Lethal Interactions Between Parasites and Prey Increase Niche Diversity in a Tropical Community

• DOI: 10.1126/science.1245007
• Publication Date: 2014-03-13T18:15:49Z
• Authors: Marty A. Condon; Sonja J. Scheffer; Matthew L. Lewis; Robert Wharton; Dean C. Adams; Andrew A. Forbes
• Keywords: Niche differentiation

Ecological specialization should minimize niche overlap, yet herbivorous neotropical flies (Blepharoneura) and their lethal parasitic wasps (parasitoids) exhibit both extreme apparent overlap in host plants. From just two plant species at one site Peru, we collected 3636 flowers yielding 1478 fly pupae representing 14 Blepharoneura species, 18 parasitoid (14 Bellopius species), parasitoid-host associations, all discovered through analysis of molecular data. Multiple sympatric specialize on the same sex host-plant species-which suggests overlap; however, partitioning was exposed by interactions between flies. Most emerged as adults from only evidence (preadult emergence samples) show that most also attacked additional but never those