Different hunting strategies of generalist predators result in functional differences

MICHALKO, Radek and Stanislav PEKÁR. Different hunting strategies of generalist predators result in functional differences. Oecologia. 2016, vol. 181, No 4, p. 1187-1197. ISSN 0029-8549. Available from: https://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3631-4.

Basic information

Original name

Different hunting strategies of generalist predators result in functional differences

Authors

MICHALKO, Radek (203 Czech Republic, guarantor, belonging to the institution) and Stanislav PEKÁR (703 Slovakia, belonging to the institution)

Edition

Oecologia, 2016, 0029-8549

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Other information

Language

English

Type of outcome

Článek v odborném periodiku

Field of Study

10600 1.6 Biological sciences

Country of publisher

United States of America

Confidentiality degree

není předmětem státního či obchodního tajemství

References:

URL

Impact factor

Impact factor: 3.130

RIV identification code

RIV/00216224:14310/16:00091242

Organization unit

Faculty of Science

DOI

http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-016-3631-4

UT WoS

000380282100020

Keywords in English

Functional diversity; Guilds; Euryphagy; Niche; Spiders; Araneae

Tags

AKR, rivok

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Abstract

V originále

The morphological, physiological, and behavioural traits of organisms are often used as surrogates for actual ecological functions. However, differences in these traits do not necessarily lead to functional differences and/or can be context–dependent. Therefore, it is necessary to explicitly test whether the surrogates have general ecological relevance. To investigate the relationship between the hunting strategies of predators (i.e., how, where, and when they hunt) and their function, we used euryphagous spiders as a model group. We used published data on the diet composition of 76 spider species based on natural prey and laboratory prey acceptance experiments. We computed differences in the position and width of trophic niches among pairs of sympatrically occurring species. Pairs were made at different classification levels, ranked according to the dissimilarity in their hunting strategies: congeners, confamiliars (as phylogenetic proxies for similarity in hunting strategy), species from the same main class of hunting strategy, from the same supra-class, and from different supra-classes. As for niche position computed from the natural prey analyses, species from the same class differed less than species from different classes. A similar pattern was obtained from the laboratory studies, but the congeners differed less than the species from the same classes. Niche widths were most similar among congeners and dissimilar among species from different supra-classes. Functional differences among euryphagous spiders increased continuously with increasing difference in their hunting strategy. The relative frequency of hunting strategies within spider assemblages can, therefore, influence the food webs through hunting strategy-specific predator–prey interactions.