Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey

Abstract Understanding the factors governing predation remains a top priority in ecology. Using a dragonfly nymph-tadpole system, we experimentally varied predator density, prey density, and prey species ratio to investigate: (i) whether predator interference varies between prey types that differ in...

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Autores principales:	Thomas J. Hossie, Kevin Chan, Dennis L. Murray
Formato:	article
Lenguaje:	EN
Publicado:	Nature Portfolio 2021
Materias:	Medicine R Science Q
Acceso en línea:	https://doaj.org/article/71a9db3540644bcc9f521b613e1bb252
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spelling	oai:doaj.org-article:71a9db3540644bcc9f521b613e1bb2522021-12-02T16:36:03ZIncreasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey10.1038/s41598-021-86080-x2045-2322https://doaj.org/article/71a9db3540644bcc9f521b613e1bb2522021-03-01T00:00:00Zhttps://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-86080-xhttps://doaj.org/toc/2045-2322Abstract Understanding the factors governing predation remains a top priority in ecology. Using a dragonfly nymph-tadpole system, we experimentally varied predator density, prey density, and prey species ratio to investigate: (i) whether predator interference varies between prey types that differ in palatability, (ii) whether adding alternate prey influences the magnitude of predator interference, and (iii) whether patterns of prey selection vary according to the predictions of optimal diet theory. In single-prey foraging trials, predation of palatable leopard frog tadpoles was limited by prey availability and predator interference, whereas predation of unpalatable toad tadpoles was limited by handling time. Adding unpalatable prey did not affect the predator’s kill rate of palatable prey, but the presence of palatable prey increased the influence of predator density on the kill rate of unpalatable prey and reduced unpalatable prey handling time. Prey selection did not change with shifts in the relative abundance of prey types. Instead, predators selected easy-to-capture unpalatable prey at low total densities and harder-to-capture palatable prey at high densities. These results improve our understanding of generalist predation in communities with mobile prey, and illustrate that characteristics of the prey types involved govern the extent to which alternate prey influence the predator’s kill rate.Thomas J. HossieKevin ChanDennis L. MurrayNature PortfolioarticleMedicineRScienceQENScientific Reports, Vol 11, Iss 1, Pp 1-12 (2021)
institution	DOAJ
collection	DOAJ
language	EN
topic	Medicine R Science Q
spellingShingle	Medicine R Science Q Thomas J. Hossie Kevin Chan Dennis L. Murray Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
description	Abstract Understanding the factors governing predation remains a top priority in ecology. Using a dragonfly nymph-tadpole system, we experimentally varied predator density, prey density, and prey species ratio to investigate: (i) whether predator interference varies between prey types that differ in palatability, (ii) whether adding alternate prey influences the magnitude of predator interference, and (iii) whether patterns of prey selection vary according to the predictions of optimal diet theory. In single-prey foraging trials, predation of palatable leopard frog tadpoles was limited by prey availability and predator interference, whereas predation of unpalatable toad tadpoles was limited by handling time. Adding unpalatable prey did not affect the predator’s kill rate of palatable prey, but the presence of palatable prey increased the influence of predator density on the kill rate of unpalatable prey and reduced unpalatable prey handling time. Prey selection did not change with shifts in the relative abundance of prey types. Instead, predators selected easy-to-capture unpalatable prey at low total densities and harder-to-capture palatable prey at high densities. These results improve our understanding of generalist predation in communities with mobile prey, and illustrate that characteristics of the prey types involved govern the extent to which alternate prey influence the predator’s kill rate.
format	article
author	Thomas J. Hossie Kevin Chan Dennis L. Murray
author_facet	Thomas J. Hossie Kevin Chan Dennis L. Murray
author_sort	Thomas J. Hossie
title	Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
title_short	Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
title_full	Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
title_fullStr	Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
title_full_unstemmed	Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
title_sort	increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey
publisher	Nature Portfolio
publishDate	2021
url	https://doaj.org/article/71a9db3540644bcc9f521b613e1bb252
work_keys_str_mv	AT thomasjhossie increasingavailabilityofpalatablepreyinducespredatordependenceandincreasespredationonunpalatableprey AT kevinchan increasingavailabilityofpalatablepreyinducespredatordependenceandincreasespredationonunpalatableprey AT dennislmurray increasingavailabilityofpalatablepreyinducespredatordependenceandincreasespredationonunpalatableprey
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Increasing availability of palatable prey induces predator-dependence and increases predation on unpalatable prey

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