Contrasting cascades: insectivorous birds increase pine but not parasitic mistletoe growth

The Journal of Animal Ecology
Kailen A Mooney, Yan B Linhart

Abstract

1. Intraguild predation occurs when top predators feed upon both intermediate predators and herbivores. Intraguild predators may thus have little net impact on herbivore abundance. Variation among communities in the strength of trophic cascades (the indirect effects of predators on plants) may be due to differing frequencies of intraguild predation. Less is known about the influence of variation within communities in predator-predator interactions upon trophic cascade strength. 2. We compared the effects of a single predator community between two sympatric plants and two herbivore guilds. We excluded insectivorous birds with cages from ponderosa pine Pinus ponderosa trees parasitized by dwarf mistletoe Arceuthobium vaginatum. For 3 years we monitored caged and control trees for predatory arthropods that moved between the two plants, foliage-feeding caterpillars and sap-feeding hemipterans that were host-specific, and plant damage and growth. 3. Excluding birds increased the abundance of ant-tended aphids on pine and resulted in an 11% reduction in pine woody growth. Mutualist ants protected pine-feeding aphids from predatory arthropods, allowing aphid populations to burgeon in cages even though predatory arthropods also increas...Continue Reading

References

Feb 25, 2000·The American Naturalist·Oswald J SchmitzAndrew P Beckerman
Aug 19, 2008·The American Naturalist·J Halaj, D H Wise
Aug 1, 1996·Journal of Chemical Ecology·L A Dyer, M Deane Bowers

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Citations

May 17, 2008·Ecology·Sunshine A Van BaelDaniel S Gruner
Jun 18, 2014·Ecology·Daniel S Karp, Gretchen C Daily
Jun 21, 2008·Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences·Christopher J WhelanRobert J Marquis
Jul 24, 2015·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Bea MaasKimberly Williams-Guillén

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