DOI: 10.5061/dryad.7tn01
title: Data from: Trait-matching and phylogeny as predictors of predator-prey interactions involving ground beetles

description: With global change modifying species assemblages, our success in
 predicting ecosystem level consequences of these new communities will
 depend, in part, on our ability to understand biotic interactions. Current
 food web theory considers interactions between numerous species
 simultaneously, but descriptive models are unable to predict interactions
 between newly co-occurring species. Incorporating proxies such as
 functional traits and phylogeny into models could help infer predator/
 prey interactions. Here we used trait-matching between predator feeding
 traits and prey vulnerability traits, along with phylogeny (used as a
 proxy for chemical defence and other traits difficult to document), to
 infer predatory interactions using ground beetles as model organisms. A
 feeding experiment was conducted involving 20 ground beetle and 115 prey
 species to determine which pair of species did or did not interact. Eight
 predator and four prey functional traits were measured directly on
 specimens. Then, using a modeling approach based on the
 matching-centrality formalism, we evaluated 511 predictive ecological
 models that tested different combinations of all predator and prey
 functional traits, and phylogenetic information. The most parsimonious
 model accurately predicted 81 % of the observed realized and unrealized
 interactions, using phylogenetic information and the trait-matches
 predator biting force/ prey cuticular toughness and predator/ prey body
 size ratio. The best trait-based models predicted correctly &gt;80 %
 which species interact (realized interactions), but predict &lt;58 %
 of which species did not interact (unrealized interactions). Adding a
 phylogenetic term representing the evolutionary distance within each
 trophic level increased the ability to predict which species did not
 interact to &gt;75 %. The matching of predator biting force and prey
 cuticular toughness demonstrated a better predictive power than the
 commonly used predator/ prey body size ratio. Our novel model combining
 both functional traits and phylogeny extends beyond existing descriptive
 approaches and could represent a valuable tool to predict consumer/
 resource interactions of newly introduced species and to resolve cryptic
 food webs.
description: Feeding traits of ground
 beetles (Carabidae)Traits and phylogenetic
 position for each ground beetle individual used in a feeding experiment
 conducted in a controlled laboratory environment. Refer to the Appendix S2
 from the original paper for a precise description of how traits and
 phylogenetic position were measured.CarabidaeTraits.csvVulnerability traits of preyTraits and phylogenetic position for each prey individual used in a feeding experiment conducted in a controlled laboratory environment. Refer to the original paper for a precise description of how traits and phylogenetic position were measured.PreyTraits.csvInteraction matrix of ground beetles and preyThis dataset presents the interaction matrix between the ground beetles and the prey. The data are presented as species pair matches.InteractionsData.csv