Marine Science Faculty Publications
Biodiversity Effects of the Predation Gauntlet
Document Type
Article
Publication Date
2017
Keywords
Predator–prey, Rarefaction, Coral reef, Reef fish, Assembly, Invasive predators
Digital Object Identifier (DOI)
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00338-017-1544-2
Abstract
The ubiquity of trophic downgrading has led to interest in the consequences of mesopredator release on prey communities and ecosystems. This issue is of particular concern for reef-fish communities, where predation is a key process driving ecological and evolutionary dynamics. Here, we synthesize existing experiments that have isolated the effects of mesopredators to quantify the role of predation in driving changes in the abundance and biodiversity of recently settled reef fishes. On average, predators reduced prey abundance through generalist foraging behavior, which, through a statistical sampling artifact, caused a reduction in alpha diversity and an increase in beta diversity. Thus, the synthesized experiments provide evidence that predation reduces overall abundance within prey communities, but—after accounting for sampling effects—does not cause disproportionate effects on biodiversity.
Was this content written or created while at USF?
Yes
Citation / Publisher Attribution
Coral Reefs, v. 36, p. 601-606
Scholar Commons Citation
Stier, Adrian C.; Stallings, Christopher D.; Samhouri, Jameal F.; Albins, Mark A.; and Almany, Glenn R., "Biodiversity Effects of the Predation Gauntlet" (2017). Marine Science Faculty Publications. 2288.
https://digitalcommons.usf.edu/msc_facpub/2288
