Data from: Does prey encounter and nutrient content affect prey selection in wolf spiders inhabiting Bt cotton fields?

Wolf spiders are abundant and voracious predators at the soil-plant interface in cotton crops. Among other prey, they attack late-instar larvae of the cotton bollworm Helicoverpa spp., an economically important pest. Consequently, wolf spiders in transgenic Bt cotton could provide significant biological control of Bt-resistant Helicoverpa larvae that descend to the soil to pupate. The predator-prey interactions between wolf spiders and Helicoverpa could, however, be constrained by the presence of alternative prey and intraguild predators. This study used laboratory enclosures to analyse the effect of alternative prey on predatory selection of the wolf spider Tasmanicosa leuckartii Thorell. The prey included another wolf spider Hogna crispipes Koch (potential intraguild predator), the ground cricket Teleogryllus commodus Walker (minor pest), and Helicoverpa armigera larvae (major pest). We tested if encounter rates, prey vulnerability, and prey nutritional content influenced the likelihood that a prey was attacked. In three-way food webs, Tasmanicosa encountered and attacked Teleogryllus and Helicoverpa in similar frequencies. However, in the presence of a competing intraguild predator and potential prey (Hogna) in a four-way food web, Tasmanicosa did not always attack Teleogryllus at first encounter, but still attacked Helicoverpa at each encounter. Helicoverpa (protein-poor) and Hogna (protein-rich) were consumed by Tasmanicosa in similar proportions, suggesting that Tasmanicosa might benefit from nutrient balance as an outcome of diverse prey in this food web. As Teleogryllus (protein rich) escapes quicker than Helicoverpa and Hogna, Hogna may be an easier protein-rich option than Teleogryllus. Field surveys showed that while Teleogryllus was the most common prey, wolf spiders feed on diverse insect taxa, as well as other spiders. That Tasmanicosa readily attacked Helicoverpa larvae in the presence of alternative prey is an encouraging result that supports the potential of Tasmanicosa predation to assist in the control of Bt-resistant Helicoverpa larvae and thereby inhibit the proliferation and spread of resistance. Usage Notes 3_way 4_way food websDescribes characteristics of animals and encounter and predation outcomes in 3-way and 4-way food websLipid and protein analysis dataRaw data on the analysis of protein and lipid contents of arthropods in this food webLipid and protein analysis raw data.xlsxPrey of wolf spiders in cotton fieldsField observations of spider predation in cotton fields狼蛛（Wolf spiders）是棉花农田土壤-植物界面上数量丰富且生性贪食的捕食者。它们可捕食多种猎物，其中包括经济重要性害虫棉铃虫属（Helicoverpa spp.）的晚龄幼虫。因此，转Bt基因棉花（transgenic Bt cotton）田中的狼蛛，能够对下移至土壤中化蛹的抗Bt棉铃虫幼虫提供显著的生物防控作用。不过，狼蛛与棉铃虫间的捕食者-猎物互作（predator-prey interactions），可能会因替代猎物与集团内捕食者（intraguild predators）的存在而受到制约。 本研究通过实验室笼养围栏实验，分析了替代猎物对狼蛛Tasmanicosa leuckartii Thorell的捕食选择偏好的影响。本次实验的猎物类群包括另一种狼蛛——霍氏狼蛛Hogna crispipes Koch（潜在集团内捕食者）、澳洲地蟋Teleogryllus commodus Walker（次要害虫），以及棉铃虫Helicoverpa armigera幼虫（主要害虫）。本研究验证了遭遇率、猎物易感性与猎物营养成分，是否会影响狼蛛发起捕食攻击的概率。 在三方食物网中，Tasmanicosa leuckartii对Teleogryllus commodus与Helicoverpa armigera的遭遇与攻击频率相近。然而，当四方食物网中存在竞争性集团内捕食者兼潜在猎物（Hogna crispipes）时，Tasmanicosa leuckartii并非总会在首次遭遇时攻击Teleogryllus commodus，但每次遭遇Helicoverpa armigera时均会发起攻击。Tasmanicosa leuckartii对蛋白含量较低的Helicoverpa armigera与蛋白含量较高的Hogna crispipes的取食比例相近，这表明该狼蛛或可通过取食该食物网中的多样猎物，实现营养摄入的均衡。由于Teleogryllus commodus的逃逸速度快于Helicoverpa armigera与Hogna crispipes，相较于澳洲地蟋，霍氏狼蛛或是更容易获取的高蛋白猎物选项。 野外调查结果显示，尽管澳洲地蟋是最为常见的猎物类群，但狼蛛的捕食对象涵盖多种昆虫类群以及其他蜘蛛。在存在替代猎物的情况下，Tasmanicosa leuckartii仍能主动攻击棉铃虫幼虫，这一结果令人振奋，证实了该狼蛛的捕食行为可助力防控抗Bt棉铃虫幼虫，进而抑制抗药性的扩散与蔓延。 使用说明 - 三方、四方食物网：阐释三方与四方食物网中的动物类群特征、猎物遭遇情况与捕食结果 - 脂质与蛋白质分析数据集：本研究食物网节肢动物的蛋白质与脂质含量分析原始数据 - 脂质与蛋白质分析原始数据.xlsx：保留原始文件名 - 棉田狼蛛猎物类群：棉田蜘蛛捕食行为的野外观测记录