Foraging mode affects the evolution of egg size in generalist predators embedded in complex food webs

Ecological networks incorporate myriad biotic interactions that determine the selection pressures experienced by the embedded populations. We argue that within food webs, the negative scaling of abundance with body mass and foraging theory predict that the selective advantages of larger egg size should be smaller for sit‐and‐wait than active‐hunting generalist predators, leading to the evolution of a difference in egg size between them. Because body mass usually scales negatively with predator abundance and constrains predation rate, slightly increasing egg mass should simultaneously allow offspring to feed on more prey and escape from more predators. However, the benefits of larger offspring would be relatively smaller for sit‐and‐wait predators because (i) due to their lower mobility, encounters with other predators are less common, and (ii) they usually employ a set of alternative hunting strategies that help to subdue relatively larger prey. On the other hand, for active predators, which need to confront prey as they find them, body‐size differences may be more important in subduing prey. This difference in benefits should lead to the evolution of larger egg sizes in active‐hunting relative to sit‐and‐wait predators. This prediction was confirmed by a phylogenetically controlled analysis of 268 spider species, supporting the view that the structure of ecological networks may serve to predict relevant selective pressures acting on key life history traits.     

Influence of intraguild predation among generalist insect predators on the suppression of an herbivore population

We evaluated the influence of intraguild predation among generalist insect predators on the suppression of an herbivore, the aphid Aphis gossypii, to test the appropriateness of the simple three trophic level model proposed by Hairston, Smith, and Slobodkin (1960). We manipulated components of the predator community, including three hemipteran predators and larvae of the predatory green lacewing Chrysoperla carnea, in field enclosure/exclosure experiments to address four questions: (1) Do generalist hemipteran predators feed on C. carnea? (2) Does intraguild predation (IGP) represent a substantial source of mortality for C. carnea? (3) Do predator species act in an independent, additive manner, or do significant interactions occur? (4) Can the experimental addition of some predators result in increased densities of aphids through a trophic cascade effect? Direct observations of predation in the field demonstrated that several generalist predators consume C. carnea and other carnivorous arthropods. Severely reduced survivorship of lacewing larvae in the presence of other predators showed that IGP was a major source of mortality. Decreased survival of lacewing larvae was primarily a result of predation rather than competition. IGP created significant interactions between the influences of lacewings and either Zelus renardii or Nabis predators on aphid population suppression. Despite the fact that the trophic web was too complex to delineate distinct trophic levels within the predatory arthropod community, some trophic links were sufficiently strong to produce cascades from higher-order carnivores to the level of herbivore population dynamics: experimental addition of either Z. renardii or Nabis predators generated sufficient lacewing larval mortality in one experiment to release aphid populations from regulation by lacewing predators. We conclude that intraguild predation in this system is wide-spread and has potentially important influences on the population dynamics of a key herbivore.     

Tomato variety affects larval survival but not female preference of the generalist moth Trichoplusia ni

In herbivorous insects, the choice that females make for a suitable host plant is crucial for survival of its offspring because the neonate larvae are generally not capable of moving great distances. The preference-performance hypothesis states that herbivore females will choose to oviposit on hosts on which their offspring will have better performance. In this study, we investigated whether Trichoplusia ni (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae) females are able to discriminate among a weedy race, a landrace, and a commercial cultivar of tomato plants, Solanum lycopersicum L. (Solanaceae), and how their choice affects the offspring performance. Additionally, we identified the volatile compounds and recorded the density of glandular trichomes of the tomato plants. Females did not show a preference for any of the three types of tomato plants. Females oviposited more on the adaxial surface of leaves of commercial cultivar plants than on (any surface of) leaves of weedy-race plants. The relative abundance of volatiles varied quantitatively among the three types of tomato plants. Commercial cultivar plants released a higher abundance of volatiles than weedy race and landrace plants. Weedy-race plants had a higher density of glandular trichomes types I and VI than the commercial cultivar. More neonate larvae died if fed on the weedy race and landrace plants than when reared on commercial cultivar plants. Results suggested that the higher mortality of T. ni larvae may be related to a higher density of glandular trichomes on landrace and weedy-race plants than on commercial cultivar plants, although other constitutive and induced defenses may be involved. Our results do not support the preference-performance hypothesis.     

