Arthropods as vertebrate predators: a review of global patterns

Aim: Arthropods as vertebrate predators is generally overlooked in ecology due to the cryptic nature of these events, the relatively small size of arthropods, and the difficulty in finding published data. This study represents the largest global assessment of arthropods preying on vertebrates to provide a conceptual framework, identify global patterns, and provide a searchable database. Location: Global. Time period: Present. Major taxa studied: Arthropods and vertebrates. Methods: A systematic literature review was conducted. Results: Nearly 1300 recorded observations were collated from 89 countries. Arthropod predators were from six classes and 80 families. Vertebrate prey were from five classes and 162 families. Spiders represented over half of all predatory events and were the main predator for all vertebrates except birds, which were preyed mostly upon by praying mantises. Over a third of all prey were amphibians, specifically frogs. Preyed reptiles were nearly all lizards...研究目的：节肢动物捕食脊椎动物的生态学研究通常被忽视，原因在于该类捕食事件具有隐蔽性、节肢动物体型相对较小，且难以获取已发表的相关数据。本研究开展了迄今规模最大的全球节肢动物捕食脊椎动物的评估工作，旨在构建概念框架、明确全球分布模式，并提供一个可检索的数据库。 研究区域：全球范围；时间跨度：当前；研究类群：节肢动物（Arthropods）与脊椎动物（vertebrates）。 研究方法：采用系统文献综述法。 研究结果：共收集整理了来自89个国家的近1300条观测记录。捕食者节肢动物隶属于6纲80科，被捕食的脊椎动物则涵盖5纲162科。蜘蛛类群占所有捕食事件的半数以上，是除鸟类外所有脊椎动物猎物的主要捕食者；鸟类的主要捕食者则为螳螂。超过三分之一的猎物为两栖动物，其中以蛙类为主。被捕食的爬行动物几乎均为蜥蜴类……