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    Consumer-Resource Body-Size Relationships in Natural Food Webs

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    Reuman_2006.pdf (143.5Kb)
    Issue Date
    2006
    Author
    Brose, Ulrich
    Jonsson, Tomas
    Berlow, Eric L.
    Warren, Philip
    Banasek-Richter, Carolin
    Bersier, Louis-Félix
    Blanchard, Julia L.
    Brey, Thomas
    Carpenter, Stephen R.
    Reuman, Daniel C.
    Publisher
    Ecological Society of America
    Type
    Article
    Article Version
    Scholarly/refereed, publisher version
    Rights
    Copyright by the Ecological Society of America
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    Abstract
    It has been suggested that differences in body size between consumer and resource species may have important implications for interaction strengths, population dynamics, and eventually food web structure, function, and evolution. Still, the general distribution of consumer–resource body-size ratios in real ecosystems, and whether they vary systematically among habitats or broad taxonomic groups, is poorly understood. Using a unique global database on consumer and resource body sizes, we show that the mean body-size ratios of aquatic herbivorous and detritivorous consumers are several orders of magnitude larger than those of carnivorous predators. Carnivorous predator–prey body-size ratios vary across different habitats and predator and prey types (invertebrates, ectotherm, and endotherm vertebrates). Predator–prey body-size ratios are on average significantly higher (1) in freshwater habitats than in marine or terrestrial habitats, (2) for vertebrate than for invertebrate predators, and (3) for invertebrate than for ectotherm vertebrate prey. If recent studies that relate body-size ratios to interaction strengths are general, our results suggest that mean consumer–resource interaction strengths may vary systematically across different habitat categories and consumer types.
    URI
    http://hdl.handle.net/1808/21423
    DOI
    https://doi.org/10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2411:CBRINF]2.0.CO;2
    Collections
    • Ecology and Evolutionary Biology Scholarly Works [1450]
    Citation
    Brose, U., Jonsson, T., Berlow, E. L., Warren, P., Banasek-Richter, C., Bersier, L.-F., Blanchard, J. L., Brey, T., Carpenter, S. R., Blandenier, M.-F. C., Cushing, L., Dawah, H. A., Dell, T., Edwards, F., Harper-Smith, S., Jacob, U., Ledger, M. E., Martinez, N. D., Memmott, J., Mintenbeck, K., Pinnegar, J. K., Rall, B. C., Rayner, T. S., Reuman, D. C., Ruess, L., Ulrich, W., Williams, R. J., Woodward, G. and Cohen, J. E. (2006), CONSUMER–RESOURCE BODY-SIZE RELATIONSHIPS IN NATURAL FOOD WEBS. Ecology, 87: 2411–2417. doi:10.1890/0012-9658(2006)87[2411:CBRINF]2.0.CO;2

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    Contact KU ScholarWorks
    785-864-8983
    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    785-864-8983

    KU Libraries
    1425 Jayhawk Blvd
    Lawrence, KS 66045
    Image Credits
     

     

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