Aquatic top predator prefers terrestrial prey in an intermittent stream

Ecosystems are often trophically entangled, sharing subsidies of energy and nutrients across habitat boundaries (e.g., forest to stream, stream to forest). In freshwater habitats surrounded by riparian vegetation, aquatic consumers may benefit from pulsed inputs of terrestrial organic matter, such as leaf litter and drowning organisms. This is especially pronounced in intermittent streams where the boundary between terrestrial and aquatic habitats is seasonally blurred. Over the past 10 years, we observed an aquatic insect predator Abedus indentatus (Hemiptera: Belostomatidae) largely feeding on terrestrial organisms in intermittent streams at Pinnacles National Park, California. To expand on these observations, we developed a behavioral assay where predators were presented with a range of prey comprising 11 species of various sizes from both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. We found that predator behavior was non-random and often influenced by prey characteristics. In particular, we f..., In order to detect patterns in prey preference with respect to size and origin (aquatic or terrestrial), we used a “prey-drop” assay similar to that of Hazarika and Goswami (2012) and Velasco and Millan (1998). This design allowed us to observe predator behaviors when simultaneously presented with a suite of prey representing a range of nutritional values and defensive capabilities. We gathered forty four specimens of Abedus indentatus from Chalone Creek in Pinnacles National Park, California, United States (36.46584, -121.15532) on May 28 and June 21, 2022. The land that now encompasses Pinnacles is contained within the ancestral territories of the Amah Mutsun and Chalone peoples, whose modern descendants maintain their eco-cultural heritage at the site. To capture our specimens, we conducted serial edge sampling and pool sweeps (3 each) using a 5 mm mesh net. Each sampling event covered roughly 100 m along the stream channel. Individuals were transported in 20 cm by 10 cm plastic cont..., We used R statistical software to analyze the data., # Aquatic top predator prefers terrestrial prey in an intermittent stream
\#This Readme pertains to the manuscript \"Aquatic top predator prefers terrestrial prey in an intermittent stream\"

\#Authors: Amin M. al-Jamal, Albert Ruhi, Rose M. Mohammadi, Michael T. Bogan, Robert J. Fournier

\#Dataset: “al-Jamal et al Belodata.csv”

\#Dataset description: This dataset contains predator body length, experiment notes and the order in which prey were captured

\#Columns:

Specimen: Serial number of predator used in trial, life stage and notes on state of individual

Body Length (mm): Length of the tested predator (in millimeters)

Life Stage: Denotes whether the predator was an adult or a penultimate nymph

Date of Trial: The date that the trial was conducted

Prey Sequence (Terrestrial (T), Aquatic (A), Large (L), Small (S): The size category and origin of the prey- large aquatic prey was labelled as LA, small aquatic prey as SA, large terrestrial prey as LT, and small terrestrial prey as ST
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