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Testing the sentinel method: live and artificial prey display contrasting patterns of predation across an urban gradient
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  • Yu Zeng,
  • Haolin Yang,
  • Yiheng Pan,
  • Yuxuan Li,
  • Dohee Kim,
  • Haokun Wang,
  • Jing Feng,
  • Yuechen Huang,
  • Yingjie Yin,
  • Hanqing Zhao,
  • Yuyang Wu,
  • Craig Barnett,
  • Kate Parr,
  • Samantha C. Patrick,
  • Yi Zou,
  • Emilio Pagani-Núñez
Yu Zeng
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Haolin Yang
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Yiheng Pan
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Yuxuan Li
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Dohee Kim
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Haokun Wang
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Jing Feng
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Yuechen Huang
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Yingjie Yin
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Hanqing Zhao
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Yuyang Wu
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Craig Barnett
Kyoto University
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Kate Parr
University of Liverpool
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Samantha C. Patrick
University of Liverpool
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Yi Zou
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University
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Emilio Pagani-Núñez
Xi'an Jiaotong-Liverpool University

Corresponding Author:e.pagani-nunez@napier.ac.uk

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Abstract

Assessing changes in the intensity of biotic interactions across environmental gradients is a central issue in ecology. The sentinel method has been widely adopted to study predator-prey interactions by establishing patches of prey under different conditions that predators can attack. Sentinels, proxies for prey, are frequently worm-shaped prey resembling caterpillars, with predation measured as the rate of disappearance or evidence of predation after a certain period of exposure. While it has been suggested that artificial sentinel prey might produce divergent results to live prey, previous studies showed mixed results in the difference between these two prey types. Results are likely to vary with context, and the assessment of different prey types along urban gradients is still lacking. Here, we performed an experiment at ten sites across a natural-to-urban gradient in Suzhou (East China) combining live prey and plasticine prey to determine differences in predation intensity between these prey types. We released 2,575 plasticine prey and 3,825 live prey, either separately (plasticine or live prey alone) or combined, in a randomized sequence. We found there was a positive our index of predation and level of urbanization. However, predation rate using artificial prey was lower than with live prey and showed a different pattern with urbanization. The predation rate using live prey was higher for avian predators and lower for insect predators with increasing urbanization rate. Our results suggest that artificial and live prey produce strongly divergent estimates of predation intensity. Thus, while artificial prey might be used as a rapid-screening tool, live prey should be favored in comprehensive studies to assess this fundamental ecosystem service.
26 Nov 2024Submitted to Ecology and Evolution
30 Nov 2024Submission Checks Completed
30 Nov 2024Assigned to Editor
04 Dec 2024Reviewer(s) Assigned