Current global changes are reshaping ecological communities and modifying environmental conditions. We need to recognize the combined impact of these biotic and abiotic factors on species interactions, community dynamics and ecosystem functioning. Specifically, the strength of predator-prey interactions often depends on the presence of other natural enemies: it weakens with competition and interference or strengthens with facilitation. Such effects of multiple predators on prey are likely to be affected by changes in the abiotic environment, altering top-down control, a key structuring force in natural and agricultural ecosystems. Here, we investigated how warming alters the effects of multiple predators on prey suppression using a dynamic model coupled with empirical laboratory experiments with Drosophila-parasitoid communities. While multiple parasitoids enhanced top-down control under warming, parasitoid performance generally declined when another parasitoid was present owing to competitive interactions. This could reduce top-down control over multiple generations. Our study highlights the importance of accounting for interactive effects between abiotic and biotic factors to better predict community dynamics in a rapidly changing world and thus better preserve ecosystem functioning and services such as biological control.

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Entomology Branisovska 31 37005 Czech Republic

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Branisovska 31 37005 Czech Republic

Institute of Biodiversity Friedrich Schiller University Jena Dornburger Str 159 07743 Jena Germany

Theory in Biodiversity Science German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research Halle Jena Leipzig Puschstr 4 04103 Leipzig Germany

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