Variation in consumer pressure along 2500 km in a major upwelling system: crab predators are more important at higher latitudes

Consumer pressure in benthic communities is predicted to be higher at low than at high latitudes, but support for this pattern has been ambiguous, especially for herbivory. To understand large-scale variation in biotic interactions, we quantify consumption (predation and herbivory) along 2500 km of the Chilean coast (19°S–42°S). We deployed tethering assays at ten sites with three different baits: the crab Petrolisthes laevigatus as living prey...