The influence of elevation on tri-trophic interactions: Opposing gradients of top-down and bottom-up effects on a leaf-mining moth

Preszler, Ralph W.; Boecklen, William J.

doi:10.1080/11956860.1996.11682318

Cited by 56 publications

(64 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…Although the use of elevational gradients for these questions is rare, the few examples suggest that shifts between bottom-up and top-down control do occur. Preszler and Boecklen (1996) reported changes in the relative importance of bottom-up and top-down forcing along an elevational gradient for an insect herbivore, where effects of plant quality on herbivore mortality were stronger at high elevations but predator and parasitoid effects were more important at low elevations. Similarly, Rodríguez-Castañeda et al (2016) reported that ant abundance and their protection of plants from herbivores decreased with increasing elevation, leading to a shift in the relative importance of plant indirect defences (i.e.…”

Section: A Community Ecology Approach To Elevational Gradients That Smentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, studies in both tropical and temperate mountains have found increasing elevation to be associated with lower insect herbivore attack by parasitoids (Preszler andBoecklen 1996, Maunsell et al 2015), predatory arthropods (Koptur 1985, Rodríguez-Castañeda et al 2011, Rasmann et al 2014c, Sam et al 2015, Roslin et al 2017, and insectivorous birds (Sam et al 2015) (Fig. 1A).…”

Section: Tritrophic Interactions Influence Plant-insect Herbivore Elementioning

confidence: 99%

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Elevational gradients in plant defences and insect herbivory: recent advances in the field and prospects for future research

et al. 2018

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Classic research on elevational gradients in plant-herbivore interactions holds that insect herbivore pressure is stronger under warmer, less seasonal climates characteristic of low elevations, and that this in turn selects for increased defence in low-(relative to high-) elevation plants. However, recent work has questioned this paradigm, arguing that it overly simplifies the ecological complexity in which plant-insect herbivore interactions are embedded along elevational gradients. Numerous biotic and abiotic factors vary with elevation, and their simultaneous influences are the focus of current work on elevational gradients in insect herbivory and plant defences. The present review 1) synthesizes current knowledge on elevational gradients in plant-insect herbivore interactions; 2) critically analyses research gaps and highlights recent advances that contribute to filling these gaps; and 3) outlines new research opportunities to uncover underlying mechanisms and build towards a unified theory on elevational gradients. We conclude that the next generation of studies should embrace community complexity -including multi-trophic dynamics and the multivariate nature of plant defence -and to do so by combining observational data, manipulative experiments and emerging analytical tools.

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Section: A Community Ecology Approach To Elevational Gradients That Smentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Tritrophic Interactions Influence Plant-insect Herbivore Elementioning

confidence: 99%

Elevational gradients in plant defences and insect herbivory: recent advances in the field and prospects for future research

et al. 2018

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“…Studies have shown how top-down factors can increase together with the quality of the environment in a wide variety of harsh ecosystems (e.g. mountain, Prezler & Boecklen 1996; goldenrod community, Uriarte & Schmitz 1998; salt marshes, Bertness et al 2008. In this context, our study shows how an ecosystem engineering crab positively affects plant productivity (e.g.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 88%

“…Walker & Jones 2001) and that top-down forces can increase with the quality of the environment (e.g. Menge & Sutherland 1976, Prezler & Boecklen 1996). However, ecosystems are complex, and the identification of interactions between regulating forces becomes far more difficult when we attempt to understand how the balance between these opposing effects varies due to indirect interactions (Power 1992, Strong 1992.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Ecosystem engineering by burrowing crabs increases cordgrass mortality caused by stem-boring insects

Canepuccia¹,

Alberti²,

Daleo³

et al. 2010

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Some studies have shown that the balance between top-down and bottom-up processes is context dependent, but few have tested how biotic interactions can affect this balance. We quantified the attack frequencies by the stem borer moth Haimbachia sp. nov. on the cordgrasses Spartina densiflora and S. alterniflora in 5 marshes of the southwestern Atlantic coastline, located between 36°S and 41°S. We examined whether ecosystem engineering by burrowing crabs Neohelice (Chasmagnathus) granulata, which improves plant performance, increases herbivory incidence by moths. The results show that moths attack an important proportion of Spartina spp. stems (4% to 26%). Moth attack frequencies were higher on low elevation than on high elevation marsh plants, probably due to variations in plant performance across the physical stress gradient. Within marshes, burrowing crab densities and moth attack frequencies were positively correlated, suggesting that ecosystem engineering by crabs may increase moth attacks. Field experiments confirmed this prediction and suggest that the effect of crabs on moth attacks may be driven by nutrient availability. Our results show that stem-boring herbivores can cause significant plant mortality in Spartina spp. marshes, and that ecosystem engineering by burrowing crabs increases this effect. Thus, in this system, biotic factors that improve plant performance lead to an increase in herbivory control.

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“…Predation pressure (top-down), resource availability (bottom-up), and their interactions are important determinants of the distribution and composition of arthropod communities Gruner 2004;Hunter and Price 1992;Preszler and Boecklen 1996). By exploring spatial variation in the relative influence that top-down and bottom-up forces have on arthropod communities, we can begin to understand the mechanisms that shape mid-trophic level communities and how changes in the abiotic environment influence these mechanisms (Chase 2003;Chase et al 2000;Gripenberg and Roslin 2007;Hunter 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 98%

Spatial heterogeneity in the relative impacts of foliar quality and predation pressure on red oak, Quercus rubra, arthropod communities

et al. 2010

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Predation pressure and resource availability often interact in structuring herbivore communities, with their relative influence varying in space and time. The operation of multiple ecological pressures and guild-specific herbivore responses may combine to override simple predictions of how the roles of plant quality and predation pressure vary in space. For 2 years at the Coweeta LTER in the Southern Appalachian Mountains, we conducted a bird exclosure experiment on red oak (Quercus rubra) saplings to investigate the effects of bird predation on red oak arthropod communities. We established bird exclosures at six sites along an elevational gradient and estimated variation in foliar nitrogen and bird predation pressure along this gradient. Foliar nitrogen concentrations increased with elevation while our index of bird predation pressure was variable across sites. Greater arthropod densities were detected inside exclosures; however, this result was mainly driven by the response of phloem feeders which were much more prevalent inside exclosures than on control trees. There was little evidence for an effect of bird predation on the other arthropod guilds. Consequently, there was no evidence of a trophic cascade either in terms of leaf damage or tree growth. Finally, we found more variation in arthropod density among trees within sites than variation in arthropod density among sites, indicating the importance of micro-site variation in structuring arthropod communities.

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The influence of elevation on tri-trophic interactions: Opposing gradients of top-down and bottom-up effects on a leaf-mining moth

Cited by 56 publications

References 35 publications

Elevational gradients in plant defences and insect herbivory: recent advances in the field and prospects for future research

Elevational gradients in plant defences and insect herbivory: recent advances in the field and prospects for future research

Ecosystem engineering by burrowing crabs increases cordgrass mortality caused by stem-boring insects

Spatial heterogeneity in the relative impacts of foliar quality and predation pressure on red oak, Quercus rubra, arthropod communities

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