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42 results for “arthropod predation”
Selection for evasive mimicry imposed by an arthropod predator
<p>It has long been hypothesized that a species that is relatively easy to catch by predators may face selection to resemble a species that is harder to catch. Several experiments using avian predators have since supported this "evasive mimicry" hypothesis. However, the sudden movement of artificial evasive prey in each of the above experiments may have startled the predators, generating an avoidance response unrelated to difficulty of capture. Additionally, in the above experiments, the catchability of prey was all or nothing, while in nature predators may occasionally catch evasive prey or fail to catch slower species, which might inhibit learning. Here, using mantids as predators, we conducted an experimental test of the evasive mimicry hypothesis that circumvents these limitations, using live painted calyptrate flies with modified evasive capabilities as prey. We found that mantids readily learned to avoid pursuing the more evasive prey types. Warning signals based on evasiveness and their associated mimicry may be widespread phenomena in nature. These findings not only further support its plausibility but demonstrate that even arthropod predators can select for it.</p>
Data from: Landscape diversity and local temperature, but not climate, affect arthropod predation among habitat types
<p>Arthropod predators are relevant for top-down regulation of insect herbivores. Biotic and abiotic factors influence predator communities and their activity with consequences for the strength of top-down regulation ('arthropod predation'). Anthropogenic climate and land-use change urges a deeper understanding of the combined effects of potential drivers on arthropod predation. This study obtained arthropod predation rates on 113 plots of open herbaceous vegetation adjacent to different habitat types (forest, grassland, arable field, settlement) along climate and land-use gradients in Bavaria, Germany, using a standardized method of artificial caterpillars at ground level. Predation rates were analysed with regard to habitat characteristics (habitat type, plant species richness, local mean temperature and mean relative humidity during artificial caterpillar exposure), landscape diversity (0.5–3.0-km, six scales), climate (multi-annual mean temperature, 'MAT') and interactive effects of habitat type with other drivers. Arthropod predation rates did not substantially differ between the studied habitat types, related to plant species richness and across the Bavarian-wide climatic temperature gradient, and also no interactive effects were observed. However, arthropod predation rates were limited by low local mean temperatures, tended to decrease towards higher relative humidity and increased towards more diverse landscapes at a 2-km scale. Thus, high arthropod predation rates in open herbaceous vegetation are favoured by diverse landscapes independent of the dominant habitat in the vicinity. Diversifying landscapes may help to improve top-down control of herbivores, e.g. agricultural pests, but more research is needed to derive specific recommendations on landscape management. Little influence of MAT on predation rates suggests that moderate increases of MAT may not strongly alter this process in the near future.</p>
FIGURE 4. Burrowing techniques observed among the studied arthropod predators. A in Linking burrow morphology to the behaviors of predatory soil arthropods: Applications to continental ichnofossils
FIGURE 4. Burrowing techniques observed among the studied arthropod predators. A) Initial burrowing by intrusion by Scolopendra polymorpha (burrow opening at arrow). B) Burrowing by intrusion by Hogna lenta. C) Continued construction of a vertical shaft by compression by Gorgyrella inermis, compressing sediment along burrow boundary (at arrow) to increase the width. D) Subsurface tunnel construction by intrusion by Hemiscolopendra marginata. No sediment is removed as the tunnel is extended but is pressed against the tunnel boundary (at arrow). E) Burrowing by excavation by Mastigoproctus giganteus. Sediment is removed and carried with the pedipalps (at arrow). F) Burrowing by excavation by Pelinobus muticus. Sediment is removed and carried with the pedipalps (at arrow). G) Burrowing by excavation by Hadrurus arizonensis. Sediment is scraped and kicked back out (at arrow) of the developing burrow with the first two pairs of legs. H) Backfilling of a tunnel by S. polymorpha. The centipede removes sediment from the developing tunnel and uses it to fill the old tunnel (at arrow). I) Light silk lining around the opening, shaft, and chamber (at arrows) of Hysterocrates gigas. J) Thick silk lining around the shaft (at arrow) of G. inermis producing a smooth interior surface. K) Six silk runners (example at arrow) connected to the burrow entrance of G. inermis with a closed trap door.
