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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Jun 27, 2026

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Experimental Protocol for Manipulating Plant-induced Soil Heterogeneity

Published on: March 13, 2014

Resource competition and shared natural enemies in experimental insect communities.

Thomas S Jones¹, H Charles J Godfray, F J Frank van Veen

¹NERC Centre for Population Biology and Division of Biology, Imperial College London, Silwood Park Campus, Ascot SL57PY, UK.

|December 17, 2008

Summary

Resource competition, not shared enemies, primarily structured this aphid insect community. Intense competition reduced aphid suitability as hosts for parasitoids, hindering their population persistence.

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Area of Science:

Ecology
Community Ecology
Insect Ecology

Background:

Theoretical frameworks exist for resource competition (exploitation) and shared enemies (apparent competition) in structuring communities.
Simultaneous operation of both exploitation and apparent competition presents complex challenges for predicting community structure.

Purpose of the Study:

To experimentally investigate how shared natural enemies and resource competition interact to structure a simple insect community.
To determine the dominant ecological process shaping aphid population dynamics and community structure.

Main Methods:

Assembled replicated experimental insect communities in population cages.
Included two aphid species (Acyrthosiphon pisum, Megoura viciae) and their host plant (Vicia faba).
Manipulated the presence/absence of a shared parasitoid (Praon dorsale) to assess apparent competition alongside resource competition.

Main Results:

Interspecific resource competition emerged as the dominant factor structuring the experimental insect community.
The parasitoid Praon dorsale failed to suppress aphid populations below carrying capacities.
Parasitoid persistence was not supported, as juvenile development did not lead to population growth.

Conclusions:

Intense resource competition may decrease aphid host suitability for parasitoids, leading to negative population growth rates for the parasitoids.
This suggests that resource competition can override the effects of apparent competition in certain ecological contexts.
The findings prompt discussion on the prevalence of this phenomenon in natural and agricultural ecosystems.