Plant resistance reduces the strength of consumptive and non‐consumptive effects of predators on aphids

The impact of predators on prey has traditionally been attributed to the act of consumption. Prey responses to the presence of the predator (non‐consumptive effects), however, can be as important as predation itself. While plant defences are known to influence predator–prey interactions, their relative effects on consumptive vs. non‐consumptive effects are not well understood. We evaluated the consequences of plant resistance and predators (Hippodamia convergens) on the mass, number of nymphs, population growth, density and dispersal of aphids (Macrosiphum euphorbiae). We tested for the effects of plant resistance on non‐consumptive and consumptive effects of predators on aphid performance and dispersal using a combination of path analysis and experimental manipulation of predation risk. We manipulated plant resistance using genetically modified lines of tomato (Solanum lycopersicum) that vary incrementally in the expression of the jasmonate pathway, which mediates induced resistance to insects and manipulated aphid exposure to lethal and risk predators. Predation risk predators had mandibles impaired to prevent killing. Plant resistance reduced predation rate (consumptive effect) on high resistance plants. As a consequence, predators had no impact on the number of nymphs, aphid density or population growth on high resistance plants, whereas on low resistance plants, predators reduced aphid density by 35% and population growth by 86%. Path analysis and direct manipulation of predation risk showed that predation risk rather than predation rate promoted aphid dispersal and varied with host plant resistance. Aphid dispersal in response to predation risk was greater on low compared to high resistance plants. The predation risk experiment also showed that the number of aphid nymphs increased in the presence of risk predators but did not translate into increased population growth. In conclusion, the consumptive and non‐consumptive components of predators affect different aspects of prey demography, acting together to shape prey population dynamics. While predation risk accounts for most of the total effect of the predator on aphid dispersal and number of nymphs, the suppressive effect of predators on aphid population occurred largely through consumption. These effects are strongly influenced by plant resistance levels, suggesting that they are context dependent.