Scales of dispersal and the biogeography of marine predator-prey interactions

Wieters, EA; Gaines, SD; Navarrete, SA; Blanchette, CA; Menge BA

Abstract

Striking differences in the dispersal of coexisting species have fascinated marine ecologists for decades. Despite widespread attention to the impact of dispersal on individual species dynamics, its role in species interactions has received comparatively little attention. Here, we approach the issue by combining analyses of simple heuristic predator-prey models with different dispersal patterns and data from several predator-prey systems from the Pacific coasts of North and South America. In agreement with model predictions, differences in predator dispersal generated characteristic biogeographic patterns. Predators lacking pelagic larvae tracked geographic variation in prey recruitment but not prey abundance. Prey recruitment rate alone explained more than 80% of the biogeographic variation in predator abundance. In contrast, predators with broadcasting larvae were uncorrelated with prey recruitment or adult prey abundance. Our findings reconcile perplexing results from previous studies and suggest that simple models can capture some of the complexity of life-history diversity in marine communities. © 2008 by The University of Chicago. All rights reserved.

Más información

Título según WOS: Scales of dispersal and the biogeography of marine predator-prey interactions
Título según SCOPUS: Scales of dispersal and the biogeography of marine predator-prey interactions
Título de la Revista: AMERICAN NATURALIST
Volumen: 171
Número: 3
Editorial: UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
Fecha de publicación: 2008
Página de inicio: 405
Página final: 417
Idioma: English
URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1086/527492
DOI:

10.1086/527492

Notas: ISI, SCOPUS