title: Warming magnifies predation and reduces prey coexistence in a model litter arthropod system.
abstract: Climate warming can destabilize interactions between competitors as smaller organisms gain advantages in warmer environments. Whether and how warming-induced effects on competitive interactions are modified by predation remains unknown. We hypothesized that predation will offset the competitive advantage of smaller prey species in warmer environments because of their greater vulnerability to predation. To test this, we assembled a litter arthropod community with two Collembola species (Folsomia candidaandProisotoma minuta) of different body sizes across a temperature gradient (three thermal environments) and in the presence and absence of predatory mites. Predatory mites reduced Collembola coexistence with increasing temperatures. Contradicting our hypothesis, the larger prey species always outperformed the smaller prey species in warmer environments with predators. Larger prey probably benefited as they expressed a greater trait (body length) plasticity to warming. Warming can thus magnify predation effects and reduce the probability of prey coexistence.
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany madhav.thakur@idiv.de.|Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Madhav P
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0001-9426-1313
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Thakur
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Tom
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Künne
authors.affiliation: Department of Biosciences, Swansea University, Wallace Building, Singleton Park, Swansea SA2 8PP, UK.
authors.forename: John N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Griffin
authors.affiliation: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv), Halle-Jena-Leipzig, Deutscher Platz 5e, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.|Institute of Biology, Leipzig University, Johannisallee 21, 04103 Leipzig, Germany.
authors.forename: Nico
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Eisenhauer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001181:Arthropods; D049628:Body Size; D057231:Climate Change; D020387:Food Chain; D008925:Mites; D008954:Models, Biological; D011235:Predatory Behavior
keywords: body size; interspecific competition; species coexistence; top-down control; trait plasticity; trophic interactions