Response To Predation Research Articles

Nonlethal Effects of Predation: The Presence of Insectivorous Birds (Parus major) Affects The Behavior and Level of Stress in Locusts (Schistocerca gregaria)

Insect exposure to their predators can affect individuals and community processes, through direct consumption or nonlethal effects. However, the links between behavioral and physiological responses and stimuli needed for the development of predator avoidance are not clear. We subjected desert locusts (Schistocerca gregaria) to three nonlethal treatments, using great tits (Parus major) as a predator. The treatments included: (1) bird—presence of a great tit and its calls, (2) call—great tit calls only, (3) control—absence of a great tit and its calls. In the first behavioral laboratory experiment, locusts were offered food and shelter in an open space. The duration of hiding versus feeding indicated predator responses. In the second laboratory experiment, locusts were subjected to the same three treatments, and adipokinetic hormone (AKH) levels were measured in the central nervous system (CNS) and hemolymph. In the third experiment in an outdoor aviary, birds were allowed to fly freely over locusts before we measured physiological response. During the first experiment, locusts hid for a significantly longer amount of time and fed for a significantly shorter amount of time when the bird was present and calls were played, compared to when only calls were played or compared to the control treatment. The proximity of birds to locusts in the laboratory experiment elicited a significant increase in AKH levels in the CNS and hemolymph compared to the call/control treatment. The physical proximity of the great tits affected both the behavioral and physiological responses of the locusts.

Stochastic optimal and time-optimal control studies for additional food provided prey–predator systems involving Holling type III functional response

Abstract This article consists of a detailed and novel stochastic optimal control analysis of a coupled non-linear dynamical system. The state equations are modelled as an additional food-provided prey–predator system with Holling type III functional response for predator and intra-specific competition among predators. We first discuss the optimal control problem as a Lagrangian problem with a linear quadratic control. Second, we consider an optimal control problem in the time-optimal control setting. We initially establish the existence of optimal controls for both these problems and later characterize these optimal controls using the Stochastic maximum principle. Further numerical simulations are performed based on stochastic forward-backward sweep methods for realizing the theoretical findings. The results obtained in these optimal control problems are discussed in the context of biological conservation and pest management.

Behavioural responses are associated with mortality and mobility after reintroduction in the endangered Yellow Cardinal

Reintroductions are an important management tool for the conservation of threatened species. Personality or temperament of individuals is likely to influence survival in the reintroduction success of released individuals. We studied behavioural traits related to personality in the globally endangered Yellow Cardinal Gubernatrix cristata and analysed whether these traits were associated with the outcome of a reintroduction programme in Argentina. We found that exploratory behaviour and anti‐predator responses were correlated in Yellow Cardinals. Individuals with higher activity levels in the presence of a predator had a lower risk of mortality following release. Also, less neophobic individuals with increased exploratory behaviour moved farther away from the release site. High activity levels in terms of a predatory response could outweigh the cost of higher exposure to predators and may be beneficial in decreasing predation probability. We recommend the enhancement of predatory responses before release, especially in individuals with inherent low mobility. Long‐term monitoring of future releases will help understand how individual variation in behaviour influences reintroduction success in this species.

BISTABILITY AND TRISTABILITY IN A PREDATOR–PREY MODEL WITH STRONG ALLEE EFFECT IN PREY

Understanding the Allee effect on endangered species is crucial for ecological conservation and management as it highly affects the extinction of a population. Due to several ecological mechanisms accounting for the Allee effect, it is necessary to study the dynamics of a predator–prey model incorporating this phenomenon. In 1999, Cosner et al. [Effects of spatial grouping on the functional response of predators, Theor Popul Biol 56:65–75, 1999] derived a new kind of functional response by considering spatially grouped predators. This paper deals with the dynamical behavior of a predator–prey system with functional response proposed by Cosner et al., and the growth of the prey population suffers a strong Allee effect. We find that the system undergoes various types of bifurcations such as Hopf bifurcation, saddle-node bifurcation, and Bogdanov–Takens bifurcation. We also observe that the model exhibits bistability and two different types of tristability phenomena. Our findings reveal that for such a kind of multistability in ecological systems, the initial population size plays a crucial role and also impacts the system’s state in the long term.

Invasion by an ecosystem engineer changes biotic interactions between native and non-native taxa.

