Journal
PEERJ
Volume 1, Issue -, Pages -Publisher
PEERJ INC
DOI: 10.7717/peerj.138
Keywords
Predator exclusion; Arthropods; Refuge; Canopy; Avian predation
Categories
Funding
- Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Canadian Foundation for Innovation New Opportunities Grant [9548]
- Department of Natural Resource Sciences (McGill University)
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The forest canopy offers a vertical gradient across which variation in predation pressure implies variation in refuge quality for arthropods. Direct and indirect experimental approaches were combined to assess whether canopy strata differ in ability to offer refuge to various arthropod groups. Vertical heterogeneity in impact of avian predators was quantified using exclosure cages in the understory, lower, mid, and upper canopy of a north-temperate deciduous forest near Montreal, Quebec. Bait trials were completed in the same strata to investigate the effects of invertebrate predators. Exclusion of birds yielded higher arthropod densities across all strata, although treatment effects were small for some taxa. Observed gradients in predation pressure were similar for both birds and invertebrate predators; the highest predation pressure was observed in the understory and decreased with height. Our findings support a view of the forest canopy that is heterogeneous with respect to arthropod refuge from natural enemies.
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