Does altering patch number and connectivity change the predatory functional response type? Experiments and simulations in an acarine predator–prey system

Abstract

In multipatch landscapes, understanding the role of patch number and connectivity is key for the conservation of species under processes such as predation. The functional response is the most basic form of the predator–prey interaction. Two common response types exist: a decelerating curvilinear increase in prey consumption with prey density to a plateau (type II) and a sigmoidal-shaped curve (type III). Type II responses have been observed for a variety of predators, though only type III responses allow long-term persistence and are demographically stabilizing. We tested the hypothesis that the functional response type can change from a type II to a type III with increasing patch number and (or) decreasing connectivity. The predatory mite Amblyseius fallacis (Garman, 1948) has previously been shown to have a type II response when feeding on Panonychus ulmi (Koch, 1839). We examined this predator–prey interaction using experiments that varied in patch number, and simulations that varied in both patch number and connectivity. In no experimental or simulation trial did altering patch number or connectivity change the predator's functional response from type II to type III, even with an 80-fold decrease in patch connectivity. How do predators with this demographically destabilizing functional response persist? Hypotheses regarding metapopulations and alternative prey are discussed.