Predatory beetles facilitate plant growth by driving earthworms to lower soil layers

	Predatory beetles facilitate plant growth by driving earthworms to lower soil layers
	Zhao, C ; Griffin, JN ; Wu, XW ; Sun, SC
刊名	JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY
	2013
卷号	82 期号:4 页码:749-758
关键词	alpine meadow beetle behaviour‐mediated indirect interaction detritus earthworm food chain trophic cascade
ISSN号	0021-8790
通讯作者	Sun, SC
产权排序	1
中文摘要	Theory suggests that predators of soil-improving, plant-facilitating detritivores (e.g. earthworms) should suppress plant growth via a negative tri-trophic cascade, but the empirical evidence is still largely lacking. We tested this prediction in an alpine meadow on the Tibetan Plateau by manipulating predatory beetles (presence/absence) and quantifying (i) direct effects on the density and behaviour of earthworms; and (ii) indirect effects on soil properties and above-ground plant biomass. In the absence of predators, earthworms improved soil properties, but did not significantly affect plant biomass. Surprisingly, the presence of predators strengthened the positive effect of earthworms on soil properties leading to the emergence of a positive indirect effect of predators on plant biomass. We attribute this counterintuitive result to: (i) the inability of predators to suppress overall earthworm density; and (ii) the predator-induced earthworm habitat shift from the upper to lower soil layer that enhanced their soil-modifying, plant-facilitating, effects. Our results reveal that plant-level consequences of predators as transmitted through detritivores can hinge on behaviour-mediated indirect interactions that have the potential to overturn predictions based solely on trophic interactions. This work calls for a closer examination of the effects of predators in detritus food webs and the development of spatially explicit theory capable of predicting the occurrence and consequences of predator-induced detritivore behavioural shifts.
学科主题	Environmental Sciences & Ecology;Zoology
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
WOS记录号	WOS:000320388700004
公开日期	2014-11-21
内容类型	期刊论文
源URL	[http://210.75.237.14/handle/351003/24274]
专题	成都生物研究所_生态研究
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Zhao, C,Griffin, JN,Wu, XW,et al. Predatory beetles facilitate plant growth by driving earthworms to lower soil layers[J]. JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY,2013,82(4):749-758.
APA	Zhao, C,Griffin, JN,Wu, XW,&Sun, SC.(2013).Predatory beetles facilitate plant growth by driving earthworms to lower soil layers.JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY,82(4),749-758.
MLA	Zhao, C,et al."Predatory beetles facilitate plant growth by driving earthworms to lower soil layers".JOURNAL OF ANIMAL ECOLOGY 82.4(2013):749-758.