Earth systems are nearing a global tipping point, beyond which the dynamics of biological communities will become unstable. One major driver of instability is species invasion, especially by organisms that act as "ecosystem engineers" through their modification of abiotic and biotic factors. To understand how native organisms respond to modified habitat, it is essential to examine biological communities within invaded and non-invaded habitat, identifying compositional shifts in native and non-native taxa as well as measuring how modification by ecosystem engineers has affected interactions among community members. Using dietary metabarcoding, our study examines the response of a native Hawaiian generalist predator (Araneae: Pagiopalus spp.) to habitat modification by comparing biotic interactions across metapopulations of spiders collected in native forest and sites invaded by kāhili ginger. Our study shows that, although there are shared components of the dietary community, spiders in invaded habitat are eating a less consistent and more diverse diet consisting of more non-native arthropods which are rarely or entirely undetected in spiders collected from native forest. Additionally, the frequency of novel interactions with parasites was significantly higher in invaded sites, reflected by the frequency and diversity of non-native Hymenoptera parasites and entomopathogenic fungi. The study highlights the role of habitat modification driven by an invasive plant in altering community structure and biotic interactions, threatening the stability of the ecosystem through significant changes to the biotic community.

Modelled prey fields predict marine predator foraging success

Modelling marine predator foraging habitats is a widespread research approach for projecting species responses to a rapidly changing Southern Ocean. Yet a key remaining challenge is to understand how changing prey biomass within foraging habitats could affect predator foraging success. Quantifying this using observed prey information is challenging given a paucity of synoptic data. Here, we investigated whether prey biomass from a mechanistic model, could provide useful predictions of pre-breeding arrival body mass of macaroni penguins (Eudyptes chrysolophus) from Marion Island, a standard metric of predator foraging success, measured over a 20-year period. In testing this, we used a spatially iterative correlation approach between predicted prey biomass and observed penguin arrival body mass, allowing likely foraging areas to emerge in regions most frequently associated with significant correlations. We then considered whether the distribution of these emergent foraging areas is consistent with tracking-derived foraging distributions for this species and island. Our results indicated emergent foraging areas where prey biomass was most often correlated with arrival body mass were located within expected and observed foraging ranges. Further, variability in prey biomass, within these emergent foraging areas provided reasonable predictions of annual penguin arrival body mass and outperformed metrics of primary production within these foraging areas. Our findings demonstrate that mechanistic models can provide biologically meaningful representations of difficult-to-observe prey, and can predict predator foraging success. This work could improve understanding of predator responses in a changing habitat.

Marine heatwaves and upwelling shape stress responses in a keystone predator.

Climate change increases the frequency and intensifies the magnitude and duration of extreme events in the sea, particularly so in coastal habitats. However, the interplay of multiple extremes and the consequences for species and ecosystems remain unknown. We experimentally tested the impacts of summer heatwaves of differing intensities and durations, and a subsequent upwelling event on a temperate keystone predator, the starfish Asterias rubens. We recorded mussel consumption throughout the experiment and assessed activity and growth at strategically chosen time points. The upwelling event overall impaired starfish feeding and activity, likely driven by the acidification and low oxygen concentrations in the upwelled seawater. Prior exposure to a present-day heatwave (+5°C above climatology) alleviated upwelling-induced stress, indicating cross-stress tolerance. Heatwaves of present-day intensity decreased starfish feeding and growth. While the imposed heatwaves of limited duration (9 days) caused slight impacts but allowed for recovery, the prolonged (13 days) heatwave impaired overall growth. Projected future heatwaves (+8°C above climatology) caused 100% mortality of starfish. Our findings indicate a positive ecological memory imposed by successive stress events. Yet, starfish populations may still suffer extensive mortality during intensified end-of-century heatwave conditions.

The effects of fear and delay on a predator-prey model with Crowley-Martin functional response and stage structure for predator

