Match and mismatch: Integrating consumptive effects of predators, prey traits, and habitat selection in colonizing aquatic insects

Predators are a particularly critical component of habitat quality, as they affect survival, morphology, behavior, population size, and community structure through both consumptive and non-consumptive effects. Non-consumptive effects can often exceed consumptive effects, but their relative importance is undetermined in many systems. Our objective was to determine the consumptive and non-consumptive effects of a predaceous aquatic insect, Notonecta irrorata, on colonizing aquatic beetles. We tested how N. irrorata affected survival and habitat selection of colonizing aquatic beetles, how beetle traits contributed to their vulnerability to predation by N. irrorata, and how combined consumptive and non-consumptive effects affected populations and community structure. Predation vulnerabilities ranged from 0–95% mortality, with size, swimming, and exoskeleton traits generating species-specific vulnerabilities. Habitat selection ranged from predator avoidance to preferentially colonizing pred...