Risky in the tropics

In a recent study in Science, an international team of scientists tested the hypothesis that biotic interaction strength increases toward the equator, using a global experiment with model caterpillars to measure predation risk. Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, they found increasing predation toward the equator and toward lower elevations, driven by arthropod predators. Anita Weissflog, Plant Ecology at the University of Bayreuth, contributed to this study with caterpillar experiments that she conducted in Panama as part of her Master thesis in the UTB Master program 'Biodiversity and Ecology'.