Presentation Details
| Building intraspecific antagonism into predator-prey models James L.L.Lichtenstein. Sacred Heart University, Fairfield, Connecticut, USA |
Abstract
Decades of empirical work make clear that intraspecific antagonism among predators can decrease how many prey predators eat. Attempts to use this to predict predation, namely predator-prey ratio dependent models, have been the subject of immense disagreement. To help bridge this gap between behavioral data and ecological theory we examined how the predation rates on flies by individual jumping spiders (Phiddipus clarus) affects how much they eat in pairs with different levels of interference. We estimated these rates from videos of spiders hunting ten flies over multiple iterations to establish their consistency in feeding rates. Next, we recorded the same spiders paired in arenas that allow them to see/smell but not touch each other and arenas that allowed contact. Analyses are forthcoming. We will compare the rate at which flies are killed and spiders are satiated in pairs to how much they kill on their own and their body size. Further, we will parameterize predator-prey models using the individual and paired predation rates and compare their predictions. This will harness key mechanisms of animal behavior to help reconcile entrenched controversy in the world of ecology.
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No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author.
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