Scavenging and active predation in generalist predators: A mesocosm study employing DNA-based gut content analysis

Scavenging presumably is common among invertebrate generalist predators, however, only few studies have specifically dealt with the consumption of dead prey. Here consumption of dead and living prey within a guild of generalist predators was investigated using mesocosm experiments and DNA-based gut content analysis. A community of predators including carabids, staphylinids and spiders was released into 0.2 m2 mesocosms, planted with wheat and infested with grain aphids Sitobion avenae. At predator release, freshly killed bird cherry-oat aphids, Rhopalosiphum padi, were provided as carrion prey at the soil surface. Two days after predator release, predators were collected and their gut content screened for DNA of both aphid species using multiplex PCR. Comparing detection frequencies of DNA from living and dead prey, we found that all predators frequently consumed dead aphids, except for the lycosid spider Trochosa ruricola which exclusively fed on S. avenae. In contrast, in the tetragnathid spider Pachygnatha degeeri, supposed to feed mainly on living prey, detection rates of R. padi DNA were high. Our findings support previous assumptions that many generalist predators are facultative scavengers. This needs to be considered for the interpretation of field-derived data using approaches of gut content analyses as well as when assessing predators’ pest control potential.