Relative size matters: Eyespots on large insect prey deter small arthropod predators
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Data from: Landscape diversity and local temperature, but not climate, affect arthropod predation among habitat types
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Selection for evasive mimicry imposed by an arthropod predator
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Bottom-up when it is not top-down: Predators and plants control biomass of grassland arthropods
1) We investigate where bottom-up and top-down control regulates ecological communities as a mechanism linking ecological gradients to the geography of consumer abundance and biomass. We use standardized surveys of 54 North American grasslands to test alternate hypotheses predicting 100-fold shifts in the biomass of four common grassland arthropod taxa—Auchenorrhyncha, sucking herbivores, Acrididae, chewing herbivores, Tettigoniidae, omnivores, and Araneae, predators. 2) Bottom-up models predict that consumer biomass tracks plant quantity (e.g. productivity and standing biomass) and quality (nutrient content) and that ectotherm access to food increases with temperature. Each of the focal trophic groups responded differently to these drivers: the biomass of sucking herbivores and omnivores increased with plant biomass; that of chewing herbivores tracked plant quality; and predator biomass did not depend on plant quality, plant quantity, or temperature. 3) The exploitation ecosystem hypothesis (EEH) is a top-down hypothesis that predicts a shift from resource limitation of herbivores when plant production is low, to predator limitation when plant production is high. In grasslands where spider biomass was low, herbivore biomass increased with plant biomass, whereas bottom-up structuring was not evident when spiders were abundant. Furthermore, neither predator biomass nor trophic position (via stable isotope analysis) increased with plant biomass, suggesting predators themselves are top-down limited. 4) Stable isotope analysis revealed that trophic position of the chewing herbivore and omnivore increased significantly with plant biomass, suggesting these groups increased scavenging and meat consumption in grasslands with higher carbohydrate availability. 5) Taken together, our snapshot sampling documents gradients of food web structure across 54 grasslands, consistent with multiple hypotheses of bottom-up and top-down regulation. 10-Jan-2020
Data from: Tree diversity enhances predation by birds but not by arthropods across climate gradients
<p>Tree diversity can promote both predator abundance and diversity. However, whether this translates into increased predation and top-down control of herbivores across predator taxonomic groups and contrasting environmental conditions remains unresolved. We used a global network of tree diversity experiments (<a href="https://www.treedivnet.ugent.be">www.treedivnet.ugent.be</a>; <em>TreeDivNet</em>) spread across three continents and three biomes to test the effects of tree species richness on predation across varying climatic conditions of temperature and precipitation. We recorded bird and arthropod predation attempts on plasticine caterpillars in monocultures and tree species mixtures. Both tree species richness and temperature increased predation by birds, but not by arthropods. Furthermore, the effects of tree species richness on predation were consistent across the studied climatic gradient. Our findings provide evidence that tree diversity strengthens top-down control of insect herbivores by birds, underscoring the need of implementing conservation strategies that safeguard tree diversity to sustain ecosystem services provided by natural enemies in forests.</p>
Infrequent oceanic long-range dispersal and evolution of a top terrestrial arthropod predator in the sub-Antarctic
<p>The UNESCO world heritage sub-Antarctic terrestrial ecosystems are unique. They have been isolated for over 30 million years by constant circum-polar currents and winds, and shaped by climatic cycles that surpass the tolerance limits of many species. Despite this recognition, surprisingly little is known about how these ecosystems acquired their native terrestrial fauna and how it changed over deep time scales. Here the patterns and timing of colonization and speciation in the largest and dominant arthropod predators in the Eastern sub-Antarctic – spiders of the genus Myro – are demonstrated for the first time. Our results indicate that this lineage originated from Australia before the Plio-Pleistocenic glacial cycles and underwent an adaptive radiation on the Crozet archipelago. We discuss the gain and loss of pre-adaptations acting as filter that enabled only one of four Myro species native to the Crozet islands to repeatedly disperse via the Antarctic circum-polar current, resulting in an outstanding distribution range over 9000 kilometres. The results highlight the outstanding role of the volcanic Crozet archipelago for the evolution of arthropod life in the sub-Antarctic, and the potential of terrestrial macro-invertebrates to achieve rare but ecologically influential trans-oceanic dispersal events over thousands of kilometres under hostile conditions.</p>
