04794nas a2201093 4500008004100000245007500041210006900116300001400185490000600199520170000205100001801905700001601923700002001939700001601959700001701975700002401992700002002016700001802036700002002054700001202074700001902086700002502105700001902130700001702149700001602166700001502182700001702197700001702214700001502231700001602246700001702262700001702279700002802296700001802324700001702342700002202359700001702381700002202398700001802420700002402438700002002462700002502482700003002507700002902537700002602566700002002592700003002612700002302642700001602665700001902681700002202700700002802722700002002750700002402770700003002794700002002824700002602844700002702870700000502897700002502902700001702927700002002944700002302964700001502987700002203002700002303024700002203047700002203069700001703091700002203108700002203130700003003152700002303182700002103205700002303226700002203249700002103271700002703292700002203319700002403341700001703365700003203382700002003414700001603434700003203450700002203482700002503504700001703529700002003546700002303566700001503589700002903604856006703633 2018 eng d00aChange in dominance determines herbivore effects on plant biodiversity0 aChange in dominance determines herbivore effects on plant biodiv a1925-19320 v23 a
Herbivores alter plant biodiversity (species richness) in many of the world’s ecosystems, but the magnitude and the direction of herbivore effects on biodiversity vary widely within and among ecosystems. One current theory predicts that herbivores enhance plant biodiversity at high productivity but have the opposite effect at low productivity. Yet, empirical support for the importance of site productivity as a mediator of these herbivore impacts is equivocal. Here, we synthesize data from 252 large-herbivore exclusion studies, spanning a 20-fold range in site productivity, to test an alternative hypothesis—that herbivore-induced changes in the competitive environment determine the response of plant biodiversity to herbivory irrespective of productivity. Under this hypothesis, when herbivores reduce the abundance (biomass, cover) of dominant species (for example, because the dominant plant is palatable), additional resources become available to support new species, thereby increasing biodiversity. By contrast, if herbivores promote high dominance by increasing the abundance of herbivory-resistant, unpalatable species, then resource availability for other species decreases reducing biodiversity. We show that herbivore-induced change in dominance, independent of site productivity or precipitation (a proxy for productivity), is the best predictor of herbivore effects on biodiversity in grassland and savannah sites. Given that most herbaceous ecosystems are dominated by one or a few species, altering the competitive environment via herbivores or by other means may be an effective strategy for conserving biodiversity in grasslands and savannahs globally.
1 aKoerner, S.E.1 aSmith, M.D.1 aBurkepile, D.E.1 aHanan, N.P.1 aAvolio, M.L.1 aCollins, Scott., L.1 aKnapp, Alan, K.1 aLemoine, N.P.1 aForrestel, E.J.1 aEby, S.1 aThompson, D.I.1 aAguado-Santacruz, G.1 aAnderson, J.P.1 aAnderson, M.1 aAngassa, A.1 aBagchi, S.1 aBakker, E.S.1 aBastin, Gary1 aBaur, L.E.1 aBeard, K.H.1 aBeever, E.A.1 aBohlen, P.J.1 aBoughton, Elizabeth, H.1 aCanestro, Don1 aCesa, Ariela1 aChaneton, Enrique1 aCheng, Jimin1 aD’Antonio, C.M.1 aDeleglise, C.1 aDembélé, Fadiala.1 aDorrough, Josh.1 aEldridge, David., J.1 aFernandez-Going, Barbara.1 aFernández-Lugo, Silvia.1 aFraser, Lauchlan., H.1 aFreedman, Bill.1 aGarcía-Salgado, Gonzalo.1 aGoheen, Jacob., R.1 aGuo, Liang.1 aHusheer, Sean.1 aKarembé, Moussa.1 aKnops, Johannes., M. H.1 aKraaij, Tineke.1 aKulmatiski, Andrew.1 aKytöviita, Minna-Maarit.1 aLezama, Felipe.1 aLoucougaray, Gregory.1 aLoydi, Dan, G. Milchun1 a1 aMilton, Suzanne., J.1 aMorgan, J.W.1 aMoxham, Claire.1 aNehring, Kyle., C.1 aOlff, Han.1 aPalmer, Todd., M.1 aRebollo, Salvador.1 aRiginos, Corinna.1 aRisch, Anita., C.1 aRueda, Marta1 aSankaran, Mahesh.1 aSasaki, Takehiro.1 aSchoenecker, Kathryn., A.1 aSchultz, Nick., L.1 aSchütz, Martin.1 aSchwabe, Angelika.1 aSiebert, Frances.1 aSmit, Christian.1 aStahlheber, Karen., A.1 aStorm, Christian.1 aStrong, Dustin., J.1 aSu, Jishuai.1 aTiruvaimozhi, Yadugiri., V.1 aTyler, Claudia.1 aVal, James.1 aVandegehuchte, Martijn., L.1 aVeblen, Kari., E.1 aVermeire, Lance., T.1 aWard, David.1 aWu, Jianshuang.1 aYoung, Truman., P.1 aYu, Qiang.1 aZelikova, Tamara., Jane. uhttps://www.nature.com/articles/s41559-018-0696-y#article-info