Abstract
We model effects of interspecific plant competition, herbivory, and a plant’s toxic defenses against herbivores on vegetation dynamics. The model predicts that, when a generalist herbivore feeds in the absence of plant toxins, adaptive foraging generally increases the probability of coexistence of plant species populations, because the herbivore switches more of its effort to whichever plant species is more common and accessible. In contrast, toxin-determined selective herbivory can drive plant succession toward dominance by the more toxic species, as previously documented in boreal forests and prairies. When the toxin concentrations in different plant species are similar, but species have different toxins with nonadditive effects, herbivores tend to diversify foraging efforts to avoid high intakes of any one toxin. This diversification leads the herbivore to focus more feeding on the less common plant species. Thus, uncommon plants may experience depensatory mortality from herbivory, reducing local species diversity. The depensatory effect of herbivory may inhibit the invasion of other plant species that are more palatable or have different toxins. These predictions were tested and confirmed in the Alaskan boreal forest.
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Acknowledgements
The research presented here was supported in part by the National Science Foundation grant DMS-0719697 (Z. Feng), the James S. McDonnell Foundation 21st Century Science Initiative (Z. Feng and R. K. Swihart), and the USGS—Florida Integrated Science Center (D. L. DeAngelis). The field research of the BNZ LTER program was funded jointly by NSF grant DEB-0620579 and USDA Forest Service, Pacific Northwest Research Station Grant PNW01-JV11261952-231.
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This study was conceived by JPB. The original version of the toxin-determined functional response model (TDFRM) was developed by JPB, ZF, and RKS. DLD made a significant modification of the model by incorporating the choice parameter for herbivore’s ingestion and provided suggestions for analysis and simulations. DLD, ZF, and RL performed most of the model analysis and simulations. JPB and KK designed field experiments, collected and analyzed data (for parameter estimation). FSC has provided many insightful comments that played an important role in making sure that the model analysis is guided by biological questions and facts. All authors contributed to writing of the manuscript.
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Feng, Z., Liu, R., DeAngelis, D.L. et al. Plant Toxicity, Adaptive Herbivory, and Plant Community Dynamics. Ecosystems 12, 534–547 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-009-9240-x
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10021-009-9240-x