Inducible defense destabilizes predator–prey dynamics: the importance of multiple predators

Research output: Contribution to journalResearch articleContributedpeer-review

Contributors

  • Ellen van Velzen - , University of Potsdam (Author)
  • Tamara Thieser - , University of Potsdam (Author)
  • Thomas Berendonk - , TUD Dresden University of Technology (Author)
  • Markus Weitere - , Chair of Applied River Ecology (Author)
  • Ursula Gaedke - , University of Potsdam (Author)

Abstract

Phenotypic plasticity in prey can have a dramatic impact on predator–prey dynamics, e.g. by inducible defense against temporally varying levels of predation. Previous work has overwhelmingly shown that this effect is stabilizing: inducible defenses dampen the amplitudes of population oscillations or eliminate them altogether. However, such studies have neglected scenarios where being protected against one predator increases vulnerability to another (incompatible defense). Here we develop a model for such a scenario, using two distinct prey phenotypes and two predator species. Each prey phenotype is defended against one of the predators, and vulnerable to the other. In strong contrast with previous studies on the dynamic effects of plasticity involving a single predator, we find that increasing the level of plasticity consistently destabilizes the system, as measured by the amplitude of oscillations and the coefficients of variation of both total prey and total predator biomasses. We explain this unexpected and seemingly counterintuitive result by showing that plasticity causes synchronization between the two prey phenotypes (and, through this, between the predators), thus increasing the temporal variability in biomass dynamics. These results challenge the common view that plasticity should always have a stabilizing effect on biomass dynamics: adding a single predator–prey interaction to an established model structure gives rise to a system where different mechanisms may be at play, leading to dramatically different outcomes.

Details

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)1551-1562
Number of pages12
JournalOikos
Volume127
Issue number11
Publication statusPublished - Nov 2018
Peer-reviewedYes

Keywords

Keywords

  • inducible defense, phenotypic plasticity, predator–prey dynamics, stability, synchronization