<abstract><p>Taking into account the delayed fear induced by predators on the birth rate of prey, the counter-predation sensitiveness of prey, and the direct consumption by predators with stage structure and interference impacts, we proposed a prey-predator model with fear, Crowley-Martin functional response, stage structure and time delays. By use of the functional differential equation theory and Sotomayor's bifurcation theorem, we established some criteria of the local asymptotical stability and bifurcations of the system equilibrium points. Numerically, we validated the theoretical findings and explored the effects of fear, counter-predation sensitivity, direct predation rate and the transversion rate of the immature predator. We found that the functional response as well as the stage structure of predators affected the system stability. The fear and anti-predation sensitivity have positive and negative impacts to the system stability. Low fear level and high anti-predation sensitivity are beneficial to the system stability and the survival of prey. Meanwhile, low anti-predation sensitivity can make the system jump from one equilibrium point to another or make it oscillate between stability and instability frequently, leading to such phenomena as the bubble, or bistability. The fear and mature delays can make the system change from unstable to stable and cause chaos if they are too large. Finally, some ecological suggestions were given to overcome the negative effect induced by fear on the system stability.</p></abstract>

Coleopteran predators of bark and woodboring beetles attracted to traps baited with ethanol and α-pinene in pine (Pinaceae) forests of the southern United States of America

Abstract The effects of ethanol and α-pinene lures on trap catches of forest coleopteran predators and fungivores were evaluated in studies conducted in 2002–2004 to evaluate trap responses of bark and woodboring beetles in the southern United States of America. Traps baited with ethanol, α-pinene, or a combination of the two attracted predator species in six families of Coleoptera. The most abundant species were Coptodera aerata Dejean (Carabidae), Thanasimus dubius Fabricius (Cleridae), Temnoscheila virescens (Fabricius) (Trogossitidae), and Lasconotus spp. (Zopheridae). Most species were attracted by both ethanol and α-pinene lures; traps baited with both compounds generally caught the greatest numbers for most species. There was some evidence of geographic variation in responses to ethanol and α-pinene. For example, catches of C. aerata in ethanol-baited traps were enhanced by the addition of α-pinene in North Carolina but not in Alabama or South Carolina. Catches of Lasconotus spp. in traps baited with α-pinene were enhanced with ethanol in Florida but not in North and South Carolina. The fungivore Pycnomerus sulcicollis LeConte (Zopheridae) was captured in significant numbers in traps baited with α-pinene. Responses of predators to ethanol and α-pinene mirrored those of bark and woodboring beetles captured in these same experiments.

Using GPS location data to assess red fox responses to predator exclosure setup and hatching at shorebird nests

AbstractWire cages (i.e., predator exclosures) are frequently used to protect shorebird nests from predation. While exclosed nests often have higher survival than unexclosed nests, concerns exist over whether the conspicuous structures might draw attention of predators, potentially increasing risks to adults and newly‐hatched chicks. We present a new approach to investigating predator responses to exclosures and other stimuli at shorebird nests. We used location data from GPS‐collared red foxes (Vulpes vulpes) to examine short‐term spatial responses of foxes to exclosure setup and hatching at piping plover (Charadrius melodus) nests on Fire Island, New York. We compared mean distances between fox locations and piping plover nests, and the proportions of fox locations within a 100‐m buffer of nests, before and after exclosure setup and before, during, and after hatching. Mean distances from fox locations to nests were similar before versus after exclosure setup (x̄ = 641 m before, 675 m after; permutation test for matched pairs, [PTMP], T = 0.28, P = 0.56, n = 9 foxes), before versus during hatching (x̄ = 417 m before, 340 m during; PTMP, T = −0.93, P = 0.18, n = 5 foxes) and during versus after hatching (x̄ = 340 m during, 330 m after; PTMP, T = 1.00, P = 0.84, n = 5 foxes). The proportions of fox locations within 100‐m buffers surrounding nests were similar before versus after exclosure setup (x̄ = 0.01 before, 0.03 after; PTMP, T = 0.26, P = 0.53, n = 9 foxes), before versus during hatching (x̄ = 0.04 before, 0.15 during; PTMP, T = −1.44, P = 0.09, n = 5 foxes), and during versus after hatching (x̄ = 0.15 during, 0.14 after; PTMP, T = 0.84, P = 0.80, n = 5 foxes). In 10 of 19 of our individual‐level comparisons, there were no significant differences in the distances from fox locations to nests between paired event periods. In the other 9 individual‐level comparisons, we found evidence of shifts in fox space use between paired event periods, but no clear directional trend across individuals. We conclude that the foxes in our study did not appear to consistently key in on exclosure setup or hatching at piping plover nests at the spatial scales considered in our comparisons. We recommend that managers continually re‐evaluate the effects of exclosures at their management sites, as changes in nest predation, abandonment rates, and adult plover survival may all influence the relative benefit of exclosures for population growth. Our study illustrates the potential for using spatial data to investigate predator responses to various management actions taken to protect nesting shorebirds and other prey species of conservation interest.

