Reducible defence: chemical protection alters the dynamics of predator–prey interactions

Abstract

Morphological and chemical defences are widespread anti-predator mechanisms in most domains of life, and play an important role in understanding predator–prey interactions. Classical concepts of dynamical protection (‘inducible defence’) include the morphological changes in certain crustaceans or the production of chemicals in many plants. Permanently stored defensive secretions are, to our knowledge, ignored in food web ecology. We show that this kind of chemical defence is highly dynamic and may loose its effect over time (‘reducible defence’). Combining experimental and theoretical approaches, we show that chemical defence also changes the time budget of predators and decreases the strength of the functional response. However, this may be counteracted by increasing predator density—an effect we call ‘apparent facilitation’. The interplay of ‘reducible defence’ and ‘apparent facilitation’ may substantially contribute to stability in terrestrial ecosystems.