Interactions of multiple predators with different foraging modes in an aquatic food web

Top predators can have different foraging modes that may alter their interactions and effects on food webs. Interactions between predators may be non-additive resulting from facilitation or interference, whereas their combined effects on a shared prey may result in emergent effects that are risk enhanced or risk reduced. To test the importance of multiple predators with different foraging modes, we examined the interaction between a cruising predator (largemouth bass, Micropterus salmoides) and an ambush predator (muskellunge, Esox masquinongy) foraging on a shared prey (bluegill sunfish, Lepomis macrochirus) with strong anti-predator defense behaviors. Additive and substitution designs were used to compare individual to combined predator treatments in experimental ponds. The multiple predator interaction facilitated growth of the cruising predator in the combined predator treatments, whereas predator species had substitutable effects on the growth of the ambush predator. The combined predator treatments created an emergent effect on the prey; however, the direction was dependent on the experimental design. The additive design found a risk-reducing effect, whereas the substitution design found a risk-enhancing effect for prey fish. Indirect effects from the predators weakly extended to lower trophic levels (i.e., zooplankton community). Our results highlight the need to consider differences in foraging mode of top predators, interactions between predators, and emergent effects on prey to understand food webs.     

Host range in phytophagous insects: the potential role of generalist predators

Summary The potential role of generalist natural enemies is presented as one of the important ecological pressures that select for narrow host range in phytophagous insects, and dominant relative to physiological bases for specialization. Experiments are described in three completely different systems indicating that generalist herbivores are more vulnerable to predation than specialist herbivores. The three predators were (a) the vespid waspMischocyttarus flavitarsus, (b) the Argentine antIridomyrmex humilis and (c) the coccinellid beetleHippodamia convergens. It is concluded the predators may provide strong selection pressure for maintenance and perhaps evolution of narrow host range in insect herbivores.     

Linearity in the aggregate effects of multiple predators in a food web

Theory in community ecology often assumes that predator species have similar indirect effects and thus can be treated mathematically as a single functional unit (e.g. guild or trophic level). This assumption is questionable biologically because predator species typically differ in their effects, creating the potential for nonlinearities when they coexist. We evaluated the nature of indirect effects caused by three species of hunting spider predators, singly and in multiple species combinations, on grass and herb plants in experimental old-field food webs. Despite the potential for nonlinearity, indirect effects in different multiple predator combinations consistently did not differ significantly from the respective means of the single species effects. Thus, for this experimental system, the whole was simply the average of the parts. Consequently, models which abstract predator species as single trophic levels would successfully predict indirect effects in this system regardless of the composition of the predator fauna.     

Effect of avocadofurans on larval survival, growth, and food preference of the generalist herbivore, Spodoptera exigua

We examined the effect of two avocadofurans, 2-(pentadecyl)furan and 2-(heptadecyl)furan, from avocado idioblast oil cells on maturation and larval feeding behavior of a generalist insect herbivore, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). Experiments were conducted using two larval sizes: early-stadium larvae refer to those larvae from experiments initiated with neonates while late-stadium larvae refer to those larvae from experiments initiated with third instars. In order to use selected sublethal doses for developmental and behavioral studies on early- and late-stadium larvae, log-dose probit lines were determined using diet incorporation bioassays. Both avocadofurans had similar toxicities to early-stadium larvae [LC50=2.2 and 1.9 moles/g of diet for 2-(pentadecyl)furan and 2-(heptadecyl)furan, respectively] and late-stadium larvae (LC50=3.0 and 3.4 moles/g of diet, respectively). In diet bioassays extending from egg hatch to adult emergence, the avocadofurans significantly prolonged larval developmental times and reduced S. exigua pupal weights. In 7 d no-choice bioassays initiated with cohorts of newly-molted third instars, the avocadofurans significantly reduced larval weights at various sublethal concentrations (below LC50 values). To test larval feeding deterrence effects of these avocadofurans, choice tests were conducted using early and older instar larvae. A significantly higher proportion of early-stadium larvae preferred control diet over diet treated with either avocadofuran at several sublethal concentrations. Similarly, choice tests with late-stadium larvae showed greater proportions of larvae on control diet than treated diet even at concentrations below the LC50. Moreover, late-stadium larvae consumed significantly more of the control diet than the treated diet. Thus, the avocadofurans may act as feeding deterrents as well as toxicants in plant protection against non-adapted insect herbivores.     

