Evidence for competition between carnivorous plants and spiders
- PMID: 20462904
- PMCID: PMC2982022
- DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2010.0465
Evidence for competition between carnivorous plants and spiders
Abstract
Several studies have demonstrated that competition between disparate taxa can be important in determining community structure, yet surprisingly, to our knowledge, no quantitative studies have been conducted on competition between carnivorous plants and animals. To examine potential competition between these taxa, we studied dietary and microhabitat overlap between pink sundews (Drosera capillaris) and wolf spiders (Lycosidae) in the field, and conducted a laboratory experiment examining the effects of wolf spiders on sundew fitness. In the field, we found that sundews and spiders had a high dietary overlap with each other and with the available arthropod prey. Associations between sundews and spiders depended on spatial scale: both sundews and spiders were found more frequently in quadrats with more abundant prey, but within quadrats, spiders constructed larger webs and located them further away from sundews as the total sundew trapping area increased, presumably to reduce competition. Spiders also constructed larger webs when fewer prey were available. In the laboratory, our experiment revealed that spiders can significantly reduce sundew fitness. Our findings suggest that members of the plant and animal kingdoms can and do compete.
Figures
References
-
- Agrawal A. A.2001Phenotypic plasticity in the interactions and evolution of species. Science 294, 321–326 (doi:10.1126/science.1060701) - DOI - PubMed
-
- Brady A. R.1972Geographic variation and speciation in the Sosippus floridanus species group (Araneae: Lycosidae). Psyche 79, 27–48 (doi:10.1155/1972/58613) - DOI
-
- Brady A. R., McKinley K. S.1994Nearctic species of the wolf spider genus Rabidosa (Araneae: Lycosidae). J. Arachnol. 22, 138–160
-
- Brown J. H., Davidson D. W.1977Competition between seed-eating rodents and ants in desert ecosystems. Science 196, 880–882 (doi:10.1126/science.196.4292.880) - DOI - PubMed
-
- Buddle C. M.2002Interactions among young stages of the wolf spiders Pardosa moesta and P. mackenziana (Araneae: Lycosidae). Oikos 96, 130–136 (doi:10.1034/j.1600-0706.2002.960114.x) - DOI
Publication types
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources