Data from: Prey diversity, prey composition, and predator population dynamics in experimental microcosms

1. Food‐web complexity‐stability relations are central to ecology, and
many empirical studies show greater food‐web complexity leads to lower
population stability. Here, predator population variability decreased with
increasing prey diversity in aquatic microcosm experiments, an example of
greater food‐web complexity leading to greater population stability. 2.
Prey diversity as well as different sets of prey species within each level
of prey diversity produced differences in predator population dynamics,
demonstrating the importance of both prey composition and prey diversity
in determining predator population stability. 3. Prey diversity can affect
predator population dynamics through at least three groups of mechanisms:
prey reliability, prey biomass, and prey composition mechanisms. The
results suggest that greater prey reliability at higher prey diversities
enhances predator stability and provide support for MacArthur (1955).