Supplementary Information for Canonical Correspondence Analysis from Sexual dimorphism in a top predator (Notophthalmus viridescens) drives aquatic prey community assembly

Intraspecific variation can have important consequences for the structure and function of ecological communities and serves to link community ecology to evolutionary processes. Differences between the sexes are an overwhelmingly common form of intraspecific variation, but its community-level consequences have never been experimentally investigated. Here, we manipulate the sex ratio of a sexually dimorphic predacious newt in aquatic mesocosms, then track their impact on prey communities. Female and male newts preferentially forage in the benthic and pelagic zones, respectively, causing corresponding reductions in prey abundances in those habitats. Sex ratio differences also explained a large proportion (33%) of differences in the composition of entire pond communities. Ultimately, we demonstrate the impact of known patterns of sexual dimorphism in a predator on its prey, uncovering overlooked links between evolutionary adaptation and the structure of contemporary communities. Given the extreme prevalence of sexual dimorphism, we argue that the independent evolution of the sexes will often have important consequences for ecological communities.种内变异（intraspecific variation）对生态群落（ecological communities）的结构与功能具有重要调控作用，同时架起了连接群落生态学（community ecology）与进化过程（evolutionary processes）的核心桥梁。两性差异是种内变异中最为普遍的一类形式，但此前尚未有实验探究其对群落层面的生态效应。本研究在水生中型实验生态系统（aquatic mesocosms）中，操控具有性二型（sexual dimorphism）特征的掠食性蝾螈（predacious newt）的性别比例，进而追踪其对猎物群落（prey communities）的影响。雌性与雄性蝾螈分别优先在底栖带（benthic zone）与敞水带（pelagic zone）觅食，致使对应生境中的猎物丰度出现显著下降。性别比例差异同样解释了整个池塘群落（pond communities）组成差异中33%的变异量。本研究最终证实了捕食者已知的性二型特征模式对其猎物群落的影响，揭示了进化适应（evolutionary adaptation）与当代群落结构之间此前被忽视的关联。鉴于性二型特征的极端普遍性，我们认为两性的独立进化通常会对生态群落产生重要影响。