Predatory Synergism

摘要

Synergies between species, in which the combined effect of multiple species is greater than the sum of their individual effects, link biodiversity to ecosystem function, but these synergies may be sensitive to external influences. Piovia-Scott et al. (p. 461) investigated how a synergy between two very different predator species in the Bahamas was affected by the influx of resources from the adjacent ocean. Adding seaweed to entire small islands (simulating the natural marine-to-terrestrial energy transfer that occurs during storms) eliminated the synergistic effect of two predators-lizards and ants-on arthropod herbivores and their food plants, increasing the overall rate of herbivory.