Record Details
Towards a cohesive, holistic view of top predation: a definition, synthesis and perspective
ScholarsArchive at Oregon State University
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
| Title | Towards a cohesive, holistic view of top predation: a definition, synthesis and perspective |
| Names |
Sergio, Fabrizio
(creator) Schmitz, Oswald J. (creator) Krebs, Charles J. (creator) Ripple, William J. (creator) et al. (creator) |
| Date Issued | 2014-10 (iso8601) |
| Note | This is an author's peer-reviewed final manuscript, as accepted by the publisher. The published article is copyrighted by the Authors and the Nordic Society Oikos. It is published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., and can be found at: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1111/%28ISSN%291600-0706 |
| Abstract | Research on the ecology of top predators – upper trophic level consumers that are relatively free from predation once they reach adult size – has provided regular contributions to general ecology and is a rapidly expanding and increasingly experimental, multidisciplinary and technological endeavour. Yet, an exponentially expanding literature coupled with rapid disintegration into specialized, disconnected subfields for study (e.g. vertebrate predators versus invertebrate predators, community ecology versus biological control etc.) increasingly means that we are losing a coherent, integrated understating of the role and importance of these species in ecosystems. This process of canalization is likely to hinder sharing of scientific discovery and continued progress, especially as there is a growing need to understand the generality of the top–down forcing, as demonstrated for some members of this group. Here, we propose ways to facilitate synthesis by promoting changes in mentality and awareness among specialists through increased debate and collaboration, conceptual reviews and a series of exemplary case studies. The strategy will rely on the collective contribution by all scientists in the field and will strive to consolidate and formalise top-order predation as a holistic, cohesive, cross-taxonomical field of research studying the ecology, evolution and behaviour of apex predators and their capability to exert top–down forcing on lower trophic levels. |
| Genre | Article |
| Identifier | Sergio, F., Schmitz, O. J., Krebs, C. J., Holt, R. D., Heithaus, M. R., Wirsing, A. J., Ripple, W. J., Ritchie, E., Ainley, D., Oro, D., Jhala, Y., Hiraldo, F. and Korpimäki, E. (2014). Towards a cohesive, holistic view of top predation: a definition, synthesis and perspective. Oikos, 123(10), 1234–1243. doi: 10.1111/oik.01468 |
