Reciprocal intraguild predation and predator coexistence

Abstract

Intraguild predation is a mix of competition and predation and occurs when one species feeds on another species that uses similar resources. Theory predicts that intraguild predation hampers coexistence of species involved, but it is common in nature. It has been suggested that increasing habitat complexity and the presence of alternative food may promote coexistence. Reciprocal intraguild predation limits possibilities for coexistence even further. Habitat complexity and the presence of alternative food are believed to promote coexistence. We investigated this using two species of predatory mites, Iphiseiodes zuluagai and Euseius concordis, by assessing co‐occurrence in the field and on arenas differing in spatial structure in the laboratory. The predators co‐occured on the same plants in the field. In the laboratory, adults of the two mites fed on juveniles of the other species, both in the presence and the absence of a shared food source, showing that the two species are involved in reciprocal intraguild predation. Adults of I. zuluagai also attacked adults of E. concordis. This suggests limited possibilities for coexistence of the two species. Indeed, E. concordis invariably went extinct extremely rapidly on arenas without spatial structure with populations consisting of all stages of the two predators and with a shared resource. Coexistence was prolonged on host plant leaves with extra food sources, but E. concordis still went extinct. On small, intact plants, coexistence of the two species was much longer, and ended with the other species, I. zuluagai, often going extinct. These results suggest that spatial structure and the presence of alternative food increase the coexistence period of intraguild predators.

The Relations Between Predatory Fungus and Its Rotifer Preys as a Noteworthy Example of Intraguild Predation (IGP)

“…Points sharing any common letter do not differ significantly (p > 0.05) food sources. As it has been suggested, the presence of alternative food may promote coexistence of predators [10]. As shown by Finke and Denno [41], another factor strongly modifying IGP relations is the complexity of the habitat.…”

“…As the factor significantly influencing occurrence, abundance, distribution, and evolution of many species, the IGP was thoroughly investigated in many different ecosystems [7,9,10]. The research of IGP among freshwater organisms was conducted, among others, on dragonfly larvae [11], protists [12,13], cyanobacteria and chrysophytes [14], and also theoretically on bacteria and viruses [15].…”

Benefit of actively mixing prey in a plant‐inhabiting predatory mite

“…The two phytophagous mites T. bastosi and P. latus are known to cause severe yield reductions and the predatory mite E. concordis is therefore being evaluated for its capacity to control these pests (Sarmento et al, 2011b;Marques et al, 2018). Tetranychus bastosi is a typical tetranychid mite with adult females, the largest stage, being ca.…”

Avicultura de postura em Pernambuco: Uma análise pela cadeia de valor

“…Neste contexto, os ácaros Phytoseiidae são inimigos naturais que podem ser promissores para controlar T. bastosi, uma vez que são utilizados com sucesso em programas de controle biológico de ácaros-praga em diversas culturas ao redor do mundo (FERLA; MORAES 1998; MATIOLI 1998; DE MORAES 2002; GERSON; SMILEY. ; OCHOA, 2008;SARMENTO et al, 2011;SARAIVA et al, 2015;CAÑARTE et al, 2017;MARQUES et al, 2018;CAÑARTE et al, 2020). No Brasil, poucos estudos foram realizados até o momento para identificar ácaros predadores na cultura do pinhão-manso (CRUZ et al, 2012;CAÑARTE et al, 2020) e, no semiárido, não há informações sobre a identificação e seleção destes ácaros com potencial para uso, em programas de controle biológico de T. bastosi.…”