Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 13, 2026
07:08
Isolation of Viable Multicellular Glands from Tissue of the Carnivorous Plant, Nepenthes
Published on: December 22, 2013
Evidence for competition between carnivorous plants and spiders
David E Jennings1, James J Krupa, Thomas R Raffel
1Department of Integrative Biology, University of South Florida, Tampa, FL 33620, USA. dejennin@mail.usf.edu
Proceedings. Biological Sciences
|May 14, 2010
Summary
Carnivorous plants and animals, like sundews and wolf spiders, compete for prey. This competition can impact their populations and interactions within ecosystems.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Community Ecology
- Interspecific Competition
Background:
- Competition between different taxa influences community structure.
- Quantitative studies on competition between carnivorous plants and animals are lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate dietary and microhabitat overlap between pink sundews (Drosera capillaris) and wolf spiders (Lycosidae).
- To experimentally assess the impact of wolf spiders on sundew fitness.
Main Methods:
- Field observations of dietary and microhabitat overlap.
- Laboratory experiments to determine the effect of wolf spiders on sundew fitness.
- Analysis of prey availability and spatial distribution of both species.
Main Results:
- High dietary overlap was observed between sundews, spiders, and available arthropod prey.
- Spiders adjusted web size and location in response to sundew presence and prey abundance, indicating competition avoidance.
- Laboratory experiments showed significant negative effects of wolf spiders on sundew fitness.
Conclusions:
- Carnivorous plants and animals can engage in significant interspecific competition.
- Competition dynamics are influenced by resource availability and spatial interactions.
- This study provides novel evidence for plant-animal competition in ecological communities.
Related Concept Videos
02:40Epiphytes, Parasites, and Carnivores
Plants often form mutualistic relationships with soil-dwelling fungi or bacteria to enhance their roots’ nutrient uptake ability. Root-colonizing fungi (e.g., mycorrhizae) increase a plant’s root surface area, which promotes nutrient absorption. While root-colonizing, nitrogen-fixing bacteria (e.g., rhizobia) convert atmospheric nitrogen (N2) into ammonia (NH3), making nitrogen available to plants for various biological functions. For example, nitrogen is essential for the biosynthesis of the...
02:39Predator-Prey Interactions
Predators consume prey for energy. Predators that acquire prey and prey that avoid predation both increase their chances of survival and reproduction (i.e., fitness). Routine predator-prey interactions elicit mutual adaptations that improve predator offenses, such as claws, teeth, and speed, as well as prey defenses, including crypsis, aposematism, and mimicry. Thus, predator-prey interactions resemble an evolutionary arms race.Although predation is commonly associated with carnivory, for...
02:34Competition
When organisms require the same limited resources within an environment, they may have to compete for them. Competition is a net-negative interaction. Even if two competing individuals or populations do not interact directly, the overall fitness of both competitors is lowered as a result of not having full access to the limited resource.Intraspecific competition, which occurs between individuals of the same species, serves as a natural mechanism for regulating population size. Too much...
02:26Defenses Against Pathogens and Herbivores
Plants present a rich source of nutrients for many organisms, making it a target for herbivores and infectious agents. Plants, though lacking a proper immune system, have developed an array of constitutive and inducible defenses to fend off these attacks.
00:58Symbiosis
Symbiotic relationships are long-term, close interactions between individuals of different species that affect the distribution and abundance of those species. When a relationship is beneficial to both species, this is called mutualism. When the relationship is beneficial to one species but neither beneficial nor harmful to the other species, this is called commensalism. When one organism is harmed to benefit another, the relationship is known as parasitism. These types of relationships often...
02:40Pollination and Flower Structure
Flowers are the reproductive, seed-producing structures of angiosperms. Typically, flowers consist of sepals, petals, stamens, and carpels. Sepals and petals are the vegetative flower organs. Stamens and carpels are the reproductive organs.