Print PageInteractions between different predator species have served as models for describing higher-order interactions, whereby interactions between predator species (e.g. intraguild predation, competition, or synergy) enhance or reduce the risk a prey experiences when predator species are combined. However the importance of emergent multiple predator effects has classically been studied in short-term experiments with a single prey species, and the degree to which predator-predator interactions permeate entire prey communities and modify the diversity and relative abundance of species remains poorly understood. Here, we used a four-month recruitment study to examine the independent and combined effects of two predatory fishes on whole communities of coral dwelling decapods.
Results/Conclusions
Predators reduced prey abundance by 55%, with a 40% greater effect of flame hawkfish relative to coral crouchers. Decapod communities significantly differed between the two predator species, and flame hawkfish led to an increase in beta diversity based on species incidence (34%) and a decrease in beta diversity based on relative abundance (34%). While each predator species produced unique communities, when combined, their effects were independent. Short-term emergent effects of multiple predators may not permeate in longer term studies and independent effects of predators on whole communities may be prevalent in the presence of stochastic recruitment, prey-switching, and prey depletion.