Metabolic responses of predators to prey density

The metabolic cost of foraging is the dark energy of ecological systems. It is much harder to observe and to measure than its beneficial counterpart, prey consumption, yet it is not inconsequential for the dynamics of prey and predator populations. Here I define the metabolic response as the change in energy expenditure of predators in response to changes in prey density. It is analogous and intrinsically linked to the functional response, which is the change in consumption rate with prey density, as they are both shaped by adjustments in foraging activity. These adjustments are adaptive, ubiquitous in nature, and are implicitly assumed by models of predator–prey dynamics that impose consumption saturation in functional responses. By ignoring the associated metabolic responses, these models violate the principle of energy conservation and likely underestimate the strength of predator–prey interactions. Using analytical and numerical approaches, I show that missing this component of interaction has broad consequences for dynamical stability and for the robustness of ecosystems to persistent environmental or anthropogenic stressors. Negative metabolic responses – those resulting from decreases in foraging activity when more prey is available, and arguably the most common – lead to lower local stability of food webs and a faster pace of change in population sizes, including higher excitability, higher frequency of oscillations, and quicker return times to equilibrium when stable. They can also buffer the effects of press perturbations, such as harvesting, on target populations and on their prey through top-down trophic cascades, but are expected to magnify bottom-up cascades, including the effects of nutrient enrichment or the effects of altering lower trophic levels that can be caused by environmental forcing and climate change. These results have implications for any resource management approach that relies on models of food web dynamics, which is the case of many applications of ecosystem-based fisheries management. Finally, besides having their own individual effects, metabolic responses have the potential to greatly alter, or even invert, functional response-stability relationships, and therefore can be critical to an integral understanding of predation and its influence on population dynamics and persistence.

Scaling from optimal behavior to population dynamics and ecosystem function

While behavioral responses of individual organisms can be predicted with optimal foraging theory, the theory of how individual behavior feeds back to population and ecosystem dynamics has not been fully explored. Ecological models of trophic interactions incorporating behavior of entire populations commonly assume either that populations act as one when making decisions, that behavior is slowly varying or that non-linear effects are negligible in behavioral choices at the population scale. Here, we scale from individual optimal behavior to ecosystem structure in a classic tri-trophic chain where both prey and predators adapt their behavior in response to food availability and predation risk. Behavior is modeled as playing the field, with both consumers and predators behaving optimally at every instant basing their choices on the average population behavior. We establish uniqueness of the Nash equilibrium, and find it numerically. By modeling the interactions as playing the field, we can perform instantaneous optimization at the individual level while taking the entire population into account. We find that optimal behavior essentially removes the effect of top-down forcing at the population level, while drastically changing the behavior. Bottom-up forcing is found to increase populations at all trophic levels. These phenomena both appear to be driven by an emerging constant consumption rate, corresponding to a partial satiation. In addition, we find that a Type III functional response arises from a Type II response for both predators and consumers when their behavior follows the Nash equilibrium, showing that this is a general phenomenon. Our approach is general and computationally efficient and can be used to account for behavior in population dynamics with fast behavioral responses.

Adapting classic paradigms to analyze alterations of shoal-wide behavior in early-life stages of zebrafish (Danio rerio) – A case study with fluoxetine

Given the strong increase in prescription of neuroactive pharmaceuticals, neurotoxicity has received growing concern in science and the public. Regulatory requirements stimulated the development of new methods to evaluate the risk of neurotoxic substances for humans and the environment, and, with respect to potential damage to aquatic ecosystems, a variety of behavior-based assays have been proposed for neurotoxicity testing, most of which, however, are restricted to changes in the behavior of individual fish. Since many fish species form shoals under natural conditions, this may cause important aspects of behavior to be overlooked and there is a need for behavior assays integrating individual behavior with behavior of the entire swarm. In order to combine more environmentally realistic sub-chronic exposure scenarios with undistorted social behavior and animal welfare considerations, two behavioral assays are proposed that might be integrated into early-life stage toxicity studies according to OECD TG 210, which are commonly run for a multitude of regulations: To this end, protocols for a novel tank test and a predator response assay were adapted to also record the behavior of free-swimming zebrafish (Danio rerio) juveniles within shoals. Comparisons of the diving response (novel tank) or the shoal's coherence and position relative to the stimulus (predator) with control groups allow conclusions about the anxiety state of the fish, which might well have an impact on survival chances in the wild. As a model substance, the antidepressant fluoxetine ((RS)-N-Methyl-3-phenyl-3-(4-trifluoromethylphenoxy)propylamine) produced adverse effects down to concentrations three orders of magnitude below the EC10 from acute fish embryo toxicity tests according to OECD TG 236. With the integration of such behavior tests into OECD TG 210, important population-relevant information on potential neurotoxicity can be collected without increasing the number of experimental animals.

