Holt Robert D, Barfield Michael
Department of Zoology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL 32611-8525, USA.
Proc Biol Sci. 2009 Apr 22;276(1661):1435-42. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2008.1536. Epub 2009 Feb 25.
Interactions between natural enemies and their victims are a pervasive feature of the natural world. In this paper, we discuss trophic interactions as determinants of geographic range limits. Predators can directly limit ranges, or do so in conjunction with competition. Dispersal can at times permit a specialist predator to constrain the distribution of its prey-and thus itself-along a gradient. Conversely, we suggest that predators can also at times permit prey to have larger ranges than would be seen without predation. We discuss several ecological and evolutionary mechanisms that can lead to this counter-intuitive outcome.
天敌与其猎物之间的相互作用是自然界普遍存在的特征。在本文中,我们讨论营养级相互作用作为地理分布范围限制的决定因素。捕食者可以直接限制分布范围,或者与竞争共同作用来限制分布范围。扩散有时能使专一性捕食者沿着一个梯度限制其猎物——进而也限制自身——的分布。相反,我们认为捕食者有时也能使猎物拥有比没有捕食情况下更大的分布范围。我们讨论了几种可能导致这种与直觉相悖结果的生态和进化机制。