Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone
The contribution of bird predation to the spatial variations in insect herbivory remains imperfectly understood, especially in Arctic ecosystems. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that the differences in insect herbivory between tundra and forest biomes, and between plant life-forms in these b...
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ftunivturku:oai:www.utupub.fi:10024/158477 2023-05-15T14:59:22+02:00 Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone Zverev Vitali Zvereva Elena L Kozlov Mikhail V ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 2606402 2022-10-27T12:25:10Z 295 304 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/158477 en eng SPRINGER Germany Saksa DE 43 10.1007/s00300-020-02633-2 Polar Biology 4 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/158477 URN:NBN:fi-fe2021042823672 1432-2056 0722-4060 2022 ftunivturku 2022-11-02T23:59:35Z The contribution of bird predation to the spatial variations in insect herbivory remains imperfectly understood, especially in Arctic ecosystems. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that the differences in insect herbivory between tundra and forest biomes, and between plant life-forms in these biomes, are associated with differences in the intensity of bird predation on defoliating insects. We observed substantial variation in herbivory (0% to 20% of foliage lost) among nine forest, mountain tundra, and lowland tundra sites in the Kola Peninsula (northwestern Russia) and among five woody plant species, but we found no consistent differences in herbivory between biomes and between plant life-forms. Bird attacks on artificial caterpillars were tenfold more frequent in forest than in tundra, while bird exclusion effects on herbivory did not differ between biomes, and the intensities of bird predation measured by these two methods were not correlated. Bird exclusion led to increases in insect herbivory, and this effect was significant in trees and tall shrubs but was not significant in dwarf shrubs in either forest or tundra sites. Bird predation, as measured in bird exclusion experiments, increased with an increase in the level of foliar damage inflicted by insects in forests but not in tundra habitats. We conclude that bird predation generally decreases plant losses to insects in both forest and tundra habitats, but birds are unlikely to shape the spatial patterns of plant losses to insects in Arctic ecosystems. Other/Unknown Material Arctic kola peninsula Polar Biology Tundra University of Turku: UTUPub Arctic Kola Peninsula |
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University of Turku: UTUPub |
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language |
English |
description |
The contribution of bird predation to the spatial variations in insect herbivory remains imperfectly understood, especially in Arctic ecosystems. We experimentally tested the hypothesis that the differences in insect herbivory between tundra and forest biomes, and between plant life-forms in these biomes, are associated with differences in the intensity of bird predation on defoliating insects. We observed substantial variation in herbivory (0% to 20% of foliage lost) among nine forest, mountain tundra, and lowland tundra sites in the Kola Peninsula (northwestern Russia) and among five woody plant species, but we found no consistent differences in herbivory between biomes and between plant life-forms. Bird attacks on artificial caterpillars were tenfold more frequent in forest than in tundra, while bird exclusion effects on herbivory did not differ between biomes, and the intensities of bird predation measured by these two methods were not correlated. Bird exclusion led to increases in insect herbivory, and this effect was significant in trees and tall shrubs but was not significant in dwarf shrubs in either forest or tundra sites. Bird predation, as measured in bird exclusion experiments, increased with an increase in the level of foliar damage inflicted by insects in forests but not in tundra habitats. We conclude that bird predation generally decreases plant losses to insects in both forest and tundra habitats, but birds are unlikely to shape the spatial patterns of plant losses to insects in Arctic ecosystems. |
author2 |
ekologia ja evoluutiobiologia, Ecology and Evolutionary Biology 2606402 |
author |
Zverev Vitali Zvereva Elena L Kozlov Mikhail V |
spellingShingle |
Zverev Vitali Zvereva Elena L Kozlov Mikhail V Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
author_facet |
Zverev Vitali Zvereva Elena L Kozlov Mikhail V |
author_sort |
Zverev Vitali |
title |
Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
title_short |
Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
title_full |
Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
title_fullStr |
Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
title_sort |
bird predation does not explain spatial variation in insect herbivory in a forest-tundra ecotone |
publisher |
SPRINGER |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/158477 |
geographic |
Arctic Kola Peninsula |
geographic_facet |
Arctic Kola Peninsula |
genre |
Arctic kola peninsula Polar Biology Tundra |
genre_facet |
Arctic kola peninsula Polar Biology Tundra |
op_relation |
43 10.1007/s00300-020-02633-2 Polar Biology 4 https://www.utupub.fi/handle/10024/158477 URN:NBN:fi-fe2021042823672 1432-2056 0722-4060 |
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1766331483550646272 |