Predation risk is a function of alternative prey availability rather than predator abundance in a tropical savanna woodland ecosystem
Nordberg, Eric J., and Schwarzkopf, Lin (2019) Predation risk is a function of alternative prey availability rather than predator abundance in a tropical savanna woodland ecosystem. Scientific Reports, 9. 7718.
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Abstract
Typically, factors influencing predation risk are viewed only from the perspective of predators or prey populations but few studies have examined predation risk in the context of a food web. We tested two competing hypotheses regarding predation: (1) predation risk is dependent on predator density; and (2) predation risk is dependent on the availability of alternative prey sources. We use an empirical, multi-level, tropical food web (birds–lizards–invertebrates) and a mensurative experiment (seasonal fluctuations in abundance and artificial lizards to estimate predation risk) to test these hypotheses. Birds were responsible for the majority of attacks on artificial lizards and were more abundant in the wet season. Artificial lizards were attacked more frequently in the dry than the wet season despite a greater abundance of birds in the wet season. Lizard and invertebrate (alternative prey) abundances showed opposing trends; lizards were more abundant in the dry while invertebrates were more abundant in the wet season. Predatory birds attacked fewer lizards when invertebrate prey abundance was highest, and switched to lizard prey when invertebrate abundance reduced, and lizard abundance was greatest. Our study suggests predation risk is not predator density-dependent, but rather dependent on the abundance of invertebrate prey, supporting the alternative prey hypothesis.
| Item ID: | 61649 |
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| Item Type: | Article (Research - C1) |
| ISSN: | 2045-2322 |
| Copyright Information: | Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons license, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons license, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons license and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0 |
| Date Deposited: | 02 Feb 2020 23:54 |
| FoR Codes: | 41 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES > 4104 Environmental management > 410401 Conservation and biodiversity @ 100% |
| SEO Codes: | 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960505 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments @ 50% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960505 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Forest and Woodlands Environments @ 50% 96 ENVIRONMENT > 9605 Ecosystem Assessment and Management > 960504 Ecosystem Assessment and Management of Farmland, Arable Cropland and Permanent Cropland Environments @ 50% |
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