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Functional Response and Success in Juvenile Mantids
Author(s) -
Hurd L. E.,
Rathet Ilyse H.
Publication year - 1986
Publication title -
ecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.144
H-Index - 294
eISSN - 1939-9170
pISSN - 0012-9658
DOI - 10.2307/1938514
Subject(s) - predation , ecdysis , functional response , nymph , biology , instar , ecology , juvenile , arthropod , predator , larva , generalist and specialist species , zoology , habitat
First—instar mantid nymphs (Tenodera sinensis) of a single cohort exhibited a Holling's Type II functional response to prey density in the laboratory. However, functional response was a poor indicator of success. Predation rate increased well beyond maximum gain in survival, development time, and size at ecdysis, all of which are directly related to fitness in this species. Food limitation is common for this species in nature, particularly during the first instar, and apparently selection has not been adequate to optimize predation rate. Predation rate varied over time as well as with density. Daily feeding rate among nymphs fed ad libitum reached a peak midway through the instar, and then dropped sharply just prior to ecdysis. These and other sources of variability will influence and impact of these generalist predators on arthropod assemblages in the field.