Linking phenological shifts to species interactions through size-mediated priority effects

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dc.citation.journalTitleJournal of Animal Ecologyen_US
dc.contributor.authorRasmussen, Nick L.en_US
dc.contributor.authorVan Allen, Benjamin G.en_US
dc.contributor.authorRudolf, Volker H.W.en_US
dc.date.accessioned2014-04-04T21:32:13Zen_US
dc.date.available2014-04-04T21:32:13Zen_US
dc.date.issued2014en_US
dc.description.abstractInterannual variation in seasonal weather patterns causes shifts in the relative timing of phenological events of species within communities, but we currently lack a mechanistic understanding of how these phenological shifts affect species interactions. Identifying these mechanisms is critical to predicting how interannual variation affects populations and communities. Species phenologies, particularly the timing of offspring arrival, play an important role in the annual cycles of community assembly. We hypothesize that shifts in relative arrival of offspring can alter interspecific interactions through a mechanism called size-mediated priority effects (SMPE), in which individuals that arrive earlier can grow to achieve a body size advantage over those that arrive later. In this study, we used an experimental approach to isolate and quantify the importance of SMPE for species interactions. Specifically, we simulated shifts in relative arrival of the nymphs of two dragonfly species to determine the consequences for their interactions as intraguild predators. We found that shifts in relative arrival altered not only predation strength but also the nature of predatorﾖprey interactions. When arrival differences were great, SMPE allowed the early arriver to prey intensely upon the late arriver, causing exclusion of the late arriver from nearly all habitats. As arrival differences decreased, the early arriverﾒs size advantage also decreased. When arrival differences were smallest, there was mutual predation, and the two species coexisted in similar abundances across habitats. Importantly, we also found a nonlinear scaling relationship between shifts in relative arrival and predation strength. Specifically, small shifts in relative arrival caused large changes in predation strength while subsequent changes had relatively minor effects. These results demonstrate that SMPE can alter not only the outcome of interactions but also the demographic rates of species and the structure of communities. Elucidating the mechanisms that link phenological shifts to species interactions is crucial for understanding the dynamics of seasonal communities as well as for predicting the effects of climate change on these communities.en_US
dc.identifier.citationRasmussen, Nick L., Van Allen, Benjamin G. and Rudolf, Volker H.W.. "Linking phenological shifts to species interactions through size-mediated priority effects." <i>Journal of Animal Ecology,</i> (2014) British Ecological Society: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12203.en_US
dc.identifier.doihttp://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.12203en_US
dc.identifier.urihttps://hdl.handle.net/1911/75823en_US
dc.language.isoengen_US
dc.publisherBritish Ecological Societyen_US
dc.rightsArticle is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use.en_US
dc.subject.keywordclimate changeen_US
dc.subject.keywordcommunity assemblyen_US
dc.subject.keyworddragonflyen_US
dc.subject.keywordintraguild predationen_US
dc.subject.keywordPantala flavescensen_US
dc.subject.keywordphenological mismatchen_US
dc.subject.keywordseasonal dynamicsen_US
dc.subject.keywordsize-structured interactionsen_US
dc.subject.keywordTramea carolinaen_US
dc.titleLinking phenological shifts to species interactions through size-mediated priority effectsen_US
dc.typeJournal articleen_US
dc.type.dcmiTexten_US
dc.type.publicationpublisher versionen_US
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