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565 results for “Herbivory”
Effects of large mammal herbivory on salt marsh invertebrate communities varies with grazing type
We studied mammalian grazing (cattle, feral horses, and artificial grazing) on three barrier islands on the coast of Georgia, USA. All three grazing types altered invertebrate community composition, but in different ways. Cattle grazing had the most negative impact on plant height, chlorophyll content and toughness, and on the density and diversity of invertebrates, while artificial grazing produced some positive effects on planthoppers, herbivorous Chaetopsis spp. flies, and spiders. Although the responses to grazing of some plant traits and some invertebrate taxa were variable, plant height and katydid (Orchelimum fidicinium) density were consistently reduced by the three grazing types. Katydids did not have a feeding preference for grazed versus ungrazed plants, but grew better on ungrazed plants.
warmXtrophic: plant community responses to the individual and interactive effects of climate warming and herbivory across multiple years at Kellogg Biological Station Long-Term Ecological Research Sites (KBS LTER), Michigan, USA, and University of Michigan Biological Station (UMBS), Michigan, USA.
Climate change has both direct and indirect effects on ecological communities. Whereas most climate change ecology experiments manipulate abiotic drivers to measure direct effects of climate on species or communities, fewer quantify the indirect effects through biotic interactions, especially over multiple sites and years. In this factorial experiment we manipulate temperature through open-top chambers, and the level of insect herbivory through insecticide. At two early successional field sites separated by 3 degrees of latitude and 3°C of mean annual temperature (University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, MI and Kellogg Biological Station, Hickory Corners, MI), 6 replicate 1-m2 plots per treatment were installed in May 2015. 12 plots per site are at ambient temperature, 12 are warmed with year-round non-UV filtering polycarbonate and wood frame construction OTCs for tall-stature plants (Welshofer et al. 2018 MEE). Insecticide reduces insect herbivory in half the plots (Welshofer et al. 2018 Oecologia). Over the course of the experiment, OTCs warmed the plant communities by 1.9°C-3.0°C on average over the growing season. Each year, through 2021, plant traits and community responses were measured at the species level: plant phenology (green-up, flowering, flowering duration, seed set); plant percent cover (aerial % cover of the 1m2 plot); plant traits (specific leaf area, C and N content), herbivory damage to leaves, and plant species biomass (only in 2021). Further methodological details are found within each response variable metadata. This experiment is ongoing and further data package updates are planned. L0 data is available upon request. R scripts can be found here: https://github.com/SpaCE-Lab-MSU/warmXtrophic. The biotic and abiotic community context and relative strengths of direct vs. indirect effects may yield ecological surprises under climate change unless addressed together. Large-scale experiments like this one can improve our ability to unde
Pitcher plant herbivory experimental data at the University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellston, MI 2024-2025
Coping with low-nutrient environments has led to the repeated evolution of plant carnivory. Given the repeated evolution of carnivory as well as the facultative nature of this otherwise costly trait, why are carnivorous plants not more speciose in wet, sunny, nutrient-poor sites? Recent evidence suggests herbivores may play an important role in limiting the success of plants with specialized nutrient acquisition strategies (e.g. nitrogen-fixing bacterial associates), as herbivores are drawn to more nutrient-rich plant tissue. To test this hypothesis in carnivorous plants, we conducted a factorial herbivore exclusion and prey addition experiment on Sarracenia purpurea, the purple pitcher plant. Specifically, we examined whether 1) plant growth rate is maximized at intermediate levels of prey intake, and 2) if this pattern is caused by preferential consumption by herbivores of plants with high nutrient intake. To test these hypotheses, we measured plant growth and herbivore damage on 110 pitcher plants (Sarracenia purpurea) growing at Mud Lake Bog near UMBS from June to August 2024. To measure effects of stored nutrients on plant growth and herbivory, we plan to collect 2nd year early season growth data in June of 2025.
Data for Forb diversity globally is harmed by nutrient enrichment but can be rescued by large mammalian herbivory
Forbs (“wildflowers”) are important contributors to grassland biodiversity and services, but they are vulnerable to environmental changes that affect their coexistence with grasses. In a factorial experiment at 94 sites on 6 continents, we tested the global generality of several broad predictions arising from previous studies: (1) Forb cover and richness decline under nutrient enrichment, particularly nitrogen enrichment, which benefits grasses at the expense of forbs. (2) Forb cover and richness increase under herbivory by large mammals, especially when nutrients are enriched as grazing will release forbs from decreased grass competition under fertilization. (3) Forb richness and cover are less affected by nutrient enrichment and herbivory in more arid climates, because water limitation reduces the impacts of competition with grasses. We found strong evidence for the first, partial support for the second, and no support for the third prediction. Forb richness and cover are reduced by nutrient addition, with nitrogen having the greatest effect; forb cover is enhanced by large mammal herbivory, although only under conditions of nutrient enrichment and high herbivore intensity; and forb richness is lower in more arid sites, but is not affected by consistent climate-nutrient or climate-herbivory interactions. We also found that nitrogen enrichment disproportionately affects forbs in certain families (Asteraceae, Fabaceae). Our results underscore that anthropogenic nitrogen addition is a major threat to grassland forbs and the ecosystem services they support, but grazing under high herbivore intensity can offset these nutrient effects. For associated r code that goes along with this dataset, please refer to the following Zenodo repository: https://zenodo.org/records/14207290
Eriophorum tiller length in simulated herbivory experiment in moist acidic tundra experimental plots, Arctic LTER, Toolik Field Station, North Slope Alaska, from 2018 to 2021.
Tiller length of Eriophorum vaginatum subjected to fertilization and simulated herbivory from 2018 until 2021. Plants were part of a fertilization experiment begun in 2006 and included four levels of nutrient addition. For the simulated herbivory experiment, plants were not clipped, clipped once in 2018, or clipped every year of the experiment.
Survey of aspen herbivory and aspen leaf miner (Phyllocnistis populiella) survival and abundance from 2006 to 2022
Leaf-level measurements of herbivory damage on quaking aspen caused by the aspen leaf miner (ALM) and externally-feeding herbivores, and ALM abundance and survival, from four sites near Fairbanks, Alaska over time.
Effects of long-term nitrogen addition on Solidago altissima stem morphology, size, and herbivory at Kellogg Biological Station 2016-2022
We surveyed naturally occurring tall goldenrod (Solidago altissima) plants in a long-term nitrogen addition field experiment at the Kellogg Biological Station's T7 untilled succession plots in the Main Cropping System Experiment (https://lter.kbs.msu.edu/research/long-term-experiments/main-cropping-system-experiment/). We collected data on the defensive stem nodding morph (which helps plants evade apex-galling herbivores) and presence of galls in 2016, 2021, and 2022.
NUT01 Nutrient Network: Investigating the roles of nutrient availability and vertebrate herbivory on grassland structure and function at Konza Prairie
The goals and focal research questions are copied below from the Nutrient Network website. More information can be found at nutnet.org. NutNet focal research questions: (1) How general is our current understanding of productivity-diversity relationships? (2) To what extent are plant production and diversity co-limited by multiple nutrients in herbacoues-dominated communities? (3) Under what conditions do grazers or fertilization control plant biomass, diversity, and composition? NutNet goals: (1) To collect data from a broad range of sites in a consistent manner to allow direct comparisons of environment-productivity-diversity relationships among systems around the world. This is currently occurring at each site in the network and, when these data are compiled, will allow us to provide new insights into several important, unanswered questions in ecology. (2) To implement a cross-site experiment requiring only nominal investment of time and resources by each investigator, but quantifying community and ecosystem responses in a wide range of herbaceous-dominated ecosystems (i.e., desert grasslands to arctic tundra).
VIR01 Effects of invertebate and vertebrate herbivory on tallgrass prairie plant community composition and biomass, Konza Prairie LTER
The effects of herbivores and their interactions with nutrient availability on primary production and plant community composition in grassland systems is expected to vary with herbivore type. Although nutrient additions are known to affect plant species diversity and primary productivity, the role of herbivores in mediating the strength of these effects also remains unclear. Herbivores may alter plant responses to nutrient additions in several ways. First, herbivores can alter the plant community response to nutrient additions by either selectively feeding on particular groups of species (e.g. grasses versus forbs) or by generally opening up space, allowing for species turnover and immigration. Second, feeding by herbivores may reduce the production response to nutrient additions if the plants cannot compensate for tissue lost to herbivory. As the functional effects of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores on plant community composition and production may vary, the interactive effects of vertebrate versus invertebrate herbivores with nutrient additions may also vary. Here we are experimentally assessing the independent and interactive effects of removing vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores on aboveground biomass and plant community composition in native tallgrass prairie. Further, we are examining whether the removal of vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores interacts with nutrient availability. By doing this, we address three related questions: 1) what is the relative strength of the effects of invertebrate versus vertebrate herbivory in a grassland system; 2) how does herbivory (invertebrate and/or vertebrate) affect the relative abundances of grasses and forbs, the two dominant plant functional types within the ecosystem; and 3) what are the consequences of these changes in composition for aboveground net primary productivity, an important ecosystem function?
Herbivory of eight common species at El Verde from 1994 to 1996
In seasonal and aseasonal tropical forests, leaf production is often highly synchronous, concentrating herbivore resources in only a few months. As a result levels of herbivory on young leaves can vary throughout the year. To determine the importance of food availability on herbivory, leaf phenology and leaf damage were studied in an aseasonal forest, Luquillo Experimental Forest (LEF) in Puerto Rico. Leaf production was associated with an increase in light availability but leaf damage was relatively constant throughout the year. Leaf phenology and leaf damage was compared between LEF and a seasonal forest, Barro Colorado Island (BCI) Panamá. In BCI leaf production was associated with increases in water availability and leaf damage was significantly higher on leaves produced after the peak in leaf production. Leaf damage was significantly lower in LEF in comparison with BCI. Differences in the trophic structure between the two forests may explain the differences in levels of leaf damage. The density of frogs and lizards in LEF was approximately an order of magnitude greater than in BCI and these predators may limit the populations of herbivores and reduce leaf damage levels. Support for this work was provided by grants BSR-8811902, DEB-9411973, DEB-9705814 , DEB-0080538, DEB-0218039 , DEB-0620910 , DEB-1239764, DEB-1546686, and DEB-1831952 from the National Science Foundation to the University of Puerto Rico as part of the Luquillo Long-Term Ecological Research Program. Additional support provided by the University of Puerto Rico and the International Institute of Tropical Forestry, USDA Forest Service.
Data from: Synergistic effects of grass competition and insect herbivory on the weed Rumex obtusifolius in an inundative biocontrol approach
<p>Data are from a field experiment to test for synergistic interactions between grass competition and herbivory on <i>Rumex obtusifolius</i>, a prominent weed in temperate grasslands worldwide.</p><p><i>Rumex obtusifolius</i> was grown in the presence and absence of competition from the grass <i>Lolium perenne</i> and subjected to herbivory through targeted inoculation with root-boring <i>Pyropteron</i> spp.</p><p>To explore whether the interactive effects of competition and herbivory were size-dependent, <i>R. obtusifolius</i> was planted covering a large range of plant sizes found in managed grasslands.</p><p>The experimental layout followed a split-split plot design. Main-level factor was <i>L. perenne</i> competition, split-level factor was herbivory application, split-split-level factor was initial root mass of <i>R. obtusifolius</i>. Main-plots were arranged according to a randomized complete block design on the site (8 blocks, each containing a <i>L. perenne</i> competition and a no competition treatment).</p>
Variation in DNA methylation and response to short-term herbivory in Thlaspi arvense
<p>Plant metabolic pathways and gene networks involved in the response to herbivory are well-established, but the impact of epigenetic factors as modulators of those responses is less understood. Here, we studied the role of DNA cytosine methylation on phenotypic responses after short-term herbivory in <em>Thlaspi arvense</em> plants with two contrasting flowering phenotypes. We investigated the effect of experimental demethylation and herbivory treatments following a 2x3 factorial design. First, half the seeds were submerged in a water solution of the demethylating agent 5-azacytidine and the other half only in water, as controls. Then, we assigned control and demethylated plants to three herbivory categories (i) insect herbivory, (ii) artificial herbivory, and (iii) undamaged plants. The effects of the demethylation and herbivory treatments were assessed by quantifying genome-wide global DNA cytosine methylation, concentration of leaf glucosinolates, final stem biomass, fruit and seed production, and seed size. For most of the plant traits analysed, individuals from the two plant-types responded differently. In late-flowering plants, global DNA methylation did not differ between control and demethylated plants but it was significantly reduced by herbivory. Conversely, in early-flowering plants, demethylation at seed stage was still evident in leaf genomes of reproductive individuals whereas herbivory did not affect their global DNA methylation.</p>
Data on specialist and generalist herbivory, environmental variation, and phytochemical similarity from the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil: 2013-2014
What: These are data on specialist and generalist herbivory from naturally occurring Piper plants as well as environmental data collected in 10 m diameter plots across sites in the Atlantic Rainforest of Brazil. Data also include chemical similarity calculated as the Morisita similarity index for species in a given plot and chemical modules that demonstrate classes of compounds that group together and influence herbivory. Why: Data were collected to understand factors that influence herbivory and tropical forest richness with a particular focus on secondary chemistry metabolomics. Where: Field sites include São Bento de Sapucaí (-22.8758, -45.8581), Parque Nacional de Itatiaia (-22.3698, -44.6285), Parque Estadual de Intervales (-24.3088, -48.2736), and Parque Estadual de Serra do Mar - Núcleo Pincinguaba (-23.6200, -46.7222). When: Data were collected in the field from Dec 2013 – May 2014. How: Field data were collected in 10 m diameter plots centered on randomly located Piper plants. Chemical data come from 1H-NMR metabolomics.
