Moran Matthew D, Hurd L E
Ecology Program, Department of Biology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716, USA, , , , , , US.
Department of Biology, Washington & Lee University, Lexington, VA 24450, USA, , , , , , US.
Oecologia. 1997 Dec;113(1):126-132. doi: 10.1007/s004420050360.
We tested the hypothesis that a generalist arthropod predator, Tenodera sinensis Saussure, could trigger a trophic cascade in an old-field ecosystem. These mantids had relatively weak effects on abundance and biomass of other carnivorous arthropods as a group. The effect of mantids on herbivores was stronger than on carnivores, mainly concentrated in Homoptera and Diptera. Herbivore load was reduced by mantids with the consequence that overall plant biomass (mainly grasses) was increased. Percapita interaction strengths between mantids and other arthropod taxa were, for the most part, weakly negative. Our study demonstrates that a significant trophic cascade can be triggered by a generalist predator even within the framework of a diverse community with relatively diffuse interactions.
一种多食性节肢动物捕食者，中华大刀螳（Tenodera sinensis Saussure），能够在一个弃耕地生态系统中引发营养级联效应。作为一个群体，这些螳螂对其他食肉节肢动物的数量和生物量影响相对较弱。螳螂对食草动物的影响比对食肉动物更强，主要集中在同翅目和双翅目。螳螂减少了食草动物的数量，结果使整体植物生物量（主要是草）增加。在很大程度上，螳螂与其他节肢动物类群之间的个体相互作用强度呈弱负相关。我们的研究表明，即使在一个具有相对分散相互作用的多样化群落框架内，一种多食性捕食者也能引发显著的营养级联效应。
