Spatial scale of aggregation in three acarine predator species with different degrees of polyphagy

Aggregative responses by the predatory mites, Phytoseiulus persimilis, Typhlodromus occidentalis, and Amblyseius andersoni (Acari: Phytoseiidae), to spatial variation in the density of mobile stages of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) were studied over different spatial scales on greenhouse roses. Significant spatial variations in prey numbers per leaflet, per leaf, per branch or per plant were present in all experimental plots. None of the predator species responded to prey numbers per plant, and all searched randomly among plants. Within a plant, the oligophagous P. persimilis searched randomly among branches, but aggregated strongly among leaves within a branch and among leaflets within a leaf. The narrowly polyphagous T. occidentalis searched randomly among leaflets within a leaf and amond leaves within a branch, but aggregated strongly among leaflets or leaves within a plant. The boradly polyphagous A. andersoni searched randomly among leaflets within a leaf, a branch or a plant, and among leaves within a branch or a plant, but distributed themselves more often on branches with lower prey densities. Thus, specialist predators aggregate strongly at lower spatial levels but show random search at higher spatial levels, whereas generalist predators show random search at lower spatial levels but aggregate at higher spatial levels. This is the first empirical evidence demonstrating the relation between the degree of polyphagy and the spatial scale of aggregation. It is also concluded that both the prey patch size (i.e. grain) and predator foraging range (i.e. extent) are important for analyzing spatial scales of predator aggregation. The importance of studying spatial scale of aggregation is also discussed in relation to predator-prey metapopulation dynamics.