Prey identity but not prey quality affects spider performance.

ABSTRACT: Increasing host plant quality affects higher trophic level predators, but whether such changes are simply a result of prey density or are also affected by changes in prey quality remain uncertain. Moreover, whether changes in prey quality affect measures of predator performance is understudied. Using a combination of field and greenhouse mesocosm experiments, we demonstrate that the survival and body size of a hunting spider (Pardosa littoralis Araneae: Lycosidae) is affected more by prey species identity than the trophic level of the prey. Furthermore, increasing host plant quality does not necessarily propagate through the food web by altering prey quality. While changes in plant quality affected spider body mass, they did so in opposite ways for spiders feeding on Prokelisia</

SUBMITTER: Wimp GM 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9387502 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature