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Wenda C, Nakamura A, Ashton LA. Season and herbivore defence trait mediate tri-trophic interactions in tropical rainforest. J Anim Ecol 2023; 92:466-476. [PMID: 36479696 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.13865] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Bottom-up effects from host plants and top-down effects from predators on herbivore abundance and distribution vary with physical environment, plant chemistry, predator and herbivore trait and diversity. Tri-trophic interactions in tropical ecosystems may follow different patterns from temperate ecosystems due to differences in above abiotic and biotic conditions. We sampled leaf-chewing larvae of Lepidoptera (caterpillars) from a dominant host tree species in a seasonal rainforest in Southwest China. We reared out parasitoids and grouped herbivores based on their diet preferences, feeding habits and defence mechanisms. We compared caterpillar abundance with leaf numbers ('bottom-up' effects) and parasitoid abundance ('top-down' effects) between different seasons and herbivore traits. We found bottom-up effects were stronger than top-down effects. Both bottom-up and top-down effects were stronger in the dry season than in the wet season, which were driven by polyphagous rare species and host plant phenology. Contrary to our predictions, herbivore traits did not influence differences in the bottom-up or top-down effects except for stronger top-down effects for shelter-builders. Our study shows season is the main predictor of the bottom-up and top-down effects in the tropics and highlights the complexity of these interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cheng Wenda
- School of Ecology, Sun Yat-Sen University, Shenzhen, China.,State Key Laboratory of Biological Control, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Akihiro Nakamura
- CAS Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, China
| | - Louise A Ashton
- Ecology and Biodiversity Area, School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong SAR, China
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Forde AJ, Feller IC, Parker JD, Gruner DS. Insectivorous birds reduce herbivory but do not increase mangrove growth across productivity zones. Ecology 2022; 103:e3768. [PMID: 35608609 PMCID: PMC9786852 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Revised: 02/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Top-down effects of predators and bottom-up effects of resources are important drivers of community structure and function in a wide array of ecosystems. Fertilization experiments impose variation in resource availability that can mediate the strength of predator impacts, but the prevalence of such interactions across natural productivity gradients is less clear. We studied the joint impacts of top-down and bottom-up factors in a tropical mangrove forest system, leveraging fine-grained patchiness in resource availability and primary productivity on coastal cays of Belize. We excluded birds from canopies of red mangrove (Rhizophoraceae: Rhizophora mangle) for 13 months in zones of phosphorus-limited, stunted dwarf mangroves, and in adjacent zones of vigorous mangroves that receive detrital subsidies. Birds decreased total arthropod densities by 62%, herbivore densities more than fivefold, and reduced rates of leaf and bud herbivory by 45% and 52%, respectively. Despite similar arthropod densities across both zones of productivity, leaf and bud damage were 2.0 and 4.3 times greater in productive stands. Detrital subsidies strongly impacted a suite of plant traits in productive stands, potentially making leaves more nutritious and vulnerable to damage. Despite consistently strong impacts on herbivory, we did not detect top-down forcing that impacted mangrove growth, which was similar with and without birds. Our results indicated that both top-down and bottom-up forces drive arthropod community dynamics, but attenuation at the plant-herbivore interface weakens top-down control by avian insectivores.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilka C. Feller
- Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterEdgewaterMarylandUSA
| | - John D. Parker
- Smithsonian Environmental Research CenterEdgewaterMarylandUSA
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Zverev V, Zvereva EL, Kozlov MV. Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest–tundra ecotone. Polar Biol 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s00300-020-02633-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
AbstractThe contribution of bird predation to the spatial variations in insect herbivory remains imperfectly understood, especially in Arctic ecosystems. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that the differences in insect herbivory between tundra and forest biomes, and between plant life-forms in these biomes, are associated with differences in the intensity of bird predation on defoliating insects. We observed substantial variation in herbivory (0% to 20% of foliage lost) among nine forest, mountain tundra, and lowland tundra sites in the Kola Peninsula (northwestern Russia) and among five woody plant species, but we found no consistent differences in herbivory between biomes and between plant life-forms. Bird attacks on artificial caterpillars were tenfold more frequent in forest than in tundra, while bird exclusion effects on herbivory did not differ between biomes, and the intensities of bird predation measured by these two methods were not correlated. Bird exclusion led to increases in insect herbivory, and this effect was significant in trees and tall shrubs but was not significant in dwarf shrubs in either forest or tundra sites. Bird predation, as measured in bird exclusion experiments, increased with an increase in the level of foliar damage inflicted by insects in forests but not in tundra habitats. We conclude that bird predation generally decreases plant losses to insects in both forest and tundra habitats, but birds are unlikely to shape the spatial patterns of plant losses to insects in Arctic ecosystems.
