Community heterogeneity and the evolution of interactions between plants and insect herbivores

Agrawal, Anurag A.; Lau, Jennifer A.; Hambäck, Peter A.

doi:10.1086/511529

Cited by 264 publications

(242 citation statements)

References 151 publications

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“…It is likely that as plant species diversity increases toward the equator, the relative abundance of any given host plant decreases. This scenario will likely make it difficult for specialist herbivores to find their specific host, while giving an ecological and evolutionary advantage to an herbivorous insect with a generalized diet (32). Nevertheless, we recognize the existence of an evolutionary conundrum for herbivores at lower latitudes.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

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Herbivore pressure increases toward the equator

Salazar

Marquis

2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

107

111

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Increases in species diversity and density from higher to lower latitudes are well documented. Nevertheless, the consequences of these changes in diversity for structuring ecological communities and influencing biotic evolution are largely unknown. It is widely believed that this increase in species diversity is associated with increased intensity of ecological interactions closer to the equator. For plant-herbivore interactions in particular, the predictions are that, at lower latitudes, plants will be attacked by more individual herbivores, more herbivore species, and more specialized herbivores and, therefore, will suffer greater damage. We used a large-scale latitudinal transect from Mexico to Bolivia to quantify changes in leaf damage, diversity, and abundance of lepidopteran larvae on two widely distributed host species of the genus Piper (Piperaceae). We show that both density and species richness of herbivores were highest at the equator and decreased with increasing latitude, both northward and southward. Contrary to expectation, however, this increase in herbivore diversity was attributable to the addition of generalist not specialist species. Finally, and again contrary to expectation, the increase in herbivore density with decreasing latitude did not produce a corresponding damage gradient. We propose that the lack of a latitudinal concordance between increases in herbivore density and diversity with decreasing latitude, and the resulting herbivore damage, supports the hypothesis of better plant antiherbivore defenses at lower latitudes. Furthermore, the changes in the relative abundance of generalist vs. specialist species suggest that the nature of the selective pressure is intrinsically different between higher and lower latitudes.herbivory | latitudinal gradient | Lepidoptera

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…We acknowledge that any changes in plant-herbivore interactions across the latitudinal gradient are likely attributable to multiple evolutionary and ecological factors, including changes in predator abundance (33) and in the surrounding plant community structure (32,34). However, our analysis is based on herbivores found feeding on their host.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Herbivore pressure increases toward the equator

Salazar

Marquis

2012

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

107

111

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“…Ultimately, the GF may be incorporated as a key mechanism in fractal models of herbivore coexistence (4), further extending its influence. Moreover, the differences in resource needs that we identified for Melanoplus species facilitate coexistence in a variable environment as available nutritional ratios vary over a season and promote equality in fitness across species (2,38,(46)(47)(48) in the context of variable top-down pressures.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Coexisting generalist herbivores occupy unique nutritional feeding niches

Behmer

Joern

2008

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

217

212

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A mainstay of ecological theory and practice is that coexisting species use different resources, leading to the local development of biodiversity. However, a problem arises for understanding coexistence of multiple species if they share critical resources too generally. Here, we employ an experimental framework grounded in nutritional physiology to show that closely related, cooccurring and generalist-feeding herbivores (seven grasshopper species in the genus Melanoplus; Orthoptera: Acrididae) eat protein and carbohydrate in different absolute amounts and ratios even if they eat the same plant taxa. The existence of species-specific nutritional niches provides a cryptic mechanism that helps explain how generalist herbivores with broadly overlapping diets might coexist. We also show that performance by grasshoppers allowed to mix their diets and thus regulate their protein-carbohydrate intake matched optimal performance peaks generated from nochoice treatments. These results indicate the active nature of diet selection to achieve balanced diets and provide buffering capacity in the face of variable food quality. Our empirical findings and experimental approach can be extended to generate and test predictions concerning the intensity of biotic interactions between species, the relative abundance of species, yearly fluctuations in population size, and the nature of interactions with natural enemies in tritrophic niche space.biodiversity ͉ competition ͉ resource partitioning ͉ physiological ecology ͉ geometric framework

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“…For example, diversity may cause changes in plant traits which arise from aboveground and belowground interactions among neighbouring plants [4][5][6], or due to increased habitat heterogeneity affecting consumer foraging behaviour ( [38,39], i.e. effects of trait diversity).…”

Section: Effects Of Plant Diversity On Plant-insect Herbivore and Hermentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Collectively, the above studies point at a widespread potential for diversity-mediated ecological and evolutionary feedbacks on plant performance and plant community structure [2,39]. The outcome of such feedbacks will likely dependent strongly upon key plant traits igniting such dynamics and how plant and insect traits interact in shaping such effects (see section Plant traits).…”

Section: Effects Of Plant Diversity On Plant-insect Herbivore and Hermentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant diversity effects on insect herbivores and their natural enemies: current thinking, recent findings, and future directions

Moreira

Abdala‐Roberts

Rasmann

et al. 2016

Current Opinion in Insect Science

159

152

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A rich body of theory has been developed to predict the effects of plant diversity on communities at higher trophic levels and the mechanisms underpinning such effects. However, there are currently a number of key gaps in knowledge that have hindered the development of a predictive framework of plant diversity effects on consumers. For instance, we still know very little about how the magnitude of plant trait variation (e.g. intraspecific vs. inter-specific), as well as the identity and combined effects of plant, herbivore and natural enemy traits, mediate plant diversity effects on consumers. Moreover, the fine-scale mechanisms (e.g. changes in consumer behaviour or recruitment responses) underlying such diversity effects in many cases remain elusive or have been overlooked. In addition, most studies of plant diversity effects on associated consumers have been developed under a static, unidirectional (bottom-up) framework of effects on herbivores and predators without taking into account the potential for dynamic feedbacks across trophic levels. Here we seek to address these key gaps in knowledge as well as to capitalize on recent advances and emerging frameworks in plant biodiversity research. In doing so, we provide new insights as well as recommendations which will stimulate new research and advance this field of study. IntroductionThe consequences of plant intra-specific and inter-specific diversity on associated faunas have been the focus of much research over the last decade (e.g. [1 ,2-8,9 ]). Studies have found that plant diversity positively influences arthropod diversity and abundance [3,4,8,10], and alters plant-arthropod and arthropod-arthropod interactions [3,7,11,12]. These findings emphasize that conserving and manipulating plant diversity in natural and managed systems, respectively, is crucial for maintaining ecosystem function [13][14][15].A rich body of theory has been developed to predict the effects of plant diversity on communities at higher trophic levels ([16-22], see Box 1). Despite this vast collection of theory behind plant diversity effects on associated faunas and the large number of empirical studies conducted thus far, formal evaluations of the mechanisms behind the observed patterns have been developed in natural communities (but see [20] for e.g. in agricultural systems). In addition, there are also a number of key gaps in knowledge that have hindered the development of a predictive framework of plant diversity effects on higher trophic levels ( Figure 1). For example, we generally ignore how the magnitude of variation in plant traits (e.g. interspecific vs. intra-specific diversity) or the identity (including independent and interactive effects of multiple traits) of plant traits determines such effects. Similarly, many studies have lacked an explicit evaluation of the influence of herbivore traits such as diet breadth, mobility and feeding behaviour, and the underlying mechanisms for diversity effects on consumer abundance or behaviour remain elusive (e.g. effects of diversit...

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Community heterogeneity and the evolution of interactions between plants and insect herbivores

Cited by 264 publications

References 151 publications

Herbivore pressure increases toward the equator

Herbivore pressure increases toward the equator

Coexisting generalist herbivores occupy unique nutritional feeding niches

Plant diversity effects on insect herbivores and their natural enemies: current thinking, recent findings, and future directions

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