Feeding trials of bromeliad invertebrates

To test whether related predators eat similar prey, we fed prey to predators in laboratory feeding trials. We conducted 314 feeding trials of 10 predator taxa and 14 prey taxa between March and April 2011. We performed as many feeding trials as possible, however many combinations between rare taxa are still missing.
We tested 56 pairwise combinations. Most trials were replicated at least five times, but the number of replicates ranged from 1 to 11. To conduct the trials, we placed
predators together with prey in a 50ml vial, with a stick for
substrate. The only exception was the tabanid larvae, which we
placed between two vertical surfaces to imitate the narrow space found in
bromeliad leaf axils (their preferred microhabitat, necessary for successful feeding). Generally our trials contained a single predator and a
single prey individual, except in the case of very small prey (_Elpidium_ sp.)
or predators (_Monopelopia_ sp.) in which case we increased the density of the small taxon to five. We recorded whether prey was consumed after 24 hours.

All tests were performed at the Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso, in São Paulo State, Brazil (25° 03' S, 47° 53' W)

为验证亲缘关系相近的捕食者是否取食相似猎物，我们通过实验室捕食实验向捕食者投喂猎物。本研究于2011年3月至4月间，完成了涵盖10个捕食者类群、14个猎物类群的共计314次捕食实验。尽管我们尽可能多地开展了捕食实验，但稀有类群间的多数配对组合仍存在缺失。

本次实验共测试了56种配对组合。多数实验至少重复5次，但重复次数区间为1至11次。实验过程中，我们将捕食者与猎物一同置于50mL的小瓶中，并放置一根枝条作为附着基质。唯一的例外是虻幼虫（tabanid larvae）：我们将其置于两块垂直表面之间，以模拟凤梨科植物叶腋内的狭窄空间——这是其偏好的微生境，亦是实验成功的必要条件。通常情况下，单次实验仅包含1头捕食者与1头猎物个体，但针对体型极小的Elpidium属未定种（_Elpidium_ sp.）猎物或Monopelopia属未定种（_Monopelopia_ sp.）捕食者，我们将该小型类群的种群密度提升至5头。我们会在实验开展24小时后记录猎物是否被取食。

所有实验均在巴西圣保罗州的卡多索岛国家公园（Parque Estadual da Ilha do Cardoso，坐标：25°03'S，47°53'W）内完成。