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Pietrantuono AL, Bruzzone OA, Fernández-Arhex V. The role of leaf cellulose content in determining host plant preferences of three defoliating insects present in the Andean-Patagonian forest. AUSTRAL ECOL 2016. [DOI: 10.1111/aec.12460] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- A. L. Pietrantuono
- Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; CONICET - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; CC277, Av. Modesta Victoria 4450 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
| | - O. A. Bruzzone
- Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; CONICET - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; CC277, Av. Modesta Victoria 4450 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
| | - V. Fernández-Arhex
- Estación Experimental Agropecuaria Bariloche; CONICET - Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria; CC277, Av. Modesta Victoria 4450 8400 San Carlos de Bariloche Río Negro Argentina
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Hill JM, Heck KL. Non-consumptive effects of avian predators on fish behavior and cascading indirect interactions in seagrasses. OIKOS 2014. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.01774] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Jennifer M. Hill
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab; 101 Bienville Blvd Dauphin Island AL 36528 USA
| | - Kenneth L. Heck
- Dauphin Island Sea Lab; 101 Bienville Blvd Dauphin Island AL 36528 USA
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Gilbert S, Norrdahl K, Martel J, Klemola T. Vole Damage to Woody Plants Reflects Cumulative Rather than Peak Herbivory Pressure. ANN ZOOL FENN 2013. [DOI: 10.5735/085.050.0402] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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Polishchuk LV, Vijverberg J, Voronov DA, Mooij WM. How to measure top-down vs bottom-up effects: a new population metric and its calibration onDaphnia. OIKOS 2012. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2012.00046.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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Crane MJ, Lindenmayer DB, Cunningham RB. Use and characteristics of nocturnal habitats of the squirrel glider (Petaurus norfocensis) in Australian temperate woodlands. AUST J ZOOL 2012. [DOI: 10.1071/zo12080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
In Australian temperate woodlands, most squirrel glider (Petaurus norfolcensis) habitats exist outside formal conservation reserves, often in highly fragmented agricultural landscapes. To conserve squirrel glider populations in such woodlands it is essential to define important habitats and understand how they are used. This study examines the nocturnal habitat use of squirrel gliders across five sites within an agricultural landscape in south-eastern Australia. Over a five-month period we radio-tracked 32 gliders to 372 nocturnal locations. We quantify characteristics of key nocturnal habitats and describe their use. Gliders were more likely to use large eucalypt trees, particularly yellow box (Eucalyptus melliodora) and mugga ironbark (E. sideroxylon). Nocturnal activity mostly took place high in the canopy of eucalypts, accounting for 74% of fixes. Multiple regression models revealed that feeding was more likely to occur in large, healthy trees close to drainage lines, with a preference for E. melliodora, when eucalypts were not flowering. Flowering trees were preferentially sought and were strongly associated with being large healthy trees that occur on ridges and upper slopes. Showing that the squirrel glider utilises key feeding structures (large healthy Eucalyptus trees) in different parts of the landscape at different times has direct management implications in the conservation and restoration of squirrel glider habitat, particularly in fragmented temperate woodland.