Delayed trophic response of a marine predator to ocean condition and prey availability during the past century.

Understanding the response of predators to ecological change at multiple temporal scales can elucidate critical predator-prey dynamics that would otherwise go unrecognized. We performed compound-specific nitrogen stable isotope analysis of amino acids on 153 harbor seal museum skull specimens to determine how trophic position of this marine predator has responded to ecosystem change over the past century. The relationships between harbor seal trophic position, ocean condition, and prey abundance, were analyzed using hierarchical modeling of a multi-amino-acid framework and applying 1, 2, and 3years temporal lags. We identified delayed responses of harbor seal trophic position to both physical ocean conditions (upwelling, sea surface temperature, freshwater discharge) and prey availability (Pacific hake, Pacific herring, and Chinook salmon). However, the magnitude and direction of the trophic position response to ecological changes depended on the temporal delay. For example, harbor seal trophic position was negatively associated with summer upwelling but had a 1-year delayed response to summer sea surface temperature, indicating that some predator responses to ecosystem change are not immediately observable. These results highlight the importance of considering dynamic responses of predators to their environment as multiple ecological factors are often changing simultaneously and can take years to propagate up the food web.

Some historical thoughts on the functional responses of predators to prey density

The introduction of the functional response into population ecology in 1949 by Maurice Solomon was focused on explaining population regulation by density-dependent mortality caused by predators and natural enemies. Like many simple ecological measures originating at the population level, it was soon being used for other purposes at the single species and individual predator level. It is thus necessary when we use this important response function that we have a clear hypothesis in mind that is being tested. Here I provide a capsular summary of the origins of the functional response and suggest five problems with its application in population and community ecology. The functional response has much utility as a critical component of understanding population and community dynamics but must be carefully aimed at specific questions.

A new model formulation for host depletion in parasitoids

A new model of host depletion in the functional response of parasitoids is presented. Most existing models describe the dynamics of prey consumption as a sequential-memoryless/Markovian process of searching for, handling, and consuming prey, but the feeding interaction between a parasitoid and its host is different. One of the most important characteristics is that the host is not consumed, and remains in the arena. On the other hand, functional response models of solitary parasitoids assume that each host can accommodate an infinite number of oviposition events without being killed or becoming unsuitable as a host without the parasitoid noticing it. As a consequence, host depletion is never considered in parasitoid functional response models. To solve that issue, we extended the traditional random predator and random parasitoid functional response models of Rogers into a compartmental model formulated with ordinary differential equations, to group hosts with a different number of attacks to simulate how the parasitoid spreads the attacks between already parasitized and non-parasitized hosts. This model was further modified to simulate non-sequential memoryless search, handling and oviposition. We studied the behaviour of these models to understand how a variation of their parameters led to different shapes of functional response curves and statistical distributions of the number of parasitoid eggs laid per host. The results showed that the expected curves differ from those predicted by the simpler Holling's disk equation (type II functional response), random parasitoid models (no depletion), and the random predator model (proportional depletion). Finally, the non-sequential-memoryless models predict straight curves resembling a type I functional response at low host densities.

Changes in invertebrate food web structure between high- and low-productivity environments are driven by intermediate but not top-predator diet shifts.

Predator-prey interactions shape ecosystem stability and are influenced by changes in ecosystem productivity. However, because multiple biotic and abiotic drivers shape the trophic responses of predators to productivity, we often observe patterns, but not mechanisms, by which productivity drives food web structure. One way to capture mechanisms shaping trophic responses is to quantify trophic interactions among multiple trophic groups and by using complementary metrics of trophic ecology. In this study, we combine two diet-tracing methods: diet DNA and stable isotopes, for two trophic groups (top predators and intermediate predators) in both low- and high-productivity habitats to elucidate where in the food chain trophic structure shifts in response to changes in underlying ecosystem productivity. We demonstrate that while top predators show increases in isotopic trophic position (<i>δ</i>¹⁵N) with productivity, neither their isotopic niche size nor their DNA diet composition changes. Conversely, intermediate predators show clear turnover in DNA diet composition towards a more predatory prey base in high-productivity habitats. Taking this multi-trophic approach highlights how predator identity shapes responses in predator-prey interactions across environments with different underlying productivity, building predictive power for understanding the outcomes of ongoing anthropogenic change.