Experimental test of the Invasional Meltdown Hypothesis: an exotic herbivore facilitates an exotic plant,but the plant does not reciprocally facilitate the herbivore

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Contamination of food by crude oil affects food selection and growth performance,but not appetite,in an Arctic fish,the polar cod (Boreogadus saida)

The polar cod (Boreogadus saida) is recognized as a key species in Arctic marine food webs and it may, therefore, be important for the transfer of xenobiotics from lower trophic levels to its main predators, birds and sea mammals. The present work examines the effects of foods contaminated with 200 or 400 ppm crude oil on food selection patterns and appetite-growth relationships in polar cod using X-radiography. It is shown that sexually mature polar cod consumed mixtures of uncontaminated and oil-contaminated foods, and did not show a reduced overall appetite as compared with fish provided with uncontaminated food only. Food selection was, however, influenced by both sex and individual appetite. Male fish selected uncontaminated food when appetite was low, whereas females ingested contaminated and uncontaminated foods equally, irrespective of appetite level. The ingestion of oil-contaminated food led to a significant depression in growth performance in both male and female fish. Food contaminated with oil at a concentration of 500 ppm was completely rejected by both sexes.     

Bacterial traits, organism mass, and numerical abundance in the detrital soil food web of Dutch agricultural grasslands

This paper compares responses to environmental stress of the ecophysiological traits of organisms in the detrital soil food webs of grasslands in the Netherlands, using the relationship between average body mass M and numerical abundance N. The microbial biomass and biodiversity of belowground fauna were measured in 110 grasslands on sand, 85 of them farmed under organic, conventional and intensive management. Bacterial cell volume and abundance and electrophoretic DNA bands as well as bacterial activity in the form of either metabolic quotient (qCO₂) or microbial quotient (C_mic/C_org) predicted the response of microorganisms to stress. For soil fauna, the logarithm of body mass log(M) was approximately linearly related to the logarithm of numerical abundance log(N) with slope near ?1, and the regression slope and the proportion of predatory species were lower in intensive agroecosystems (more reduced substrates with higher energy content). Linear regression of log(N) on log(M) had slope not far from ?3/4. The approach to monitoring data illustrated in this paper could be useful in assessing land‐use quality.     

Warming affects different components of plant–herbivore interaction in a simplified community but not net interaction strength

Global warming impacts natural communities through effects on performance of individual species and through changes in the strength of interactions between them. While there is a body of evidence of the former, we lack experimental evidence on potential changes in interaction strengths. Knowledge about multispecies interactions is fundamental to understand the regulation of biodiversity and the impact of climate change on communities. This study investigated the effect of warming on a simplified community consisting of three species: rosy apple aphid Dysaphis plantaginea feeding on plantain, Plantago lanceolata, and a heterospecific neighbouring plant species, perennial ryegrass, Lolium perenne. The aphid does not feed on L. perenne. The experimental design consisted of monocultures and mixtures of L. perenne and P. lanceolata at three temperature levels. We did not find indication for indirect temperature effects on D. plantaginea through changes in leaf nitrogen or relative water content. However, experimental warming affected the life history traits of the aphid directly, in a non‐linear manner. Aphids performed best at moderate warming, where they grew faster and had a shorter generation time. In spite of the increased population growth of the aphids under warming, the herbivory rates were not changed and consequently the plant–herbivore interaction was not altered under warming. This suggests reduced consumption rates at higher temperature. Also plant competition affected the aphids but through an interaction with temperature. We provide proof‐of‐concept that net interactions between plants and herbivores should not change under warming despite direct effects of warming on herbivores when plant–plant interaction are considered. Our study stresses the importance of indirect non–trophic interactions as an additional layer of complexity to improve our understanding of how trophic interactions will alter under climate change.     

基于改进的SURF指数甄选海州湾鱼类群落的关键捕食者

关键捕食者在生态系统中对饵料生物的数量波动、丰富度和空间分布等都起到重要的调控作用。本研究基于在海州湾进行的5个航次的渔业资源底拖网调查资料及胃含物分析数据,通过对传统SURF指数进行改进,甄选海州湾鱼类群落中的关键捕食者。结果表明: 星康吉鳗、长蛇鲻、大泷六线鱼、小眼绿鳍鱼和小黄鱼为海州湾鱼类群落中的关键捕食者,这5种鱼类不但具有较高的连接数,还是多种生物的主要捕食者,在物种连接中具有较强的聚集效应,它们的数量波动会对生态系统能量流动和食物网结构产生较大的影响。通过本方法对关键捕食者进行甄选,不仅考虑了物种间的摄食比例,还将捕捞量及物种的资源量作为重要影响因素,与传统方法相比,具有较大的改进,为关键捕食者的甄选提供了一种新的方法。本研究还发现,物种之间的强相互作用在维护食物网的结构与功能中起着重要作用,加强对关键捕食者的保护,有利于维持生物群落的稳定性和物种多样性,在实施基于生态系统的管理时,要优先保护这些关键物种。星康吉鳗和小黄鱼作为重要的经济鱼种,承受的捕捞压力较高,尤其需要加强保护和管理。     

