Individual and combined effects of two types of phenological shifts on predator–prey interactions

Rasmussen, Nick L.; Rudolf, Volker H. W.

doi:10.1002/ecy.1578

Cited by 22 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 44 publications

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“…Alternatively, population synchrony could interact additively or synergistically with differences in species’ mean phenologies. It is difficult to intuit which case is most likely, and only one study has tested the outcomes of these concomitant shifts (Rasmussen and Rudolf ). Mean hatching time affected all five attributes of Hyla we measured in our study.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This allowed us to introduce tadpole hatchlings of the same size (Gosner stage 25;~2.1 mm snout-to-vent length (SVL) for Hyla and~4.4 mm SVL for Rana) on different days. These temperatures are well within the range both species would experience in ephemeral ponds in nature, and developmental assays have shown few negative side effects on performance for tadpoles reared at these temperatures (Moore 1939, Rudolf and Singh 2013, Rasmussen and Rudolf 2016. The experiment was a full 3 (phenological synchrony) 9 3 (phenological mean) factorial design.…”

Section: Experimental System and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research on priority effects provides a strong foundation for understanding how relative mean phenological events affect species interactions (Tilman , Fukami ), but little is known about the role of synchrony, or how these two aspects of phenology might interact (Fig. , Rasmussen and Rudolf ). Considering two competing species, at least three major outcomes are possible.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifts in phenological mean and synchrony interact to shape competitive outcomes

Carter

Rudolf

2019

Ecology

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Climate change–induced phenological shifts are ubiquitous and have the potential to disrupt natural communities by changing the timing of species interactions. Shifts in first and/or mean phenological date are well documented, but recent studies indicate that shifts in synchrony (individual variation around these metrics) can be just as common. However, we know little about how both types of phenological shifts interact to affect species interactions and communities. Here, we experimentally manipulated the hatching phenologies of two competing species of larval amphibians to address this conceptual gap. Specifically, we manipulated the relative mean hatching time (early, same, or late relative to competitor) and population synchrony (high, medium, or low levels of variation around the mean) in a full 3 × 3 factorial design to measure independent and interactive effects of phenological mean and population phenological synchrony on competitive outcomes. Our results indicate that phenological synchrony within a population strongly influences intraspecific competition by changing the density of individuals and relative strength of early‐ vs. late‐arriving individuals. Individuals from high‐synchrony populations competed symmetrically, whereas individuals from low‐synchrony populations competed asymmetrically. At the community scale, shifts in population phenological synchrony interact with shifts in phenological mean to affect key demographic rates (survival, biomass export, per capita mass, and emergence timing) strongly. Furthermore, changes in mean timing of species interactions altered phenological synchrony within a population at the next life stage, and phenological synchrony at one life stage altered the mean timing of the next life stage. Thus, shifts in phenological synchrony within populations cannot only alter species interactions, but species interactions in turn can also drive shifts in phenology.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experimental System and Designmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Shifts in phenological mean and synchrony interact to shape competitive outcomes

Carter

Rudolf

2019

Ecology

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“…Relative shifts in the phenology of species play a key role in the outcome of interspecific interactions. For instance, phenological shifts can alter predation (Alford, ; Morin, ; Rasmussen & Rudolf, ; Rasmussen et al., ), herbivory (Liu, Reich, Li, & Sun, ), pollination (Rafferty & Ives, ) and interspecific competition (Godoy & Levine, ; Hernandez & Chalcraft, ; Rudolf & Singh, ; Wilbur & Alford, ). Consistent with these studies, I found that shifting the relative timing of hatching (phenology) of a species fundamentally altered interspecific competition, but the effect of shifting the timing on competition was highly nonlinear.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Nonlinear effects of phenological shifts link interannual variation to species interactions

Rudolf

2018

Journal of Animal Ecology

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The vast majority of species interactions are seasonally structured and depend on species' relative phenologies. However, differences in the phenologies of species naturally vary across years and are altered by ongoing climate change around the world. By combining experiments that shifted the relative hatching of two competing tadpole species across a productivity gradient with simulations of inter-annual variation in arrival times I tested how phenological variation across years can alter the strength and outcome of interspecific competition. Shifting the relative timing of hatching (phenology) of a species fundamentally altered interspecific competition, and the effect of shifting the timing on competition was highly non-linear for most demographic rates. Furthemore, this relationship varied with productivity of the system. As a consequence, (a) shifts in relative timing of phenologies had small or large effects depending on the average natural timing of interactions, and (b) changes in the inter-annual variation in onset of interaction alone can alter species interactions in simulations even when mean phenologies (timing) remain unchanged across years. Studies on phenologies traditionally focus on directional shifts in the mean of phenologies, but these results suggest that we also need to consider inter-annual variation in phenologies of interacting species to predict dynamics of natural communities and how they will be modified by climate change.

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“…Prey species can also experience notable effects on their own population dynamics when phenological shifts occur (Yang and Rudolf , Rasmussen and Rudolf ). For example, emergence synchrony can benefit prey populations by increasing the probability of finding a mate and through predator satiation, whereby the proportion of adults eaten by predators is inversely related to the number of adults present on any given day (Sweeney and Vannote , Santos et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermal variability drives synchronicity of an aquatic insect resource pulse

2019

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Spatial heterogeneity in environmental conditions can prolong food availability by desynchronizing the timing of ephemeral, high-magnitude resource pulses. Spatial patterns of water temperature are highly variable among rivers as determined by both natural and anthropogenic features, but the influence of this variability on freshwater resource pulse phenology is poorly documented. We quantified water temperature and emergence phenology of an aquatic insect (salmonfly, Pteronarcys californica) resource pulse in two rivers characterized by differing catchment topography and human impact. Along both rivers, salmonfly emergence occurred earlier where spring temperatures were warmer. Emergence events were brief (4-8 d) at sites in the more human-impacted river, but occurred asynchronously along the entire river, lasting 27 d in total. In contrast, emergence events were more prolonged (6-11 d) at sites on the more natural and topographically complex river, but occurred synchronously along the entire river, lasting 13 d in total. These scale-specific differences in subsidy duration could have opposing consequences for salmonfly consumers depending on their mobility and foraging habits. Asynchronous emergence at a large scale is potentially most important for mobile consumers like birds and fish that can migrate to feed on aquatic insects and track resource waves across a landscape, whereas prolonged emergence duration at a smaller scale may be most important for immobile or opportunistic consumers like spiders and ants. Relating environmental heterogeneity and resource pulse phenology across a gradient of human impact and at multiple spatial scales is needed for a better understanding of how food availability, aquatic-terrestrial linkages, and consumer-resource dynamics may change with climate variability and increasing human activity in the future.

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Individual and combined effects of two types of phenological shifts on predator–prey interactions

Cited by 22 publications

References 44 publications

Shifts in phenological mean and synchrony interact to shape competitive outcomes

Shifts in phenological mean and synchrony interact to shape competitive outcomes

Nonlinear effects of phenological shifts link interannual variation to species interactions

Thermal variability drives synchronicity of an aquatic insect resource pulse

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