DOI: 10.5061/dryad.11h73
title: Data from: Native and non-native plants provide similar refuge to invertebrate prey, but less than artificial plants

description: Non-native species introductions are widespread and can affect ecosystem
 functioning by altering the structure of food webs. Invading plants often
 modify habitat structure, which may affect the suitability of vegetation
 as refuge and could thus impact predator-prey dynamics. Yet little is
 known about how the replacement of native by non-native vegetation affects
 predator-prey dynamics. We hypothesize that plant refuge provisioning
 depends on (1) the plant’s native status, (2) plant structural complexity
 and morphology, (3) predator identity, and (4) prey identity, as well as
 that (5) structurally similar living and artificial plants provide similar
 refuge. We used aquatic communities as a model system and compared the
 refuge provided by plants to macroinvertebrates (Daphnia pulex, Gammarus
 pulex and damselfly larvae) in three short-term laboratory predation
 experiments. Plant refuge provisioning differed between plant species, but
 was generally similar for native (Myriophyllum spicatum, Ceratophyllum
 demersum, Potamogeton perfoliatus) and non-native plants (Vallisneria
 spiralis, Myriophyllum heterophyllum, Cabomba caroliniana). However, plant
 refuge provisioning to macroinvertebrate prey depended primarily on
 predator (mirror carp: Cyprinus carpio carpio and dragonfly larvae: Anax
 imperator) and prey identity, while the effects of plant structural
 complexity were only minor. Contrary to living plants, artificial plant
 analogues did improve prey survival, particularly with increasing
 structural complexity and shoot density. As such, plant rigidity, which
 was high for artificial plants and one of the living plant species
 evaluated in this study (Ceratophyllum demersum), may interact with
 structural complexity to play a key role in refuge provisioning to
 specific prey (Gammarus pulex). Our results demonstrate that replacement
 of native by structurally similar non-native vegetation is unlikely to
 greatly affect predator-prey dynamics. We propose that modification of
 predator-prey interactions through plant invasions only occurs when
 invading plants radically differ in growth form, density and rigidity
 compared to native plants.
description: Predator-prey survival
 data for native and non-native aquatic plantsPrey survival data was
 collected in a series of three aquarium experiments. The file is split
 into two tabs: realplant-survival used for Figure 1 and
 artificialplant-survival used for Figure 2. The first tab contains data
 about prey survival under mirror carp or dragonfly larvae predation in
 monocultures of real aquatic plants, at low and high stem density. The
 column headings in the first tab are: totalID (distinct ID per record),
 testSpecies (gives scientific name of plant species tested), preySurvival
 (%-prey survival), stemDensity (plant stem density), plantOrigin (plant
 native status in Northwestern Europe), dayExperiment (day that data record
 was collected in predator-prey trial), periodDay (time of the day that
 data record was collected in predator-prey trial), preySpecies (type of
 prey for data record), predatorSpecies (type of predator for data record),
 predatorIndividual (unique ID for dragonfly individual or unique ID for
 fish pairs). The second tab contains data about prey survival under mirror
 carp predation, in monocultures of artificial plant analogues resembling
 aquatic plants, at low and high stem density. For information on column
 headings in the second tab, see descriptions given for headings in the
 first tab. Information on the number of prey at t0, the duration of
 predation trials, plant density and other ifnormation is provided in the
 corresponding publication.prey-survival-2014.xls