This thesis deals with the role of species traits in predator-prey interactions and food web structure. I conducted laboratory experiments with predatory aquatic insects and their prey to reveal the traits determining who eats whom in small standing waters. I also focused on the possibility of incorporating the observed dependence of predator-prey interactions on body mass into existing food web models. Further, I developed a simple simulation model to explore the consequences of body mass dependent feeding and dispersal for food web assembly. Last, I show that four common methods for sampling aquatic insects differ in their selectivity, especially on the basis of body mass of sampled insects. In conclusion, I combined laboratory experiments, field work and mathematical models to evaluate the importance of body mass and other species traits, such as foraging behaviour and microhabitat selectivity, in predator-prey interactions and explored selected food web level consequences.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:nusl.cz/oai:invenio.nusl.cz:151609 |
| Date | January 2012 |
| Creators | KLEČKA, Jan |
| Source Sets | Czech ETDs |
| Language | Czech |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | info:eu-repo/semantics/doctoralThesis |
| Rights | info:eu-repo/semantics/restrictedAccess |
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