How does herbivory impact the flow of energy within ecosystems?
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Herbivory plays a crucial role in shaping energy flow within ecosystems. Herbivores compete for plant biomass, impacting primary productivity. While herbivory is often viewed as destructive, it can enhance ecosystem resilience, nutrient cycling, and plant regeneration, maintaining primary productivity near carrying capacity. In high-latitude ecosystems, herbivory influences greenhouse gas fluxes, with grazing affecting soil CO2 and CH4 fluxes through changes in microbial communities and abiotic factors. Large wild herbivores' removal can significantly alter ecosystem functions, with varied effects on carbon cycling, highlighting the complexity of herbivore impacts on energy flow within ecosystems. Herbivore impact on plant biomass is influenced by plant quality, particularly phosphorus availability, suggesting that different resources can modulate herbivore effects on energy transfer within food webs.
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| Papers (5) | Insight |
|---|---|
| Herbivory impacts energy flow by being influenced by plant quality, particularly phosphorus (P) content, rather than nitrogen (N), and varying with rainfall levels in the Serengeti ecosystem. | |
| Herbivory impacts energy flow within ecosystems by influencing ecosystem functions like carbon cycling, nutrient cycling, and primary productivity, with variable effects on individual components and overall system resilience. | |
| Herbivory impacts energy flow by maintaining primary productivity, reducing host dominance, and accelerating nutrient cycling, essential for ecosystem function and productivity near carrying capacity. | |
| Herbivory influences soil microbial communities and greenhouse gas fluxes, potentially enhancing soil carbon losses, which could mediate carbon-climate feedbacks in high-latitude ecosystems. | |
| Herbivory disrupts energy flow by reducing dead vegetation available for detritivores like termites, especially in ecosystems lacking predator regulation, as seen in dryland ecosystems with irrupted herbivore populations. |
Related Questions
How does the impact of climate change on herbivory affect the entire ecosystem, including predators and prey?4 answersClimate change impacts herbivory in various ecosystems, influencing plant-herbivore interactions and subsequently affecting the entire ecosystem. Studies show that warming can alter plant chemistry, favoring herbivore growth. Additionally, increased temperature and precipitation can modify slug abundance and plant community dynamics, potentially impacting forage quality. In aquatic ecosystems, rising temperatures and CO2 levels, along with herbivory, affect submerged macrophytes' growth and stoichiometry, highlighting the complex interactions. In alpine meadows, warming coupled with invertebrate herbivory accelerates community shifts from sedge to forb dominance, reducing forage biomass and threatening animal husbandry. Interestingly, while spring warming affects herbivores active in spring, those active in summer may be tolerant to shifts in host plant phenology, showcasing varied responses to climate-induced changes. Overall, climate-induced alterations in herbivory can have cascading effects on predator-prey dynamics and ecosystem structure.
How herbivory influency the regeneration of forest?4 answersHerbivory plays a crucial role in influencing forest regeneration dynamics. Studies have shown that herbivory can significantly impact seedling survival and growth. Factors such as plant apparency, rather than biotic or abiotic factors, have been identified as the primary predictor of leaf damage in seedling communities. Herbivory by wildlife and livestock can lead to a decrease in seedling cover and acorn production, affecting the overall regeneration of deciduous oak forests. Additionally, herbivory pressure can shift from browsing to competition when herbivores are excluded, highlighting the complex interplay between herbivory and competition in forest ecosystems. Understanding the effects of herbivory on early life stage mortality and long-term tree dynamics is essential for managing forest ecosystems sustainably.
What factors influence herbivory?5 answersAbiotic factors such as elevated temperatures, CO2 concentrations, drought stress, and nutrient conditions play a significant role in influencing herbivory. Additionally, essential oils and tannins concentrations in plants like Eucalyptus contribute to protection against herbivory. Local factors like plant cover, height, and species richness, along with landscape variables such as fragment size and connectivity, also impact herbivory levels. The interaction between these factors can either enhance or reduce herbivory, showcasing the complexity of plant-herbivore interactions. Understanding these diverse influences is crucial in predicting how climate change and habitat alterations may disrupt herbivory dynamics and subsequently affect plant communities and ecosystems.
Is herbivory higher in edges than in forest core?5 answersHerbivory levels vary between forest edges and interiors based on different factors. Studies indicate that herbivory can be higher at forest edges during certain seasons due to edge type and environmental conditions. However, in general, herbivory rates can be influenced by tree diversity, with oaks experiencing less defoliation among heterospecific neighbors both at forest edges and interiors. Additionally, the presence of vertebrate communities at forest edges can control invertebrate densities differently than in the interior, leading to varied herbivory rates. Furthermore, citizen science initiatives have shown that herbivory can differ between understory and canopy leaves, with understory leaves consistently experiencing more herbivory on average, regardless of observer age. Overall, herbivory levels can be influenced by a combination of factors, making it variable between edges and forest cores.
How does herbivory impact volatile profiles in vegetables?5 answersHerbivory has been found to impact volatile profiles in vegetables. Different herbivore species, orders, and feeding guilds can elicit distinct responses in the volatile composition of plants. For example, in a study on Salix fragilis, herbivore order and chewing damage were found to be the main factors influencing volatile composition. Similarly, in tomato plants, the degree of domestication was found to affect volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions, which in turn influenced the preferences of the tomato/potato psyllid. Additionally, herbivore-specific herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) were found to prime neighboring plants for defense responses, leading to increased HIPV emissions specific to the subsequently attacking herbivore. Furthermore, the timing of herbivore attack was found to affect the abundance and composition of green leaf volatiles (GLVs) in Nicotiana attenuata, with GLV emissions peaking at night. Overall, these studies highlight the complex and species-specific nature of herbivory-induced changes in volatile profiles in vegetables.
How do herbivore exclosures impact fishermen?5 answersHerbivore exclosures have a significant impact on fishermen. Fishing activities affect the seabed habitat worldwide, and different fishing methodologies vary in their degree of impact on the seabed. However, herbivorous reef fishes play a critical role in maintaining the health and resilience of coral reefs. When herbivores are excluded from certain areas through exclosures, their populations and biomass decrease, which can lead to shifts in the ecosystem towards macroalgal dominance. This shift can have negative consequences for coral reefs, making them more vulnerable to undesirable ecosystem changes. Therefore, the use of herbivore exclosures can impact fishermen by potentially reducing the availability of healthy coral reef ecosystems for fishing activities.