Bat boxes in urban bushland are associated with inflated activity of an urban generalist bat,but not an altered community

Bat boxes are often installed as substitute habitats to offset the loss of large, hollow-bearing trees. However, emerging evidence suggests that they are failing to achieve intended conservation outcomes as they only support generalist species. Despite these concerns, the effect of bat boxes on the dynamics of bat communities remains understudied. We assessed the bat community in reserves where bat boxes had been installed in comparison with reserves where they had not using ultrasonic surveys in 16 small bushland reserves throughout Sydney, Australia. Reserves containing bat boxes and those without had comparable species diversity and composition; however, the activity of the dominant species, Gould's wattled bat (Chalinolobus gouldii), was significantly higher at sites with bat boxes. Species that commonly forage in open vegetation, including C. gouldii, were significantly positively associated with sites that had bat boxes. Occupation of boxes by bats was not recorded in the study due to limited information on their locations, so further research is required to understand the direct effects of boxes and the bats that occupy them on the bat community. If bat boxes continue to be recommended as a biodiversity offset, a greater understanding of the potential impact they have on altered competitive relationships and community dynamics is essential.     

Symbiotic soil microorganisms as players in aboveground plant–herbivore interactions – the role of rhizobia

Rhizobia play a key role for performance of leguminous plants and ecosystem productivity. However, no studies to date have investigated the importance of the rhizobial symbiosis for legume–herbivore interactions. The additional nitrogen provided by the rhizobia improves the nutritional quality of plants, but may also be used for the synthesis of defence compounds. We performed greenhouse experiments with nodulating and non-nodulating, as well as cyanogenic and acyanogenic strains of Trifolium repen s to study the effects of rhizobia Rhizobium leguminosarum on plant growth and the performance of the chewing herbivore Spodoptera littoralis and the phloem-sucking aphid Myzus persicae . We demonstrate that for nodulating strains of T. repens rhizobia increased plant growth and the performance of Spodoptera littoralis . However, this positive effect of rhizobia on the caterpillars did not occur in a cyanogenic clover strain. Reproduction of the phloem-sucking aphid Myzus persicae was inconsistently affected by rhizobia. Our study provides evidence that the additional nitrogen provided by the rhizobia may be used for the production of nitrogen-based defence compounds, thereby counteracting positive effects on the performance of chewing herbivores. The symbiosis with rhizobia is therefore an important driver of legume–herbivore interactions.     

Experimental assessment of salamanders as predators of detrital food webs: effects on invertebrates, decomposition and the carbon cycle

Declines in amphibian populations and the loss of some species has spurred research into the causes of declines. Little research has been done on what the loss of amphibian species may mean to ecosystem function. I describe a field experiment where the number of Plethodon cinereus (the red-backed salamander) was manipulated in enclosures buried in the forest floor. I determined the composition of the forest floor invertebrate community and the rate of decomposition of leaf litter in enclosures with and without salamanders over 4.5 months. Salamander predation in enclosures significantly reduced invertebrate numbers compared to control enclosures. Salamander predation also indirectly reduced rate of decomposition by between 11 and 17%. This was probably due to salamanders consuming a significant number of leaf fragmenters (e.g. Coleoptera and Diptera larvae). Predation on leaf litter fragmenters may alter carbon dynamics in forested ecosystems.     

Attenuation of the vertical flux of copepod fecal pellets under Arctic sea ice: evidence for an active detrital food web in winter

A variable fraction of fecal pellets produced in the epipelagic layer is intercepted and retained before reaching the bottom. We assessed fecal pellet retention in the ice-covered Beaufort Sea in early February by comparing the shape and size-frequency distribution of pellets collected by a sediment trap moored at 210 m to that produced in vitro. Appendicularian ellipsoidal and copepod cylindrical pellets made up 75 and 24% of the flux (165 μg C m⁻² day⁻¹). In contrast, production (135 μg C m⁻² day⁻¹) was dominated by cylindrical pellets (93%). The vertical flux of cylindrical pellets at 210 m was attenuated by 70%. Pellets >120 μm in width, represented 42% of the production, but were not detected in the trap. Retention most likely resulted from coprorhexic feeding by copepods such as Metridia longa. Our observations suggest that the detritivore food web prevailing under the ice of the Arctic Ocean in winter is dominated by appendicularians feeding on pellets fragmented by copepods.     

Height,but not binding epitope,affects the potency of synthetic TCR agonists

Under physiological conditions, peptide-major histocompatibility complex (pMHC) molecules can trigger T cell receptors (TCRs) as monovalent ligands that are sparsely distributed on the plasma membrane of an antigen-presenting cell. TCRs can also be triggered by artificial clustering, such as with pMHC tetramers or antibodies; however, these strategies circumvent many of the natural ligand discrimination mechanisms of the T cell and can elicit nonphysiological signaling activity. We have recently introduced a synthetic TCR agonist composed of an anti-TCRβ Fab′ antibody fragment covalently bound to a DNA oligonucleotide, which serves as a membrane anchor. This Fab′-DNA ligand efficiently triggers TCR as a monomer when membrane associated and exhibits a potency and activation profile resembling agonist pMHC. In this report, we explore the geometric requirements for efficient TCR triggering and cellular activation by Fab′-DNA ligands. We find that T cells are insensitive to the ligand binding epitope on the TCR complex but that length of the DNA tether is important. Increasing, the intermembrane distance spanned by Fab′-DNA:TCR complexes decreases TCR triggering efficiency and T cell activation potency, consistent with the kinetic-segregation model of TCR triggering. These results establish design parameters for constructing synthetic TCR agonists that are able to activate polyclonal T cell populations, such as T cells from a human patient, in a similar manner as the native pMHC ligand.     

Shrinking by numbers: landscape context affects the species composition but not the quantitative structure of local food webs

1. With habitat fragmentation spreading around the world, there is a pressing need to understand its impacts on local food webs. To date, few studies have examined the effects of landscape context on multiple local communities in a quantitative, spatially realistic setting. 2. To examine how the isolation of a food web affects its structure, we construct local food webs of specialist herbivores and their natural enemies on 82 individual oaks (Quercus robur) growing in different landscape contexts. 3. Across this set of webs, we find that communities in isolated habitat patches not only contained fewer species than did well-connected ones, but also differed in species composition. 4. Surprisingly, the effects observed in terms of species composition were not reflected in the quantitative interaction structure of local food webs: landscape context had no detectable effect on either the interaction evenness, linkage density, connectance, generality or vulnerability of local webs. 5. We conclude that the quantitative structure of food webs may be stable in the face of habitat fragmentation, despite clear-cut impacts on individual species. This finding offers hope-inspiring news for conservation, but should clearly be verified by empirical studies across both naturally and more recently fragmented systems.     

Reduced tillage,but not organic matter input,increased nematode diversity and food web stability in European long‐term field experiments

Soil nematode communities and food web indices can inform about the complexity, nutrient flows and decomposition pathways of soil food webs, reflecting soil quality. Relative abundance of nematode feeding and life‐history groups are used for calculating food web indices, i.e., maturity index (MI), enrichment index (EI), structure index (SI) and channel index (CI). Molecular methods to study nematode communities potentially offer advantages compared to traditional methods in terms of resolution, throughput, cost and time. In spite of such advantages, molecular data have not often been adopted so far to assess the effects of soil management on nematode communities and to calculate these food web indices. Here, we used high‐throughput amplicon sequencing to investigate the effects of tillage (conventional vs. reduced) and organic matter addition (low vs. high) on nematode communities and food web indices in 10 European long‐term field experiments and we assessed the relationship between nematode communities and soil parameters. We found that nematode communities were more strongly affected by tillage than by organic matter addition. Compared to conventional tillage, reduced tillage increased nematode diversity (23% higher Shannon diversity index), nematode community stability (12% higher MI), structure (24% higher SI), and the fungal decomposition channel (59% higher CI), and also the number of herbivorous nematodes (70% higher). Total and labile organic carbon, available K and microbial parameters explained nematode community structure. Our findings show that nematode communities are sensitive indicators of soil quality and that molecular profiling of nematode communities has the potential to reveal the effects of soil management on soil quality.