Plant Resources as a Factor Altering Emergent Multi-Predator Effects.

ABSTRACT: Multiple predator effects (MPEs) can modify the strength of pest regulation, causing positive or negative deviations from those that are predicted from independent effects of isolated predators. Despite increasing evidence that omnivory can shape predator-prey interactions, few studies have examined the impact of alternative plant food on interactions between multiple predators. In the present study, we examined the effects and interactions of two omnivorous mirids, Μacrolophus pygmaeus and Nesidiocoris tenuis, on different densities of their aphid prey, Myzus persicae. Prey were offered to the to single or pairs of mirid predator individuals, either conspecific or heterospecific on a leaf, while simultaneously adding or excluding a flower as an alternative food resource. Data were compare

SUBMITTER: Maselou DA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4583265 | biostudies-literature | 2015

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature