4.7 Article

Estimating predator functional responses using the times between prey captures

期刊

ECOLOGY
卷 102, 期 4, 页码 -

出版社

WILEY
DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3307

关键词

exponential distribution; feeding rates; foraging; individual variation; jumping spiders; predator; predator– prey interactions; prey traits; time‐ to‐ event model

类别

资金

  1. James S. McDonnell Foundation

向作者/读者索取更多资源

Researchers have proposed a new experimental design and statistical analysis method to quantify predator functional responses by measuring the time between a predator's feeding events. Their simulations show that this method reliably estimates functional response parameters, and a proof-of-concept experiment demonstrates reasonable estimates of functional response parameters. This new method promises to expand the questions that can be addressed in functional response experiments and the systems in which they can be measured, refining our understanding of predator-prey interactions.
Predator functional responses describe predator feeding rates and are central to predator-prey theory. Ecologists have measured thousands of predator functional responses using the same basic experimental method. However, this design is ill-suited to address many current questions regarding functional responses. We derive a new experimental design and statistical analysis that quantifies functional responses using the times between a predators' feeding events requiring only one or a few trials. We examine the feasibility of the experimental method and analysis using simulations to assess the ability of the statistical model to estimate functional response parameters and perform a proof-of-concept experiment estimating the functional responses of two individual jumping spiders. Our simulations show that the statistical method reliably estimates functional response parameters. Our proof-of-concept experiment illustrates that the method provides reasonable estimates of functional response parameters. By virtue of the fewer number of trials required to measure a functional response, the method derived here promises to expand the questions that can be addressed using functional response experiments and the systems in which they can be measured. Thus, we hope that our method will refine our understanding of functional responses and predator-prey interactions more generally.

作者

我是这篇论文的作者
点击您的名字以认领此论文并将其添加到您的个人资料中。

评论

主要评分

4.7
评分不足

次要评分

新颖性
-
重要性
-
科学严谨性
-
评价这篇论文

推荐

暂无数据
暂无数据