Approaches for testing herbivore effects on plant population dynamics

Approaches for testing herbivore effects on plant population dynamics

1. As plant invasions pose one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, it is critical to improve both our understanding of invasiveness and strategies for control. Much research into plant invasions and their management, including biological control, assumes strong demographic effects by natural enemies, including herbivores. However, the importance of natural enemies in the regulation of plan...

The Effects of Host-Plant Genotype on Herbivore Population Dynamics

To determine whether plant genotype can affect long-term herbivore population dynamics, we used a density manipulation experiment to compare the dynamics of Mexican bean beetle populations living on four genotypes of soybeans. Five densities of beetle populations were created on each plant genotype. Each combination of density and genotype was replicated four times, yielding 80 experimental bee...

Herbivore Effects on Plant and Nitrogen Dynamics in Oak Savanna

Herbivores can often control plant dynamics by mediating positive feedbacks in plant species’ influence on nutrient cycling. In a 7-yr field experiment in a nitrogenlimited Minnesota oak savanna, we tested whether herbivores accelerated or decelerated nitrogen (N) cycling through their effects on plants. We measured effects of excluding insect (primarily Orthoptera and Homoptera) and mammalian ...

Dynamics of a discrete-time plant-herbivore model

The Effects of Plant Compensatory Regrowth and Induced Resistance on Herbivore Population Dynamics.

Outbreaks of herbivorous insects are detrimental to natural and agricultural systems, but the mechanisms driving outbreaks are not well understood. Plant responses to herbivory have the potential to produce outbreaks, but long-term effects of plant responses on herbivore dynamics are understudied. To quantify these effects, we analyze mathematical models of univoltine herbivores consuming annua...