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Oecologia

Title:		Functional identity versus species richness: herbivory resistance in plant communities
Author(s):		Scherber C; Heimann J; Kohler G; Mitschunas N; Weisser WW;
Address:		"Institute of Ecology, University of Jena, Jena, Germany. Christoph.Scherber@agr.uni-goettingen.de"
Journal Title:		Oecologia
Year:		2010
Volume:		20100429
Issue:		3
Page Number:		707 - 717
DOI:		10.1007/s00442-010-1625-1
ISSN/ISBN:		1432-1939 (Electronic) 0029-8549 (Print) 0029-8549 (Linking)
Abstract:		"The resistance of a plant community against herbivore attack may depend on plant species richness, with monocultures often much more severely affected than mixtures of plant species. Here, we used a plant-herbivore system to study the effects of selective herbivory on consumption resistance and recovery after herbivory in 81 experimental grassland plots. Communities were established from seed in 2002 and contained 1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 60 plant species of 1, 2, 3 or 4 functional groups. In 2004, pairs of enclosure cages (1 m tall, 0.5 m diameter) were set up on all 81 plots. One randomly selected cage of each pair was stocked with 10 male and 10 female nymphs of the meadow grasshopper, Chorthippus parallelus. The grasshoppers fed for 2 months, and the vegetation was monitored over 1 year. Consumption resistance and recovery of vegetation were calculated as proportional changes in vegetation biomass. Overall, grasshopper herbivory averaged 6.8%. Herbivory resistance and recovery were influenced by plant functional group identity, but independent of plant species richness and number of functional groups. However, herbivory induced shifts in vegetation composition that depended on plant species richness. Grasshopper herbivory led to increases in herb cover at the expense of grasses. Herb cover increased more strongly in species-rich mixtures. We conclude that selective herbivory changes the functional composition of plant communities and that compositional changes due to selective herbivory depend on plant species richness"
Keywords:		Animals Biodiversity *Biomass Diet/*veterinary Feeding Behavior/*physiology Female Germany Grasshoppers/growth & development/*metabolism Male Nymph/growth & development/physiology Plant Development Plants/classification/*metabolism Time Factors;
Notes:		"MedlineScherber, Christoph Heimann, Juliane Kohler, Gunter Mitschunas, Nadine Weisser, Wolfgang W eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Germany 2010/04/30 Oecologia. 2010 Jul; 163(3):707-17. doi: 10.1007/s00442-010-1625-1. Epub 2010 Apr 29"