Utilization of prey-rich patches leads to reproductive advantages for clustered individuals of a web-building spider

The ideal free distribution (IFD) model predicts that consumers match the distribution of resources across habitat patches and that this association should lead to equal individual fitness among individuals in a population. Here we studied to what extent predators utilize different prey groups and if the resulting spatial patterns relate to the reproductive success of individuals in a population of a web-building spider species (Phylloneta impressa, Theridiidae). Web-building spiders, their prey remains, egg sacs, and spiderlings were collected in a wheat field, and coordinates of web sites were recorded for spatial point pattern analysis using pair and mark correlation functions. Spiders were aggregated in the study area, but only post-reproductive females were aggregated over the full range of spatial scales. Web-owners in clusters caught a higher proportion of hemipteran prey than expected by the mean, suggesting that the availability of this prey type contributed to the clustering of individuals and the higher reproductive success of females in clusters. However, 2 abundant prey groups (Syrphidae and Hymenoptera) were not more common than expected by the mean at any distance, and another prey group (Elateridae) was even less common in webs close to each other. At least 2 prey groups (Hemiptera and Elateridae) showed deviations from the assumption of the IFD model that predators in clusters should have similar prey capture success compared to predators that are not located in clusters. Both prey groups include many cereal pest species, and our results suggest that spatially explicit information about prey utilization and predator fitness may contribute to a better understanding of the role of natural enemies in biological control