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Yguel B, Bailey R, Tosh ND, Vialatte A, Vasseur C, Vitrac X, Jean F, Prinzing A. Phytophagy on phylogenetically isolated trees: why hosts should escape their relatives. Ecol Lett 2011; 14:1117-24. [PMID: 21923895 DOI: 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2011.01680.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
Hosts belonging to the same species suffer dramatically different impacts from their natural enemies. This has been explained by host neighbourhood, that is, by surrounding host-species diversity or spatial separation between hosts. However, even spatially neighbouring hosts may be separated by many million years of evolutionary history, potentially reducing the establishment of natural enemies and their impact. We tested whether phylogenetic isolation of oak hosts from neighbouring trees within a forest canopy reduces phytophagy. We found that an increase in phylogenetic isolation by 100 million years corresponded to a 10-fold decline in phytophagy. This was not due to poorer living conditions for phytophages on phylogenetically isolated oaks. Neither species diversity of neighbouring trees nor spatial distance to the closest oak affected phytophagy. We suggest that reduced pressure by natural enemies is a major advantage for individuals within a host species that leave their ancestral niche and grow among distantly related species.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Yguel
- University of Rennes 1/Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Research Unit UMR 6553, Ecosystems, Biodiversity, Evolution, Campus Beaulieu, Bâtiment 14 A, 263 Av. du Général Leclerc, 35042 Rennes cedex, France.
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Edenius L, Mikusiński G, Bergh J. Can repeated fertilizer applications to young Norway spruce enhance avian diversity in intensively managed forests? AMBIO 2011; 40:521-7. [PMID: 21848140 PMCID: PMC3357813 DOI: 10.1007/s13280-011-0137-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2010] [Revised: 01/14/2011] [Accepted: 01/22/2011] [Indexed: 05/31/2023]
Abstract
Repeated fertilization of forests to increase biomass production is an environmentally controversial proposal, the effects of which we assessed on breeding birds in stands of young Norway spruce (Picea abies), in an intensively managed forest area in southern Sweden. Our results show that fertilized stands had 38% more species and 21% more individuals than unfertilized stands. Compared with stands under traditional management, the further intensification of forestry by repeated applications of fertilizers thus seemed to enhance species richness and abundance of forest birds. We cannot conclude at this stage whether the response in the bird community was caused by changes in food resources or increased structural complexity in the forest canopy due to the skid roads used for the application of the fertilizers. Future studies should focus on structural and compositional effects of fertilization processes during the entire rotation period and at assessing its effects in a landscape
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Affiliation(s)
- Lars Edenius
- Department of Wildlife, Fish and Environmental Sciences, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
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Garibaldi LA, Kitzberger T, Chaneton EJ. Environmental and genetic control of insect abundance and herbivory along a forest elevational gradient. Oecologia 2011; 167:117-29. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-011-1978-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2010] [Accepted: 03/14/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Nicolle A, Hansson LA, Brodersen J, Nilsson PA, Brönmark C. Interactions between predation and resources shape zooplankton population dynamics. PLoS One 2011; 6:e16534. [PMID: 21304980 PMCID: PMC3031578 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0016534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2010] [Accepted: 12/20/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Identifying the relative importance of predation and resources in population dynamics has a long tradition in ecology, while interactions between them have been studied less intensively. In order to disentangle the effects of predation by juvenile fish, algal resource availability and their interactive effects on zooplankton population dynamics, we conducted an enclosure experiment where zooplankton were exposed to a gradient of predation of roach (Rutilus rutilus) at different algal concentrations. We show that zooplankton populations collapse under high predation pressure irrespective of resource availability, confirming that juvenile fish are able to severely reduce zooplankton prey when occurring in high densities. At lower predation pressure, however, the effect of predation depended on algal resource availability since high algal resource supply buffered against predation. Hence, we suggest that interactions between mass-hatching of fish, and the strong fluctuations in algal resources in spring have the potential to regulate zooplankton population dynamics. In a broader perspective, increasing spring temperatures due to global warming will most likely affect the timing of these processes and have consequences for the spring and summer zooplankton dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Nicolle
- Institute of Ecology/Limnology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
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Mäntylä E, Klemola T, Laaksonen T. Birds help plants: a meta-analysis of top-down trophic cascades caused by avian predators. Oecologia 2010; 165:143-51. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-010-1774-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 113] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2009] [Accepted: 08/27/2010] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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