Abstract
Extrapolation of predator functional responses from laboratory observations to the field is often necessary to predict predation rates and predator-prey dynamics at spatial and temporal scales that are difficult to observe directly. We use a spatially explicit individual-based model to explore mechanisms behind changes in functional responses when the scale of observation is increased. Model parameters were estimated from a predator-prey system consisting of the predator Delphastus catalinae (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) and Bemisia tabaci biotype B (Hemiptera: Aleyrodidae) on tomato plants. The model explicitly incorporates prey and predator distributions within single plants, the search behavior of predators within plants, and the functional response to prey at the smallest scale of interaction (within leaflets) observed in the laboratory. Validation revealed that the model is useful in scaling up from laboratory observations to predation in whole tomato plants of varying sizes. Comparing predicted predation at the leaflet scale, as observed in laboratory experiments, with predicted predation on whole plants revealed that the predator functional response switches from type II within leaflets to type III within whole plants. We found that the magnitude of predation rates and the type of functional response at the whole plant scale are modulated by (1) the degree of alignment between predator and prey distributions and (2) predator foraging behavior, particularly the effect of area-concentrated search within plants when prey population density is relatively low. The experimental and modeling techniques we present could be applied to other systems in which active predators prey upon sessile or slow-moving species.
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Acknowledgements
We are grateful to Larry Madden, Larry Phelan, Robin Taylor, and two anonymous reviewers for comments that greatly improved our manuscript. The first author was partially funded by Corpoica, Colciencias, The Fulbright Program, and the Department of Entomology at The Ohio State University. Research support provided by state and federal funds appropriated to The Ohio State University, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, including SEEDS Research Enhancement Competitive Grants Program Grant No. OHOA1006 to D. F. R., Ohio vegetable grower donations to C.W.H. in support of research, and by the National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA)-United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) funds supporting L.A.C.
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Rincon, D.F., Cañas, L.A. & Hoy, C.W. Modeling changes in predator functional response to prey across spatial scales. Theor Ecol 10, 403–415 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-017-0338-z
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12080-017-0338-z