title: Consumer-resource body-size relationships in natural food webs.
abstract: It has been suggested that differences in body size between consumer and resource species may have important implications for interaction strengths, population dynamics, and eventually food web structure, function, and evolution. Still, the general distribution of consumer-'resource body-size ratios in real ecosystems, and whether they vary systematically among habitats or broad taxonomic groups, is poorly understood. Using a unique global database on consumer and resource body sizes, we show that the mean body-size ratios of aquatic herbivorous and detritivorous consumers are several orders of magnitude larger than those of carnivorous predators. Carnivorous predator-prey body-size ratios vary across different habitats and predator and prey types (invertebrates, ectotherm, and endotherm vertebrates). Predator-prey body-size ratios are on average significantly higher (1) in freshwater habitats than in marine or terrestrial habitats, (2) for vertebrate than for invertebrate predators, and (3) for invertebrate than for ectotherm vertebrate prey. If recent studies that relate body-size ratios to interaction strengths are general, our results suggest that mean consumer-resource interaction strengths may vary systematically across different habitat categories and consumer types.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Darmstadt University of Technology, Darmstadt, Germany. brose@bio.tu-darmstadt.de
authors.forename: Ulrich
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Brose
authors.forename: Tomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Jonsson
authors.forename: Eric L
authors.initials: EL
authors.lastname: Berlow
authors.forename: Philip
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Warren
authors.forename: Carolin
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Banasek-Richter
authors.forename: Louis-Félix
authors.initials: LF
authors.lastname: Bersier
authors.forename: Julia L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Blanchard
authors.forename: Thomas
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Brey
authors.forename: Stephen R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Carpenter
authors.forename: Marie-France Cattin
authors.initials: MF
authors.lastname: Blandenier
authors.forename: Lara
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Cushing
authors.forename: Hassan Ali
authors.initials: HA
authors.lastname: Dawah
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Dell
authors.forename: Francois
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Edwards
authors.forename: Sarah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harper-Smith
authors.forename: Ute
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Jacob
authors.forename: Mark E
authors.initials: ME
authors.lastname: Ledger
authors.forename: Neo D
authors.initials: ND
authors.lastname: Martinez
authors.forename: Jane
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Memmott
authors.forename: Katja
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mintenbeck
authors.forename: John K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Pinnegar
authors.forename: Björn C
authors.initials: BC
authors.lastname: Rall
authors.forename: Thomas S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Rayner
authors.forename: Daniel C
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Reuman
authors.forename: Liliane
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ruess
authors.forename: Werner
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Ulrich
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Williams
authors.forename: Guy
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Woodward
authors.forename: Joel E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Cohen
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D049628:Body Size / Q000502:physiology*; D017753:Ecosystem; D020387:Food Chain; D005618:Fresh Water; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D011235:Predatory Behavior / Q000502:physiology