The importance of natural history studies for a better comprehension of animal-plant interaction networks

Abstract

The central tendency in ecological studies to explain variations in the outcomes of biotic interactions is to suppose that the majority of meaningful functional diversity occurs at the species level. However, individuals are rarely identical and behavioral ecology shows that consistent individual differences alter the roles that individuals play within populations and possibly communities, but the intraspecific variation is commonly ignored in studies of species interactions. Here, throughout examples of field work studies, we discuss that the knowledge of individual aspects (including genetic variation) and natural history are basic tools and fundamental to a real and whole comprehension of species interaction networks in qualitative and quantitative terms.

Antiherbivore protection and plant selection by the lynx spider Peucetia flava (Araneae: Oxyopidae) in the Brazilian Cerrado

“…Spiders and ants together exert a positive and complementary effect on the reproductive success of extrafloral nectaried plants by reducing or deterring herbivores (Nahas, Gonzaga & Del‐Claro, , ; Stefani et al ., ; Del‐Claro et al ., , ). Glandular trichome‐bearing plants also have received more attention currently, especially Asteraceae, Melastomataceae, and Solanaceae (Romero & Vasconcellos‐Neto, ).…”

Host plant phenology may determine the abundance of an ecosystem engineering herbivore in a tropical savanna

“…Although poorly explored in the tropics (when compared with the diverse and abundance of species), leafrollers caterpillars affected the abundance, biomass, alpha diversity, and species density at the patch scale on host plants, with a more pronounced effect during the dry season in a Brazilian rainforest (Vieira & Romero, 2013). However, no investigations were made in a system with more pronounced seasonality such as the Brazilian tropical savanna (Del-Claro & Torezan-Silingardi, 2009;Bächtold et al, 2012Bächtold et al, , 2014Del-Claro et al, 2013). The interaction between the engineer, the environment on which the engineer acts upon, and the material (living or non-living) with which the engineer builds is also poorly explored.…”

The study of biotic interactions in the Brazilian Cerrado as a path to the conservation of biodiversity

“…These guidelines have been followed by researchers in the study of Brazil main biomes like Atlantic Forest, Amazonia and also Cerrado (e. g. Oliveira and Marquis 2002, gottsberger and Silberbauer-gottsberger 2006. However, in a more recent and realistic perspective, biodiversity should be viewed and evaluated in ways that also embraces the extreme richness inherent in biotic interactions, including not only trophic relationships, but also aspects of life histories, biology and behavior of related species (Del-Claro et al 2013.…”