title: Compensatory growth following transient intraguild predation risk in predatory mites.
abstract: Compensatory or catch-up growth following growth impairment caused by transient environmental stress, due to adverse abiotic factors or food, is widespread in animals. Such growth strategies commonly balance retarded development and reduced growth. They depend on the type of stressor but are unknown for predation risk, a prime selective force shaping life history. Anti-predator behaviours by immature prey typically come at the cost of reduced growth rates with potential negative consequences on age and size at maturity. Here, we investigated the hypothesis that transient intraguild predation (IGP) risk induces compensatory or catch-up growth in the plant-inhabiting predatory mitePhytoseiulus persimilis. ImmatureP. persimiliswere exposed in the larval stage to no, low or high IGP risk, and kept under benign conditions in the next developmental stage, the protonymph. High but not low IGP risk prolonged development ofP. persimilislarvae, which was compensated in the protonymphal stage by increased foraging activity and accelerated development, resulting in optimal age and size at maturity. Our study provides the first experimental evidence that prey may balance developmental costs accruing from anti-predator behaviour by compensatory growth.
authors.affiliation: Div. of Plant Protection, Dept of Crop Sciences, Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter Jordanstrasse 82, AT-1190 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Walzer
authors.affiliation: Div. of Plant Protection and Quarantine, Dept of Agro-technologies, Soil Sciences and Ecology, Saint-Petersburg State Agrarian Univ., Petersburg road 2, RU-196601 Saint Petersburg, Russia.
authors.forename: Natalia
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Lepp
authors.affiliation: Div. of Plant Protection, Dept of Crop Sciences, Univ. of Natural Resources and Life Sciences, Peter Jordanstrasse 82, AT-1190 Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Schausberger