Local and large-scale spatial variation in a marine predator–prey interaction in the southwestern Atlantic

Predator–prey interactions are a key ecological process which can be modified by environmental conditions over a range of spatial scales. Through two complementary short-term experiments, we assessed how local and large-scale environmental conditions affect a subtropical intertidal predator–prey interaction. At a local scale, we evaluated the effects of the degree of exposure to wave action and prey density on consumption rate and interaction strength using a whelk–barnacle system. Consumption rate decreased with wave exposure at experimentally reduced prey density but did not change at ambient density. Such an interactive effect occurred due to shifts in the whelk’s feeding behaviour, likely linked to encounter rate and stress amelioration underpinned by prey density. Per capita interaction strength of the whelk on the barnacle weakened along the wave exposure gradient, but to a greater degree at reduced compared to ambient prey density. This confirms that environmental harshness can decrease the importance of predators, but the magnitude of change may be modified by density-dependent effects. A large-scale experiment did not reveal spatial patterns in the whelk–barnacle interaction, nor relationships to chlorophyll-a concentration or the minor change in sea temperature across the study area. Patterns in the size of consumed barnacles along the chlorophyll-a gradient suggest changes in food choice related to prey quality and size. We conclude that disentangling the effects of wave exposure and prey density revealed important potential mechanisms driving species locally. Large-scale variation in the whelk–barnacle interaction appeared to be linked to species’ traits shaped by the environmental context.