Specialist predator in a multi-species prey community:boreal voles and weasels

Dissimilar vulnerabilities of different prey types and preferences of predators are factors likely to contribute to community dynamics.This may happen via differential individual properties of prey animals(e.g.vigilance,escape)or via habitat effects making hunting by a predator easier and more rewarding in some habitats,or both.Furthermore,community dynamics may be influenced by predator mediated apparent competition,in which an increase in one prey type has negative effects on another prey type indirectly via the shared predator.We summarize the current knowledge from the field in a model predator–prey system consisting of sympatric boreal vole species and their common specialist predator and review field studies using predator manipulation and studies on the responses of individuals in the laboratory and in outdoor enclosures.The vole species studied represent different prey types that are thought to have different vulnerabilities.Our observations on the main resident specialist predator,the least weasel(Mustela nivalis nivalis L.),show that it hunts according to prey availability and suitability of the hunting habitat.Prey voles respond to the presence of the predator behaviorally in various ways to avoid predation.We conclude that even if the least weasel is a specialized predator of small rodents it acts like a generalist predator within the small rodent guild and may facilitate the coexistence of prey species via predator switching.This may lead to interspecific synchrony between prey populations,which has often been observed.We suggest that the processes determining the community impact of predator–prey interactions are driven by the behavioral arms race between the predator and the prey,together with the habitat-dependent density of prey and net gain for the predator.

The omnivorous predator Macrolophus pygmaeus,a good candidate for the control of both greenhouse whitefly and poinsettia thrips on gerbera plants

The poinsettia thrips Echinothrips americanus Morgan is a relatively new pest that has spread rapidly worldwide and causes serious damage in both vegetable and ornamental plants.In this study,we investigated if and how effective this pest can be controlled in gerbera by the omnivorous predator Macrolophus pygmaeus(Rambur).Because herbivores on plants can interact through a shared predator,we also investigated how poinsettia thrips control is affected by the presence of the greenhouse whitefly Trialeurodes vaporariorum(Westwood),a pest that commonly coexists with E.americanus in gerbera.In laboratory studies,we found that the predator M.pygmaeus fed on both pests when offered together.Olfactometer tests showed a clear preference of the predators for plants infested by whiteflies but not by thrips.In a greenhouse experiment,densities of both pests on single gerbera plants were reduced to very low levels by the predator,either with both pests present together or alone.Hence,predator‐mediated effects between whiteflies and thrips played only a minor role.The plant feeding of the shared predator probably reduced the dependence of predator survival and reproduction on the densities of the two pests,thereby weakening potential predator‐mediated effects.Thus,M.pygmaeus is a good candidate for biological control of both pests in gerbera.However,further research is needed to investigate pest control at larger scales,when the pests can occur on different plants.