Bird predation and landscape context shape arthropod communities on broccoli
<p>Birds increase crop yields via consumption of pests in some contexts but disrupt pest control via intraguild predation in others. Landscape complexity acts as an inconsistent mediator, sometimes increasing, decreasing, or not impacting pest control. Here, we examined how landscape context and seasonal variation mediate the impact of birds on arthropod pests and natural enemies, leaf damage, and yields of broccoli (<em>Brassica oleracea</em>) on highly diversified farms that spanned the USA West Coast. Our study had two complementary components: a bird exclusion experiment and molecular diet analysis of 357 fecal samples collected from the most commonly captured bird species that also foraged in Brassica fields (American Goldfinch, <em>Spinus tristis</em>; American Robin, <em>Turdus migratorius</em>; Savannah Sparrow, <em>Passerculus sandwichensis</em>; Song Sparrow, <em>Melospiza</em> <em>melodia</em>; and White-crowned Sparrow, <em>Zonotrichia leucophrys</em>).</p> <p>Bird access yielded higher, rather than lower, numbers of pest aphids and increased their parasitism, while no other arthropods examined were consistently impacted. Independent of bird presence, percent natural cover in the landscape sometimes increased and sometimes decreased densities of arthropods in the mid-growth period, with diminishing impacts in the late-growth period. Herbivore feeding damage to broccoli leaves decreased with increasing amounts of natural land cover and in the late-growth period. Molecular diet analysis revealed that Brassica pests and predatory arthropods were relatively uncommon prey for birds. Landscape context did not alter the prey items found in bird diets. Altogether, our bird-exclusion experiment and molecular diet analysis suggested that birds have relatively modest impacts on the arthropods associated with broccoli plantings. More broadly, the limited support in our study for net natural pest control services suggests that financial incentives may be required to encourage the adoption of bird friendly farming practices in certain cropping systems.</p>
Reduced predation by arthropods and higher herbivory in burned Amazonian forests
<p>Biodiversity losses have increased in tropical forests due to fire-related disturbances. As landscape fragmentation and climate change increase, fires will become more frequent and widespread across tropical rain forests worldwide, with important implications for forest dynamics by altering plant-animal interactions. Here we tested the hypothesis that recurrent fires in tropical rain forests change bottom-up and top-down forces controlling the abundance of insect herbivores, which in turn increases herbivory. To quantify herbivory, we collected 50 leaves per tree of five species in burned and unburned experimental plots (N = 75) in southeastern Amazonian forests. We measured leaf nitrogen content and leaf thickness of tree leaves as bottom-up factors that could explain differences in herbivory; we measured predation pressure on model caterpillars and estimated the abundance of predatory ants as top-down factors. We found higher herbivory in burned than in unburned forests, as well as lower predator attacks in caterpillar models and lower abundance of predatory ants. Leaf nitrogen content did not vary across treatments. Birds attacked model caterpillars more frequently in burned than in unburned forests, and leaf thickness was higher in burned forests, but these factors together were not enough to offset the higher herbivory in burned plots. Fire degrades tropical forests not only by killing trees and altering their structure and community dynamics, but also by reducing predatory arthropods and disrupting predator-prey interactions, which triggers increased herbivory. These indirect impacts of recurrent fires probably contribute to further alter forest structure, functioning, and to decrease forest regeneration in Amazonian forests.</p>
Fitness effects of symbiotic relationships among arthropod predators
<p>Symbiotic relationships shape ecological communities and often involve more than two species. Yet few experimental studies examine the impact of symbioses involving three species, particularly any mediating role of third parties, and none involving symbioses of predators.</p> <p>We investigated experimentally the synergistic and antagonistic fitness effects of three symbiotic spider predators across a broad latitudinal range and involving different species combinations.</p> <p>The three-dimensional web-complex of <em>Cyrtophora</em> spiders is a habitat patch to different associates – species of <em>Argyrodes</em> and web-building <em>Leucauge</em> spider guests. Our field experiments, which manipulated the presence of each guest species and determined the subsequent host weight change, revealed a remarkable consistency in fitness outcomes across the three populations, with the consequences of the interactions between two species depending upon the services provided by a third.</p> <p><em>Cyrtophora</em> hosts intercepted more prey when web-building <em>Leucauge</em> guests were present and thus gained more weight. In contrast, <em>Argyrodes</em> guests exerted a fitness cost on their <em>Cyrtophora</em> host, but only when <em>Leucauge</em> guests were absent. A comparison of the prey consumed by <em>Cyrtophora</em> hosts and <em>Argyrodes</em> guests revealed that their diets (reflected in the size of prey) overlapped less in the presence of <em>Leucauge</em> web-building guests.</p> <p>Our novel experimental study highlights the importance of exploring synergistic effects in multi-species symbioses.</p>
