Antagonistic interactions between an invasive alien and a native coccinellid species may promote coexistence.

Despite the capacity of invasive alien species to alter ecosystems, the mechanisms underlying their impact remain only partly understood. Invasive alien predators, for example, can significantly disrupt recipient communities by consuming prey species or acting as an intraguild predator (IGP). Behavioural interactions are key components of interspecific competition between predators, yet these are often overlooked invasion processes. Here, we show how behavioural, non-lethal IGP interactions might facilitate the establishment success of an invading alien species. We experimentally assessed changes in feeding behaviour (prey preference and consumption rate) of native UK coccinellid species (Adalia bipunctata and Coccinella septempunctata), whose populations are, respectively, declining and stable, when exposed to the invasive intraguild predator, Harmonia axyridis. Using a population dynamics model parameterized with these experimental data, we predicted how intraguild predation, accommodating interspecific behavioural interactions, might impact the abundance of the native and invasive alien species over time. When competing for the same aphid resource, the feeding rate of A. bipunctata significantly increased compared to the feeding in isolation, while the feeding rate of H. axyridis significantly decreased. This suggests that despite significant declines in the UK, A. bipunctata is a superior competitor to the intraguild predator H. axyridis. In contrast, the behaviour of non-declining C. septempunctata was unaltered by the presence of H. axyridis. Our experimental data show the differential behavioural plasticity of competing native and invasive alien predators, but do not explain A. bipunctata declines observed in the UK. Using behavioural plasticity as a parameter in a population dynamic model for A. bipunctata and H. axyridis, coexistence is predicted between the native and invasive alien following an initial period of decline in the native species. We demonstrate how empirical and theoretical techniques can be combined to understand better the processes and consequences of alien species invasions for native biodiversity.

Elevated atmospheric CO2 impairs aphid escape responses to predators and conspecific alarm signals.

Research into the impact of atmospheric change on predator-prey interactions has mainly focused on density dependent responses and trophic linkages. As yet, the chemical ecology underpinning predator-prey interactions has received little attention in environmental change research. Group living animals have evolved behavioral mechanisms to escape predation, including chemical alarm signalling. Chemical alarm signalling between conspecific prey could be susceptible to environmental change if the physiology and behavior of these organisms are affected by changes in dietary quality resulting from environmental change. Using Rubus idaeus plants, we show that elevated concentrations of atmospheric CO2 (eCO2) severely impaired escape responses of the aphid Amphorophora idaei to predation by ladybird larvae (Harmonia axyridis). Escape responses to ladybirds was reduced by >50% after aphids had been reared on plants grown under eCO2. This behavioral response was rapidly induced, occurring within 24 h of being transferred to plants grown at eCO2 and, once induced, persisted even after aphids were transferred to plants grown at ambient CO2. Escape responses were impaired due to reduced sensitivity to aphid alarm pheromone, (E)-ß-farnesene, via an undefined plant-mediated mechanism. Aphid abundance often increases under eCO2, however, reduced efficacy of conspecific signalling may increase aphid vulnerability to predation, highlighting the need to study the chemical ecology of predator-prey interactions under environmental change.

Bed bug aggregation on dirty laundry: a mechanism for passive dispersal.

Bed bugs have shown a recent and rapid global expansion that has been suggested to be caused by cheap air travel. How a small, flightless and anachoretic insect that hides within its host's sleeping area manages to travel long distances is not yet clear. Bed bugs are attracted to the odour of sleeping humans and we suggest that soiled clothing may present a similarly attractive cue, allowing bed bugs to 'hitch-hike' around the world after aggregating in the laundry bags of travellers. We show that (1) soiled clothing is significantly more attractive than clean clothing to active bed bugs moving within a bedroom sized arena and (2) elevation of CO2 to a level that simulates human occupancy in the same arena appears to initiate search behaviour rather than direct it. Our results show, for the first time, how leaving worn clothing exposed in sleeping areas when travelling can be exploited by bed bugs to facilitate passive dispersal.

Global climate change and above- belowground insect herbivore interactions.

Predicted changes to the Earth's climate are likely to affect above-belowground interactions. Our understanding is limited, however, by past focus on two-species aboveground interactions mostly ignoring belowground influences. Despite their importance to ecosystem processes, there remains a dearth of empirical evidence showing how climate change will affect above-belowground interactions. The responses of above- and belowground organisms to climate change are likely to differ given the fundamentally different niches they inhabit. Yet there are few studies that address the biological and ecological reactions of belowground herbivores to environmental conditions in current and future climates. Even fewer studies investigate the consequences of climate change for above-belowground interactions between herbivores and other organisms; those that do provide no evidence of a directed response. This paper highlights the importance of considering the belowground fauna when making predictions on the effects of climate change on plant-mediated interspecific interactions.