Table 3.
Comparative estimates of the annual prey consumption (kg fresh weight ha−1 year−1) of different groups of predaceous animals based on published data
| Predator type | Biome class | Prey biomassa (kg ha−1 year−1) |
Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vertebrates: | |||
| Insectivorous birds | Salt marsh | 545 | Kale 1965 |
| Insectivorous birds | Urban areas | 84–289 | Falk 1976; Kartanas 1989 |
| Insectivorous birds | Tropical forests | 100–176 | Leigh 1999 |
| Insectivorous birds | Temperate forests | 35–137 | Holmes and Sturges 1975; Weiner and Głowaciński 1975; Keast et al. 1985; Harris 1991 |
| Insectivorous birds | Tree-lined field roads | 36–79 | Kartanas 1989 |
| Insectivorous birds | Grasslands, crop fields | 10–31 | Ferger et al. 2013; Wiens and Dyer 1975 |
| Piscivorous birds | Freshwater lakes and marshes | 8–49 | Nilsson and Nilsson 1976; Biujse et al. 1993 |
| Insectivorous primates | Tropical forest | 10–32 | Sakai (2002) |
| Insectivorous bats | Tropical forest | 4 | Kalka and Kalko 2006 |
| Insectivorous bats | Carlsbad Caverns national park | Lowb | Combined data Tuttle 1994/ Best and Geluso 2003 |
| Shrews | Taiga forest | 25–350 | Shvarts et al. 1997 |
| Shrews | Reed swamp | 6 | Pelikan 1978 |
| Hedgehogs | Reed swamp | 1 | Pelikan 1978 |
| Lizards | Various biome types | 3–9 | Shelly 1986; Walter and Breckle 2013 |
| Lizards | Woodland on tropical island | 85 | Bennett and Gorman 1979 |
| Salamanders | Temperate forests | 7 | Burton and Likens 1975 |
| Frogs | Tropical forest | 1–163 | Stewart and Woolbright 1996; Walter and Breckle 2013 |
| Frogs | Temperate grasslands | < 1–180 | Breymeyer 1978; Pelikan 1993 |
| Invertebrates: | |||
| Ants | Tropical forest | 21–147 | Dyer 2002 |
| Ants | Temperate forest | 177 | Horstmann 1974 |
| Ants | Temperate grasslands | 46–536 | Kajak et al. 1971 |
| Spiders | Tropical coffee plantation | 160–320 | Robinson and Robinson 1974 |
| Spiders | Temperate forests | 20–100 | Nyffeler 2000; Nyffeler and Birkhofer 2017 |
| Spiders | Temperate grasslands | 20–230 | Nyffeler 2000; Nyffeler and Birkhofer 2017 |
| Spiders | Crop fields | ≤ 10 | Nyffeler 2000 |
| Scorpions | Arid zone | 8 | Shorthouse and Marples 1982 |
| Wasps (Vespa) | Temperate forest | 1–8 | Harris 1991 |
| Robber flies (Asilidae) | Tropical forest | 7 | Shelly 1986 |
| Ground beetles (Carabidae) | Temperate forest, cropland | 20 | Chauvin 1967; Schaefer 1990 |
| Rove beetles (Staphylinidae) | Temperate forest | 64 | Schaefer 1990 |
| Centipedes | Temperate forest | 100 | Schaefer 1990 |
aOriginal values adjusted when necessary by using correction factors obtained from the literature
bOnly a few kg arthropods ha−1 year−1 (Nyffeler, unpubl. estimate), taking into account a foraging area with a radius of ≈ 50 km for the Mexican free-tailed bat (Best and Geluso 2003)