Dryad
Published June 6, 2019 | Version v1
Dataset Open

Data from: Predator-induced collapse of niche structure and coexistence on islands

Authors/Creators

  • 1. Princeton University
  • 2. University of Florida
  • 3. McGill University
  • 4. University of Puget Sound
  • 5. Rutgers University
  • 6. University of Rhode Island
  • 7. University of California, Davis
  • 8. Washington University in St. Louis

Description

Biological invasions represent both a pressing environmental challenge and an opportunity to investigate fundamental ecological processes, such as the role of top predators in regulating species diversity and food-web structure. In whole-ecosystem manipulations of small Caribbean islands where brown anole lizards (Anolis sagrei) were the native top predator, we experimentally staged invasions by competitors (green anoles, A. smaragdinus) and/or novel top predators (curly-tailed lizards, Leiocephalus carinatus). We show that curly-tails destabilized coexistence of competing prey species, contrary to the classic idea of keystone predation. Fear-driven avoidance of predators collapsed the spatial and dietary niche structure that otherwise stabilized coexistence, intensifying interspecific competition within predator-free refuges and contributing to green-anole population extinctions. Moreover, whereas adding either green anoles or curly-tails lengthened food chains, adding both species reversed this effect, in part because apex predators were trophic omnivores. Our results underscore the importance of top-down control in community ecology, but show that its outcomes hinge on prey behavior, spatial structure, and omnivory. Diversity-enhancing effects of top predators cannot be assumed, and non-consumptive effects of predation risk may be a widespread constraint on species coexistence.

Notes

Metabarcode sequence data and MID tags
Sequence data obtained DNA metabarcoding of fecal samples. The ReadMe file contains "MID" tag identifiers used to demultiplex samples with the Obitools software prior to analysis. The ReadMe file contains a column referencing 5 raw Illumina fastq files that contain the data. One of these raw Illumina fastq files is available to download from this Dryad DOI; four raw Illumina fastq files are available from a previous Dryad DOI, which is linked below: Kartzinel TR, Pringle RM (2014) Data from: Molecular detection of invertebrate prey in vertebrate diets: trophic ecology of Caribbean island lizards. Dryad Digital Repository. https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.f18k5
s_1_1_reads_passed_filter.fastq.gz
Metabarcode sequence data and MID tags at doi:10.5061/dryad.f18k5

Files

Files (9.2 GB)

Name Size Download all
md5:d9169d78a593b38db25295bfc2d2758e
26.9 kB Download
md5:0508f0eed0eefa98c6121f7b2fb881b4
9.2 GB Download

Additional details

Related works

Is cited by
10.1038/s41586-019-1264-6 (DOI)
Is supplemented by
10.5061/dryad.f18k5 (DOI)