Habitat‐Dependent Effects of Canopy Cover on Insect Predation in a Tropical Dry Forest Landscape

ABSTRACT Predator–prey interactions in tropical dry forests remain understudied, despite their central role in the top‐down regulation of insect herbivory, a key process influencing plant fitness, community composition, and nutrient cycling in these threatened ecosystems. This study assessed how predation by invertebrate and vertebrate predators on insect herbivores is affected by habitat type, vegetation structure, elevation, and prey color (white vs. terracotta) in a tropical dry forest. We used plasticine caterpillars to quantify predation rates and to identify predator groups across forest and silvo‐pastoral systems at two elevations. Local vegetation structure was characterized by canopy cover and vegetation density. Chewing arthropods accounted for the majority (81.1%) of predation events. Arthropod attacks were more frequent in forests than in silvo‐pastures, while the opposite was true for birds. Overall, the probability of predation was higher at 600 m a.s.l. compared to 1200 m a.s.l. Notably, canopy cover had contrasting effects depending on habitat type: in forests, predation increased with canopy cover, whereas in silvo‐pastures it decreased. This interaction between canopy cover and habitat type was largely driven by predation exerted by arthropods. Prey color did not affect predation rates. Our results suggest that predator communities respond differently to canopy cover depending on habitat type, likely due to differences in tree species composition and in resource availability for prey or predators. These findings emphasize that top‐down control in a tropical dry forest landscape is shaped by interactions between vegetation structure and habitat type, underscoring the need to consider habitat‐specific mechanisms when predicting ecological processes across heterogeneous environments.