The negative effects of pathogen-infected prey on predators: a meta-analysis

Intra-guild predation (IGP) – where a top predator (IGPred) consumes both a basal resource and a competitor for that resource (IGPrey) – has become a fundamental part of understanding species interactions and community dynamics. IGP communities composed of intraguild predators and prey have been well studied; however, we know less about IGP communities composed of predators, pathogens, and resources. Resource quality plays an important role in community dynamics and may influence IGP dynamics as well. We conducted a meta-analysis on predator–pathogen–resource communities to determine whether resource quality mediated by the pathogen affected predator life-history traits and if these effects met the theoretical constraints of IGP communities. To do this, we summarized results from studies that investigated the use of predators and pathogens to control insect pests. In these systems, the predators are the IGPred and pathogens are the IGPrey. We found that consumer longevity, fecundity, an...