Data for “Herbivory damage but not plant disease under experimental warming is dependent on weather for three subalpine grass species”, Rocky Mountain Biological Laboratory, Gothic, Colorado, 2015-2017.
Both theory and prior studies predict that climate warming should increase attack rates by herbivores and pathogens on plants. However, past work has often assumed that variation in abiotic conditions other than temperature (e.g., precipitation) do not alter warming responses of plant damage by natural enemies. Studies over short time periods span low variation in weather, and studies over long-time scales often neglect to account for fine-scale weather conditions. Here, we used a 20+ year field warming experiment to investigate if warming affects herbivory and disease are dependent on variation in ambient weather observed over three years. We studied three common grass species in a subalpine meadow in the Colorado Rocky Mountains, USA. We visually estimated herbivory and disease every two-weeks during the growing season and evaluated weather conditions during the previous two- or four-week time interval (two-week average air temperature, two- and four-week cumulative precipitation) as predictors of the probability and amount of damage. Herbivore attack was 13% more likely and amount of damage was 29% greater in warmed plots than controls across the focal species, but warming treatment had little affect on plant disease. Herbivory presence and damage increased the most with experimental warming when preceded by wetter, rather than drier, fine-scale weather, but preceding ambient temperature did not strongly interact with elevated warming to influence herbivory. Disease presence and damage increased, on average, with warmer weather and more precipitation regardless of warming. The effect of warming over reference climate on herbivore damage is dependent on and amplified by fine-scale weather variation, suggesting more boom-and-bust damage dynamics with increasing climate variability. However, the mean effect of regional climate change is likely reduced monsoon rainfall, for which we predict a reduction in insect herbivore damage. Plant disease was generally unrelated
canopy herbivory and leaf traits of tree communities in tropical montane rainforests of southern Ecuador
This dataset contains herbivory data estimated as leaf area loss [cm²] and [%] and several leaf traits measured either conventionally or via spectral sensing-based techniques from canopies of tree communities in tropical montane rainforests of the Andes in southern Ecuador between February and March in 2019. The data were used by Schön et al. (in prep) to evaluate whether leaf traits are valuable indicators of canopy herbivory mainly caused by arthropods and further, whether chemical leaf traits estimated via spectral sensing-based techniques have similar strong relations to herbivory as leaf traits measured conventionally. Herbivory was estimated with the software WinFOLIA ™ 2019a from scanned mature and sun-exposed leaves of tree canopies. Spectral sensing-based leaf traits comprising secondary plant metabolites and both structural and nutritional cell components were estimated from leaves with an OceanOptics spectrometer HDX. Conventionally measured leaf traits comprising morphological and nutritional traits were derived by applying both elemental and morphometrical analyses (e.g., ICP analysis, a digital micrometer and penetrometer). For detailed descriptions of the methodology see Schön et al. (in prep), Homeier et al. (2021), and Limberger et al. (2021). Research was conducted by the subprojects A1, B1, and B4 within the framework of the RESPECT project (Environmental changes in biodiversity hotspot ecosystems of South Ecuador: RESPonse and feedback effECTs) funded by the DFG with the grant numbers: BE1780/51-1, BE1780/51-2, Ho3296/6-1, FA 925/11-1, FA 925/11-2, FA 925/16-1, BR1293/17-1.