When aggressiveness could be too risky: linking personality traits and predator response in superb fairy-wrens.

Personality syndromes in animals may have adaptive benefits for survival. For example, while engaging in predator deterrence, reactive individuals tend to prioritise their own survival, while proactive individuals engage in riskier behaviours. Studies linking animal personality measured in captivity with individual fitness or behaviours in the wild are sparse, which is a gap in knowledge this study aims to address. We used playback experiments in superb fairy-wrens (Malurus cyaneus), a common Australian songbird with a cooperative breeding system, to assess whether three personality traits measured during short-term captivity correlated with behavioural responses in the wild to a perceived nest and adult predator, the grey currawong (Strepera versicolor). We used three standard measures of personality in birds: struggle responses to human handling (boldness), exploration during a novel environment test, and aggressiveness during a mirror presentation. Superb fairy-wrens showed a significantly stronger response to the predator playback than to the control (willie wagtail, Rhipidura leucophrys) playback, suggesting that they recognised the predator playback as a threat without any accompanying visual stimulus. Birds that attacked their mirror image during the mirror presentation and those that spent a moderate amount of time close to the mirror responded more strongly to predator playback (by approaching the speaker faster and closer, spending more time near the speaker, and being more likely to alarm call) compared to those with low aggressiveness or those that spent very short or long durations close to the mirror. Neither boldness nor exploration in the novel environment test predicted playback response. Our results align with a growing number of studies across species showing the importance of animal personalities as factors for fitness and survival.

An eco‐epidemiological model with general functional response of predator to prey

We consider a nonautonomous eco‐epidemiological model with general functions for predation on infected and uninfected preys as well as general functions associated to the vital dynamics of the susceptible prey and predator populations. We obtain persistence and extinction results for the infected prey based on assumptions on auxiliary systems constructed from the disease‐free system. We moreover consider an iterative process that can improve the extinction results. We apply our results to general eco‐epidemiological models that include several examples existent in the literature.

Effect of temperature on the life cycle of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas), and its predation rate on the Spodoptera litura (Fabricius) eggs

Biological control is one of the strategies of pest control which is determined by the biological fitness and metabolic rates of the predator species used. Temperature and resource are important factors which influence the role of insects as biocontrol agents. Harmonia axyridis is a cosmopolitan and non-specific polyphagous predator. It can survive ecologically diverse environments and exploit multiple preys. This study investigated the effects of temperature on the population parameters of H. axyridis and its predation on the eggs of prey Spodoptera litura. For this purpose, an age–stage, two-sex life table of the predator was constructed at four constant temperatures, i.e. 15, 20, 25 and 30 °C, under laboratory settings of: 70 ± 5% RH, and 16:8 h (L: D) photoperiod. A computer simulation was then used to project the population and predation responses with respect to temperatures tested. We found that the development of larvae and adult (male/female) stages of H. axyridis decreased with colder temperatures (i.e., 15 and 20 °C) but increased with warmer temperatures (25 and 30 °C). The intrinsic rate of increase (r) and mean generation time (T) were 0.0662 d−1 and 79.84 d at 15 °C, 0.0843 d−1 and 64.90 d at 20 °C, 0.1067 d−1 and 48.89 d at 25 °C, and 0.1378 d−1 and 35.55 d at 30 °C, respectively. The mean duration of the total pre-adult stage was 44.26, 32.91, 20.63, and 15.39 d at 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C, respectively. At 30 °C. the finite rate of increase (1.1477 d−1) was the highest and the mean generation time (35.55 d) was the shortest. The net predation rate (C0) was 7935.54, 10,466.28, 10,139.38, and 7126.36 eggs at 15, 20, 25, and 30 °C, respectively. Population and predation projections were proportional to temperature. These findings are important for modelling the population responses of H. axyridis to climate change and tailoring integrated pest management strategies to altered climates.