BOONE, N.C. — Dr. Andy Davidson, teaching assistant professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Biology, is the lead author of a new peer-reviewed study published in the September 2026 issue of Biology Letters. The paper, “Detection of Emergent Multiple Predator Effects in a Warming World,” examines how warming temperatures can influence interactions among predators and their shared prey in freshwater ecosystems.
For the study, Davidson and his collaborators examined how a dragonfly nymph and a diving beetle prey on mosquito larvae, both separately and together, at different water temperatures. They found that warmer temperatures increased predation by both species, though not to the same degree. After accounting for these temperature-related changes, the researchers found an additional effect from having both predators present, known as an “emergent multiple predator effect,” only at the study’s lowest temperature, 20 degrees Celsius (68 degrees Fahrenheit).
The findings suggest that temperature can shape not only how individual predators feed but also how multiple predator species collectively affect prey. The study also demonstrates an approach for more accurately distinguishing these interactions from predictable changes in predation caused by factors such as temperature, prey size, and prey availability. The research has implications for understanding how predator-prey relationships and freshwater food webs may respond to a changing climate.
Davidson co-authored the paper with Dr. Michael McCoy of Florida Atlantic University’s Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institute and Dr. James Vonesh of Virginia Commonwealth University.
Davidson joined App State in fall 2026. He holds a Ph.D. in Integrative Life Sciences from Virginia Commonwealth University, an M.S. in Biological Sciences from Florida Atlantic University and a B.S. in Biological Sciences from Florida State University. Describing his research and teaching interests at the beginning of the semester, Davidson shared, “I am a quantitative community ecologist, and my research generally explores predator-prey interactions in freshwater systems with an eye towards climate change. I currently teach Zoology and Ecology and their respective labs.”
The article is available at doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2026.0257.
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Dr. Andy Davidson is a teaching assistant professor in Appalachian State University’s Department of Biology. Photo by University Communications