Rain exclusion, herbivory, and vegetaton in Greenstar Meadow at the University of Michigan Biological Station, Pellson, MI (2023)
Precipitation affects water availability, which subsequently influences plant growth, species persistence, and productivity. Critically, global change is causing precipitation patterns to shift, which can lead to changes in plant community composition and may affect the capacity of plant communities to perform essential ecosystem functions. We can use rainout shelters to intercept incoming ambient rainfall and simulate future precipitation conditions to better predict how plant communities may respond to shifts in precipitation. Here, we aimed to study if altered summer precipitation affects plant diversity and biomass by experimentally decreasing summer precipitation using rainout shelters. Furthermore, there can be two experimental plots under a single rainout shelter allowing us to test the combined effects of multiple factors on plant communities. So in addition to manipulating summer precipitation, we also manipulated the presence of insect herbivores using exclosures to quantify the independent and interactive effects of precipitation and insect herbivory on plant species richness, diversity, and biomass. The top-down effects of insect herbivores on plant communities can vary depending on plant water status, suggesting that precipitation and insect herbivory may have interactive effects on plant diversity, community composition, and biomass.
Data for 'Weak latitudinal gradients in insect herbivory for dominant rangeland grasses of North America'
Data for Kent et al. Accepted manuscript in Ecology and Evolution, with abstract: Patterns of insect herbivory may follow predictable geographical gradients, with greater herbivory at low latitudes. However, biogeographic studies of insect herbivory often do not account for multiple abiotic factors (e.g. precipitation, soil nutrients) that could underlie gradients. We tested for latitudinal clines in insect herbivory as well as climatic, edaphic, and trait-based drivers of herbivory. We quantified herbivory on five dominant grass species over 23 sites across the Great Plains, USA. We examined the importance of climate, edaphic factors, and traits as correlates of herbivory. Herbivory increased at low latitudes when all grass species were analysed together and for two grass species individually, while two other grasses trended in this direction. Higher precipitation was related to more herbivory for two species but less herbivory for a different species, while higher specific root length was related to more herbivory for one species and less herbivory for a different species. Taken together, results highlight that climate and trait-based correlates of herbivory can be highly contextual and species specific. Patterns of insect herbivory on dominant grasses supports the hypothesis that herbivory increases towards lower latitudes, though weakly, and indicates that climate change may have species-specific effects on plant-herbivore interactions.
White spruce demography and herbivory by snowshoe hares measured along elevational gradients in Denali National Park I - Site Data
Treelines in Alaska are advancing in elevation and latitude because of climate warming, which is expanding the habitat available for boreal wildlife species, including snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus). Snowshoe hares are already present in tall shrub communities beyond treeline and are the main browser of white spruce (Picea glauca), the dominant tree species at treeline in Alaska. We investigated the processes involved in a 'snowshoe hare filter' to white spruce establishment near treeline in Denali National Park. Because multiple factors interact to influence browsing of spruce, including the hare cycle, snow depth and the characteristics of surrounding vegetation, we collected an array of site variables relevant to spruce-hare interactions in Denali National Park, Alaska. Site variables collected included elevation, landscape position, vegetative cover, and the density of white spruce seedlings, saplings and trees.
White spruce demography and herbivory by snowshoe hares measured along elevational gradients in Denali National Park II - Sub Plot Data
Treelines in Alaska are advancing in elevation and latitude because of climate warming, which is expanding the habitat available for boreal wildlife species, including snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus). Snowshoe hares are already present in tall shrub communities beyond treeline and are the main browser of white spruce (Picea glauca), the dominant tree species at treeline in Alaska. We investigated the processes involved in a 'snowshoe hare filter' to white spruce establishment near treeline in Denali National Park. We hypothesized that surrounding vegetation would influence the likelihood of spruce being browsed by hares. Therefore, at each plot we estimated ramet density for all associated woody vegetation using one square-meter subplots. Within these subplots we also counted the total number of hare fecal pellets found on the ground.
White spruce demography and herbivory by snowshoe hares measured along elevational gradients in Denali National Park III - Spruce Data
Treelines in Alaska are advancing in elevation and latitude because of climate warming, which is expanding the habitat available for boreal wildlife species, including snowshoe hares (Lepus americanus). Snowshoe hares are already present in tall shrub communities beyond treeline and are the main browser of white spruce (Picea glauca), the dominant tree species at treeline in Alaska. We investigated the processes involved in a 'snowshoe hare filter' to white spruce establishment near treeline in Denali National Park. We modeled the pattern of spruce establishment from 1970 to 2009 and found that fewer spruce established during periods of high hare abundance. To do so, we measured several demographic attributes of white spruce in Denali National Park, including spruce height, basal diameter, browsing history and age.
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