Environment, Ecology & Earth's biodiversity

[Sully]

Landscapes shaped from the top down: predicting cascading predator effects on spatial biogeochemistry

Abstract

Spatial heterogeneity in ecological systems can result from animal-driven top–down processes, but despite some theoretical attention, the emergence of spatial heterogeneity from feedbacks caused by animals is not well understood empirically. Interactions between predators and prey influence animal movement and associated nutrient transport and release, generating spatial heterogeneity that cascades throughout ecological systems. Here, we synthesize the existing literature to evaluate the mechanisms by which terrestrial predators can generate spatial heterogeneity in biogeochemical processes through consumptive and non-consumptive effects. Overall, we propose that predators increase heterogeneity in ecosystems whenever predation is intense and spatially variable, whereas predator–prey interactions homogenize ecosystems whenever predation is weak or diffuse in space. This leads to several testable hypotheses: 1) that predation and carcass deposition at high-predation risk sites stimulate positive feedbacks between predation risk and nutrient availability; 2) that prey generate nutrient hotspots when they concentrate activity in safe habitats, but instead generate nutrient subsidies when they migrate daily between safe and risky habitats; 3) that herbivore body size mediates risk effects, such that megaherbivores are more likely to homogenize ecosystems and predator loss in general will tend to homogenize ecosystems. Testing these hypotheses will advance our understanding of whether predators amplify landscape heterogeneity in ecological systems. Reply