Potential lethal and non-lethal effects of predators on dispersal of spider mites

Predators can affect prey dispersal lethally by direct consumption or non-lethally by making prey hesitate to disperse. These lethal and non-lethal effects are detectable only in systems where prey can disperse between multiple patches. However, most studies have drawn their conclusions concerning t...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Experimental & applied acarology 2014-11, Vol.64 (3), p.265-275
Main Authors: Otsuki, Hatsune, Yano, Shuichi
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Acari
Agricultural ecosystems
agroecosystems
Animal Distribution
Animal Ecology
Animal Genetics and Genomics
Animal Systematics/Taxonomy/Biogeography
Animals
Ants - physiology
Araneae
Biological control
Biomedical and Life Sciences
Dispersal
dispersal behavior
Entomology
Euseius
Formicidae
Host plants
Hymenoptera
Lethal effects
Life Sciences
Mites
Mites - physiology
Neoseiulus
Phytoseiidae
Population Density
Population Dynamics
predator-prey relationships
Predators
Predatory Behavior
predatory mites
Prey
Tetranychidae
Tetranychidae - physiology
Tetranychus
Tetranychus kanzawai
webs
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Summary:Predators can affect prey dispersal lethally by direct consumption or non-lethally by making prey hesitate to disperse. These lethal and non-lethal effects are detectable only in systems where prey can disperse between multiple patches. However, most studies have drawn their conclusions concerning the ability of predatory mites to suppress spider mites based on observations of their interactions on a single patch or on heavily infested host plants where spider mites could hardly disperse toward intact patches. In these systems, specialist predatory mites that penetrate protective webs produced by spider mites quickly suppress the spider mites, whereas generalist predators that cannot penetrate the webs were ineffective. By using a connected patch system, we revealed that a generalist ant, Pristomyrmex punctatus Mayr (Hymenoptera: Formicidae), effectively prevented dispersal of spider mites, Tetranychus kanzawai Kishida (Acari: Tetranychidae), by directly consuming dispersing individuals. We also revealed that a generalist predatory mite, Euseius sojaensis Ehara (Acari: Phytoseiidae), prevented between-patch dispersal of T. kanzawai by making them hesitate to disperse. In contrast, a specialist phytoseiid predatory mite, Neoseiulus womersleyi Schicha, allowed spider mites to escape an initial patch, increasing the number of colonized patches within the system. Our results suggest that ants and generalist predatory mites can effectively suppress Tetranychus species under some conditions, and should receive more attention as agents for conservation biological control in agroecosystems.
ISSN:0168-8162
1572-9702
DOI:10.1007/s10493-014-9824-9