Decomposing drivers in avian insectivory: large-scale effects of climate, habitat and bird diversity

Aim According to the Latitudinal Biotic Interaction Hypothesis (LBIH), the general increase in biodiversity towards lower latitudes can be partially explained by an increase in the intensity of biotic interactions. While LBIH received some support for plant-herbivores interactions, much less is known about how higher trophic levels may contribute to shape biotic interactions across latitudinal gradients. We hypothesized that the diversity of insectivorous birds increases towards lower latitude, leading to higher predation rates on insect herbivores. Location Europe. Taxon Insectivorous birds and pedunculate oaks. Methods We deployed plasticine caterpillars in 138 oak trees in 47 sites along a 19° latitudinal gradient in Europe to quantify bird insectivory through predation attempts. In addition, we used passive acoustic monitoring to (i) characterize the acoustic diversity of surrounding soundscapes; and (ii) infer both taxonomic and functional diversity of insectivorous birds from recordings. Results The functional diversity of insectivorous birds increased towards lower latitude. Bird predation increased with latitude, forest cover and bird acoustic diversity but decreased with mean annual temperature and functional richness of insectivorous birds. Contrary to our predictions, latitudinal clines in bird predation attempts were not directly mediated by changes in insectivorous bird diversity or acoustic diversity, but latitude and habitat still had independent effects on predation attempts. Main conclusions Our study does not fully support the predictions of the LBIH of more biotic interactions southwards and advocates for better accounting for activity and abundance of insectivorous birds when studying the large-scale variation in insect-tree interactions.