Predation, Competition, and Prey Communities: A Review of Field Experiments

Sih, Andrew; Crowley, Philip H.; McPeek, Mark A.; Petranka, James W.; Strohmeier, Kevin L.

doi:10.1146/annurev.es.16.110185.001413

Cited by 1,062 publications

(333 citation statements)

References 99 publications

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“…Similarly, alewives, guppies and salamanders have been shown to exhibit phenotypic variation stemming from evolution that has impacts on the abundances of associated species and ecosystem processes [5,9,11]. These findings reinforce that top-down control is a fundamental driver of community assembly and ecosystem function [4,12,13] and shed light on the role of intraspecific variation and evolutionary processes in the effects of predation [14,15].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Adaptive genetic variation mediates bottom-up and top-down control in an aquatic ecosystem

et al. 2015

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Research in eco-evolutionary dynamics and community genetics has demonstrated that variation within a species can have strong impacts on associated communities and ecosystem processes. Yet, these studies have centred around individual focal species and at single trophic levels, ignoring the role of phenotypic variation in multiple taxa within an ecosystem. Given the ubiquitous nature of local adaptation, and thus intraspecific variation, we sought to understand how combinations of intraspecific variation in multiple species within an ecosystem impacts its ecology. Using two species that co-occur and demonstrate adaptation to their natal environments, black cottonwood (Populus trichocarpa) and three-spined stickleback (Gasterosteus aculeatus), we investigated the effects of intraspecific phenotypic variation on both top-down and bottom-up forces using a large-scale aquatic mesocosm experiment. Black cottonwood genotypes exhibit genetic variation in their productivity and consequently their leaf litter subsidies to the aquatic system, which mediates the strength of top-down effects from stickleback on prey abundances. Abundances of four common invertebrate prey species and available phosphorous, the most critically limiting nutrient in freshwater systems, are dictated by the interaction between genetic variation in cottonwood productivity and stickleback morphology. These interactive effects fit with ecological theory on the relationship between productivity and topdown control and are comparable in strength to the effects of predator addition. Our results illustrate that intraspecific variation, which can evolve rapidly, is an under-appreciated driver of community structure and ecosystem function, demonstrating that a multi-trophic perspective is essential to understanding the role of evolution in structuring ecological patterns.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 62%

Adaptive genetic variation mediates bottom-up and top-down control in an aquatic ecosystem

et al. 2015

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“…Controlled experiments produce stronger inferences than observational studies, being less open to alternative explanations (Sih et al 1985). For example, experimental removal of coyotes precipitated an increase in mesopredators including badgers Taxidea taxus and grey foxes Urocyon cinereoargenteus, and a concurrent decline in rodent species richness and diversity (Henke & Bryant 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…While observational studies are compelling, empirical investigation of interactions among carnivores requires replicated and controlled experiments and these are rare owing to considerable logistical and ethical problems (Sih et al 1985). A recent exception was the randomised badger culling trial (RBCT; Donnelly et al 2006) in England, which was set up to investigate the efficacy of culling badgers Meles meles in reducing the incidence of bovine tuberculosis in cattle herds.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Experimental evidence of competitive release in sympatric carnivores

Trewby¹,

Wilson²,

Delahay³

et al. 2007

Biol. Lett.

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Changes in the relative abundance of sympatric carnivores can have far-reaching ecological consequences, including the precipitation of trophic cascades and species declines. While such observations are compelling, experimental evaluations of interactions among carnivores remain scarce and are both logistically and ethically challenging. Carnivores are nonetheless a particular focus of management practices owing to their roles as predators of livestock and as vectors and reservoirs of zoonotic diseases. Here, we provide evidence from a replicated and controlled experiment that culling Eurasian badgers Meles meles for disease control was associated with increases in red fox Vulpes vulpes densities of 1.6–2.3 foxes km −2 . This unique experiment demonstrates the importance of intraguild relations in determining species abundance and of assessing the wider consequences of intervention in predator populations.

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“…Predation and competition for resources represent two major factors determining the survival of species at low and intermediate trophic levels (Sih, Crowley, McPeek, Petranka, & Strohmeier, 1985). Hence, there is strong selection for increasing defense against predation and competitiveness.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Not attackable or not crackable—How pre‐ and post‐attack defenses with different competition costs affect prey coexistence and population dynamics

Ehrlich

Gaedke

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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It is well‐known that prey species often face trade‐offs between defense against predation and competitiveness, enabling predator‐mediated coexistence. However, we lack an understanding of how the large variety of different defense traits with different competition costs affects coexistence and population dynamics. Our study focusses on two general defense mechanisms, that is, pre‐attack (e.g., camouflage) and post‐attack defenses (e.g., weaponry) that act at different phases of the predator—prey interaction. We consider a food web model with one predator, two prey types and one resource. One prey type is undefended, while the other one is pre‐ or post‐attack defended paying costs either by a higher half‐saturation constant for resource uptake or a lower maximum growth rate. We show that post‐attack defenses promote prey coexistence and stabilize the population dynamics more strongly than pre‐attack defenses by interfering with the predator's functional response: Because the predator spends time handling “noncrackable” prey, the undefended prey is indirectly facilitated. A high half‐saturation constant as defense costs promotes coexistence more and stabilizes the dynamics less than a low maximum growth rate. The former imposes high costs at low resource concentrations but allows for temporally high growth rates at predator‐induced resource peaks preventing the extinction of the defended prey. We evaluate the effects of the different defense mechanisms and costs on coexistence under different enrichment levels in order to vary the importance of bottom‐up and top‐down control of the prey community.

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Predation, Competition, and Prey Communities: A Review of Field Experiments

Cited by 1,062 publications

References 99 publications

Adaptive genetic variation mediates bottom-up and top-down control in an aquatic ecosystem

Adaptive genetic variation mediates bottom-up and top-down control in an aquatic ecosystem

Experimental evidence of competitive release in sympatric carnivores

Not attackable or not crackable—How pre‐ and post‐attack defenses with different competition costs affect prey coexistence and population dynamics

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