Flexible foraging behaviour increases predator vulnerability to climate change

Benoit Gauzens (), Benjamin Rosenbaum, Gregor Kalinkat, Thomas Boy, Malte Jochum, Susanne Kortsch, Eoin J. O’Gorman and Ulrich Brose
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Benoit Gauzens: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Benjamin Rosenbaum: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Gregor Kalinkat: Leibniz Institute of Freshwater Ecology and Inland Fisheries
Thomas Boy: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig
Malte Jochum: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle‐Jena‐Leipzig
Susanne Kortsch: University of Helsinki
Eoin J. O’Gorman: University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park
Ulrich Brose: German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv) Halle-Jena-Leipzig

Nature Climate Change, 2024, vol. 14, issue 4, 387-392

Abstract: Abstract Higher temperatures are expected to reduce species coexistence by increasing energetic demands. However, flexible foraging behaviour could balance this effect by allowing predators to target specific prey species to maximize their energy intake, according to principles of optimal foraging theory. Here we test these assumptions using a large dataset comprising 2,487 stomach contents from six fish species with different feeding strategies, sampled across environments with varying prey availability over 12 years in Kiel Bay (Baltic Sea). Our results show that foraging shifts from trait- to density-dependent prey selectivity in warmer and more productive environments. This behavioural change leads to lower consumption efficiency at higher temperature as fish select more abundant but less energetically rewarding prey, thereby undermining species persistence and biodiversity. By integrating this behaviour into dynamic food web models, our study reveals that flexible foraging leads to lower species coexistence and biodiversity in communities under global warming.

Date: 2024
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DOI: 10.1038/s41558-024-01946-y

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