he said in an email. “What can I say? It's fun! Am I using this as the first tool in my toolbox for understanding predator-prey interactions? No. Does it have value? Yes, in the appropriate context.”

You and me, baby, are nothing but mammals.

The study showed that people in the game behaved in the same way as animals in the wild. For example, predators preferred to use established trails and roads to scout the area for prey, while prey preferred to stay in the shadows.

But both Leblond and Gibert caution that humans are fundamentally different from wild animals. Each player brings their own biases to the game. Some may be more competitive. Others may want to test the limits of the game itself. Players' relationships with each other can influence their choices.

“Also, there is no risk of dying, which is very important,” Leblond said. “The predator, of course, would like to win, but if he doesn't catch the prey during the game, he can still get home and eat, you know. The predator that doesn't catch the prey will die.”

The biggest benefit of the game, according to the researchers, is that it is a learning tool.

“It really sparked some very interesting discussions among the players about ecological theory and animal behavior,” Bolduc said.

“It’s a really new, interesting and fun way to think about and learn about ecological theory.”