Interactions among predators and plant specificity protect herbivores from top predators

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dc.cibjournalEcologyen_ZA
dc.cibprojectNAen_ZA
dc.contributor.authorBosc, C.
dc.contributor.authorRoets, F.
dc.contributor.authorHui, C.
dc.contributor.authorPauw, A.
dc.date.accessioned2018-08-03T11:39:24Z
dc.date.accessioned2021-08-26T21:26:29Z
dc.date.available2018-08-03T11:39:24Z
dc.date.available2021-08-26T21:26:29Z
dc.date.issued2018
dc.description.abstractThe worldwide loss of top predators from natural and agricultural systems has heightened the need to understand how important they are in controlling herbivore abundance. The effect of top predators on herbivore species is likely to depend on (1) the importance of the consumption of intermediate predators by top predators (intra-guild predation; IGP), but also on (2) plant specificity by herbivores, because specialists may defend themselves better (enemy-free space; EFS). Insectivorous birds, as top predators, are generally known to effectively control herbivorous insects, despite also consuming intermediate predators such as spiders, but how this effect varies among herbivore species in relation to the cascading effects of IGP and EFS is not known. To explore this, we excluded birds from natural fynbos vegetation in South Africa using large netted cages and recorded changes in abundance relative to control plots for 199 plant-dwelling intermediate predator and 341 herbivore morpho-species that varied in their estimated plant specificity. We found a strong negative effect of birds on the total abundance of all intermediate predators, with especially clear effects on spiders (strong IGP). In contrast with previous studies, which document a negative effect of birds on herbivores, we found an overall neutral effect of birds on herbivore abundance, but the effect varied among species: some species were negatively affected by birds, suggesting that they were mainly consumed by birds, whereas others, likely released from spiders by IGP, were positively affected. Some species were also effectively neutrally affected by birds. These tended to be more specialized to plants compared to the other species, which may imply that some plant specialists benefited from protection provided by EFS from both birds and spiders. These results suggest that the response of herbivore species to top predators may depend on cascading effects of interactions among predators and on their degree of plant specificity.en_ZA
dc.identifier.citationBosc, C.; Roets, F.; Hui, C. Pauw, A. (2018) Interactions among predators and plant specificity protect herbivores from top predators. Ecology, 99(7): 1602-1609en_ZA
dc.identifier.issn0012-9658en_ZA
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/10019.1/118355
dc.language.isoenen_ZA
dc.publisherEcological Society of Americaen_ZA
dc.subjectarthropodsen_ZA
dc.subjectbirdsen_ZA
dc.subjectcascading effecten_ZA
dc.subjectenemy-free spaceen_ZA
dc.subjectherbivoresen_ZA
dc.subjectintra-guild predationen_ZA
dc.subjectplant specificityen_ZA
dc.titleInteractions among predators and plant specificity protect herbivores from top predatorsen_ZA
dc.typeJournalArticlesen_ZA
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