Schoen, J.; Tiede, Y.; Becker, M.; Donoso, D.A.; Homeier, J.; Limberger, O.; Bendix, J.; Farwig, N. & Brandl, R. (2023): <b>Effects of leaf traits of tropical trees on the abundance and body mass of herbivorous arthropod communities</b>. <i>PLOS ONE</i> <b>-</b>(-), 1 - 21.
Resource Description
Title:
Effects of leaf traits of tropical trees on the abundance and body mass of herbivorous arthropod communities
email:
jhomeie <at> gwdg.de
Faculty of Resource Management
University of Applied Sciences and Arts (HAWK)
37077 Göttingen
Germany
Individual:
Oliver Limberger
Contact:
email:
limbergo <at> staff.uni-marburg.de
Faculty of Geography
Deutschhausstraße 10
Philipps University of Marburg
Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing
35032 Marburg
Germany
Individual:
Jörg Bendix
Contact:
email:
bendix <at> staff.uni-marburg.de
Faculty of Geography
Deutschhausstraße 10
Philipps University of Marburg
Laboratory for Climatology and Remote Sensing
35032 Marburg
Germany
In tropical forests, herbivorous arthropods remove between 7% up to 48% of leaf area,<br/>
which has forced plants to evolve defense strategies. These strategies influence the palat-<br/>
ability of leaves. Palatability, which reflects a syndrome of leaf traits, in turn influences both<br/>
the abundance and the mean body mass not only of particular arthropod taxa but also of the<br/>
total communities. In this study, we tested two hypotheses: (H1) The abundance of two<br/>
important chewer guilds (‘leaf chewers’ and ‘rostrum chewers’), dominant components of<br/>
arthropod communities, is positively related to the palatability of host trees. (H2) Lower pal-<br/>
atability leads to an increased mean body mass of chewers (Jarman-Bell principle). Arthro-<br/>
pods were collected by fogging the canopies of 90 tropical trees representing 31 species in<br/>
three plots at 1000 m and three at 2000 m a.s.l. Palatability was assessed by measuring<br/>
several ‘leaf traits’ of each host tree and by conducting a feeding trial with the generalist her-<br/>
bivore Gryllus assimilis (Orthoptera, Gryllidae). Leaf traits provided partial support for H1, as<br/>
abundance of leaf chewers but not of rostrum chewers was positively affected by the experi-<br/>
mentally estimated palatability. There was no support for H2 as neither leaf traits nor experi-<br/>
mentally estimated palatability affected the mean body mass of leaf chewers. The mean<br/>
body mass of rostrum chewers was positively related to palatability. Thus, leaf traits and<br/>
experimentally estimated palatability influenced the abundance and mean body mass of<br/>
chewing arthropods on the community level. However, the data were not consistent with the<br/>
Jarman-Bell principle. Overall, our results suggest that the palatability of leaves is not<br/>
among the dominant factors influencing abundance and mean body mass of the community of chewing arthropod herbivores. If other factors, such as the microclimate, predation or fur-<br/>
ther (a-)biotic interactions are more important has to be analyzed in refined studies.