Challenges and opportunities of species distribution modelling of terrestrial arthropod predators
<p>Aim. Species distribution models (SDMs) have emerged as essential tools in the equipment of many ecologists, useful to explore species distributions in space and time and answering an assortment of questions related to biogeography, climate change biology and conservation biology. Historically, most SDM research concentrated on well-known organisms, especially vertebrates. In recent years, these tools are becoming increasingly important for predicting the distribution of understudied invertebrate taxa. Here, we reviewed the literature published on main terrestrial arthropod predators (ants, ground beetles and spiders) to explore some of the challenges and opportunities of species distribution modelling in mega-diverse arthropod groups. Location. Global. Methods. Systematic mapping of the literature and bibliometric analysis. Results. Most SDM studies of animals to date have focused either on broad samples of vertebrates or on arthropod species that are charismatic (e.g. butterflies) or economically important (e.g. vectors of disease, crop pests and pollinators). We show that the use of SDMs to map the geography of terrestrial arthropod predators is a nascent phenomenon, with a near-exponential growth in the number of studies over the past 10 years and still limited collaborative networks among researchers. There is a bias in studies towards charismatic species and geographical areas that hold lower levels of diversity but greater availability of data, such as Europe and North America. Conclusions. Arthropods pose particular modelling challenges that add to the ones already present for vertebrates, but they should also offer opportunities for future SDM research as data and new methods are made available. To overcome data limitations, we illustrate the potential of modern data sources and new modelling approaches. We discuss areas of research where SDMs may be combined with dispersal models and increasingly available phylogenetic and functional data to understand evolutionary changes in ranges and range-limiting traits over past and contemporary time scales.</p>
Data from: Predator-prey interactions in the Arctic: DNA-metabarcoding reveals that nestling diet of snow buntings reflects arthropod seasonality
<p>Tundra arthropods are of considerable ecological importance as a seasonal food source for many arctic-breeding birds. Dietary composition and food preferences are rarely known, complicating assessments of ecological interactions in a changing environment. In our field study, we investigated nestling diet of snow buntings (<em>Plectrophenax nivalis</em> (L., 1758)) breeding in Svalbard. We collected faecal samples from 8-day-old nestlings and assessed dietary composition by DNA-metabarcoding. Simultaneously, the availability of potential prey arthropods was measured by pitfall-trapping. Molecular analyses of nestling faeces identified 31 arthropod taxa in the diet, whose proportions changed throughout the brood-rearing period. Changes in nestling diet matched varying abundances and emergence patterns of the tundra arthropod community. Snow buntings provisioned their offspring mainly with Diptera (true flies) based on both presence/absence and relative read abundance of diet items. At the beginning of the season in June, Chironomidae (non-biting midges) and the scathophagid fly <em>Scathophaga furcata</em> (Say, 1823) dominated the diet, whereas the muscid fly <em>Spilogona dorsata </em>(Zetterstedt, 1845) dominated the diet later in July. When accounted for availability, muscid flies were selected positively amongst the most often provisioned food taxa. Our study demonstrates the ecological role of the snow bunting as a generalist arthropod predator and highlights DNA-metabarcoding as a non-invasive technique for diet analyses with high taxonomical precision if sufficient DNA-sequence libraries are available.</p>
Infrequent oceanic long-range dispersal and evolution of a top terrestrial arthropod predator in the sub-Antarctic
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Data from: Tree diversity enhances predation by birds but not by arthropods across climate gradients
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Arthropod predation of vertebrates structures trophic dynamics in island ecosystems
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Mutualism and predation have contrasting effects on pine canopy arthropod diversity
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Reduced predation by arthropods and higher herbivory in burned Amazonian forests
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Data from: Predator-prey interactions in the Arctic: DNA-metabarcoding reveals that nestling diet of snow buntings reflects arthropod seasonality
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