Tests for Elevational Gradients in Herbivore Abundance and Plant Resistance in the Rocky Mountain Ecosystem
Abstract
Community interactions are shaped by the species’ traits dependent on an array of biotic and abiotic factors, yet relatively little is understood about the importance of these factors. Plants have been shown to adapt based on in situ herbivore pressure and abiotic conditions. As herbivore density is theorized to decrease with elevation, plant resistance to herbivores should thus decrease in response. We surveyed grasshopper communities to document changes in herbivore abundance along an elevational gradient and quantified associated shifts in plant palatability through feeding bioassays with grasshoppers. We related grasshopper abundance to elevation at the community level by surveying at 10 sites along an elevational gradient of 488m and related plant palatability to elevation at the species level through feeding bioassays in the lab. In congruence with the decrease in herbivore abundance with elevation, we observed that high elevation plants experienced almost double the herbivore damage as their low elevation counterparts. Our results suggest that high elevation plant communities are less resistant to herbivores and that this shift in palatability may thus be an outcome of the relaxation to local herbivore density and changes in abiotic conditions associated with elevation.
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References (24)
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