Predator type influences the frequency of functional responses to prey in marine habitats.

ABSTRACT: The functional response of a consumer to a gradient of resource density is a widespread and consistent framework used to quantify the importance of consumption to population dynamics and stability. Within benthic marine ecosystems, both crustaceans and fishes can provide strong top-down pressure on prey populations. Taxon-specific differences in biomechanics or habitat use, among other factors, may lead to variable functional response forms or parameter values (attack rate, handling time). Based on a review of 189 individual functional response fits, we find that these predator guilds differ in their frequency distribution of functional response types, with crustaceans exhibiting nearly double the proportion of sigmoidal, density-dependent functional responses (Holling type III) as predato

SUBMITTER: Dunn RP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7013479 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature