10.5061/DRYAD.8HS46JV
Revynthi, Alexandra M.
University of Amsterdam
Egas, Martijn
University of Amsterdam
Janssen, Arne
University of Amsterdam
Sabelis, Maurice W.
University of Amsterdam
Data from: Prey exploitation and dispersal strategies vary among natural
populations of a predatory mite
Dryad
dataset
2019
Phytoseiulus persimilis
2019-07-24T00:00:00Z
2019-07-24T00:00:00Z
en
https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.4446
13763 bytes
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CC0 1.0 Universal (CC0 1.0) Public Domain Dedication
When predators commonly overexploit local prey populations, dispersal
drives the dynamics in local patches, which together form a
metapopulation. Two extremes in a continuum of dispersal strategies are
distinguished: the “Killer” strategy, where predators only start
dispersing when all prey are eliminated, and the “Milker” strategy, in
which predator dispersal occurs irrespective of prey availability. Theory
shows that the Milker strategy is not evolutionarily stable if local
populations are well connected by dispersal. Using strains of the
predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis, collected from 11 native
populations from coastal areas in Turkey and Sicily, we investigated
whether these two strategies occur in nature. In small wind tunnels, we
measured dispersal rates and population dynamics of all populations in a
system consisting of detached rose leaves, spider mites (Tetranychus
urticae) as prey, and P. persimilis. We found significant variation in the
exploitation and dispersal strategies among predator populations, but none
of the collected strains showed the extreme Killer or Milker strategy. The
results suggest that there is genetic variation for prey exploitation and
dispersal strategies. Thus, different dispersal strategies in the
Milker–Killer continuum may be selected for under natural conditions. This
may affect the predator–prey dynamics in local populations and is likely
to determine persistence of predator–prey systems at the metapopulation
level.
Data
Sicily
Turkey