Preferential cannibalism as a key stabilizing mechanism of intraguild predation systems with trophic polymorphic predators

Abstract

Theory predicts intraguild predation (IGP) to be unstable despite its ubiquity in nature, prompting exploration of stabilizing mechanisms of IGP. One of the many ways IGP manifests is through inducible trophic polymorphisms in the intraguild (IG) predator, where a resource-eating predator morph competes with the intraguild (IG) prey for the shared resource while a top predator morph consumes the IG prey. Cannibalism is common in this type of system due to the top predator morph’s specialization on the trophic level below it, which includes the resource-eating predator morph. Here, we explore the consequences of inducible trophic polymorphisms in cannibal predators for IGP stability using an IGP model with and without cannibalism. We employ linear stability analysis and identify regions of coexistence based on the top predator morph’s preference for conspecifics vs. heterospecifics and the IG prey’s competitive ability relative to the resource-eating morph. Our findings reveal that preferential cannibalism (i.e., the preferential consumption of conspecifics) stabilizes the system when the IG prey and resource-eating morph have similar competitive abilities for the shared resource. Though original IGP theory finds that the IG prey must be a superior resource competitor as a general criterion for coexistence, this is not typically the case when the predator has an inducible trophic polymorphism and the resource-eating morph is specialized in resource acquisition. Preferential cannibalism may therefore be a key stabilizing mechanism in IGP systems with a cannibalistic, trophic polymorphic IG predators, providing further insight into what general mechanisms stabilize the pervasive IGP interaction.