Document Type
Article
Publication Date
5-19-2017
Published In
Science
Abstract
Biotic interactions underlie ecosystem structure and function, but predicting interaction outcomes is difficult. We tested the hypothesis that biotic interaction strength increases toward the equator, using a global experiment with model caterpillars to measure predation risk. Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, we found increasing predation toward the equator, with a parallel pattern of increasing predation toward lower elevations. Patterns across both latitude and elevation were driven by arthropod predators, with no systematic trend in attack rates by birds or mammals. These matching gradients at global and regional scales suggest consistent drivers of biotic interaction strength, a finding that needs to be integrated into general theories of herbivory, community organization, and life-history evolution.
Recommended Citation
T. Roslin, B. Hardwick, V. Novotny, W. K. Petry, N. R. Andrew, A. Asmus, I. C. Barrio, Y. Basset, A. L. Boesing, T. C. Bonebrake, E. K. Cameron, W. Dáttilo, D. A. Donoso, P. Drozd, C. L. Gray, D. S. Hik, S. J. Hill, T. Hopkins, S. Huang, B. Koane, B. Laird-Hopkins, L. Laukkanen, O. T. Lewis, S. Milne, I. Mwesige, A. Nakamura, C. S. Nell, Elizabeth Nichols, A. Prokurat, K. Sam, N. M. Schmidt, A. Slade, V. Slade, A. Suchanková, T. Teder, S. van Nouhuys, V. Vandvik, A. Weissflog, V. Zhukovich, and E. M. Slade.
(2017).
"Higher Predation Risk For Insect Prey At Low Latitudes And Elevations".
Science.
Volume 356,
Issue 6339.
742-744.
DOI: 10.1126/science.aaj1631
https://works.swarthmore.edu/fac-biology/521
Comments
This work is freely available courtesy of the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
This is the author’s version of the work. It is posted here by permission of the AAAS for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Science in volume 356, issue 6339, on May 19, 2017, DOI: 10.1126/science.aaj1631.