Predicting whether a predator is capable of affecting the dynamics of a prey species in the field implies the analysis of the complete diet of the predator, not simply rates of predation on a target taxon. Here, we employed the Ion Torrent next-generation sequencing technology to investigate the diet of a generalist arthropod predator. A complete dietary analysis requires the use of general primers, but these will also amplify the predator unless suppressed using a...

Ecotypic variation among populations may become associated with widespread genomic differentiation, but theory predicts that this should happen only under particular conditions of gene flow, selection and population size. In closely related species, we might expect the strength of host-associated genomic differentiation (HAD) to be correlated with the degree of phenotypic differentiation in host-adaptive traits. Using microsatellite and Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) markers, and controlling for isolation by distance between populations, we sought HAD...

1. Seed-caching rodents play a key role in the ecology of seed dispersal by not only consuming but also dispersing seeds. Rodent foraging behaviour is usually framed within optimal models which predict that their decisions should maximize food intake and minimize foraging costs. Yet, although predation risk and seed pilferage by conspecifics have been envisaged as two potential costs, their relevance for seed-caching behaviour and seed dispersal has barely been addressed. 2. To test the...