are plants enough: the relative importance of plants and nutrients to insect communities
DESCRIPTION
By Chelsea PratherTRANSCRIPT
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Chelse Prather, PhD
• Grew up in Northern Kentucky • BS, biology, University of Kentucky • PhD, biology, University of Notre Dame, research
in the rainforest in Puerto Rico • Previous Postdoc, biology/history/philosophy,
Florida State University • Now Research Faculty at University of Houston
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Prairie restoration and management
• Focus on restoring and managing for diverse native plant communities or creating habitat for game, migratory and threatened species.
• What about the smaller animals—the invertebrates?
• Butterflies, the “pretty” invertebrates have been mentioned.
• What about all the others?
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Outline 1. Why care about invertebrates?
Invertebrates and humans 2. Research question: What
determines invertebrate herbivore community structure in coastal tallgrass prairies?
3. Other projects 4. How to use this information?
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Outline 1. Why care about invertebrates?
Invertebrates and humans 2. Research question: What
determines invertebrate herbivore community structure in coastal tallgrass prairies?
3. Other projects 4. How to use this information?
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Invertebrates: • Represent over 80% of all known
eukaryotic species • Fill a vast array of ecological
niches • Attain high biomass in most
ecosystems.
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Do insects affect humans?
Ecosystem services: Benefits from ecosystems that support human life and well-
being
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Some%invertebrates%cause%problema2c%disservices%
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The little things that run the world
E. O. Wilson
“…If invertebrates were to disappear, I doubt that the human species would last more than a few months.”%
Invertebrates, ecosystem
services, climate change
Chelse M. Prather, Shannon Pelini, Angela Laws, Emily Rivest, Megan Woltz, Christopher P. Bloch, Izzy Del
Torro, Chuan-Kai Ho, John Kominoski, T. A. Scott Newbold, Sheena Parsons.
2012. Biological Reviews, in press.
Goal: Evaluate invertebrate influences on ecosystem services and how these
influences may be altered by climate change
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-On the National Bison range, it’s estimated that grasshoppers eat more vegetation than all the large vertebrates combined (Belovsky 2002).
Invertebrate effects on ecosystem services
- Can eat 0-100% of plant biomass in
an ecosystem
- 11,000 species of
myrmechores
-3/4 of all plants and 1/3 of all crops
by volume are pollinator-
dependent
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!Dung&beetles&that&decompose&feces&are&worth&es6mated&at&$454&million&in&the&US&
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!Emerging&insect&cause&huge&changes&in&available&nutrients%
!Invertebrate&frass&can&increase&or&decrease&nutrients&to&plants%
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Invertebrate effects on ecosystem services%
Food web stability
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In summary:
• Invertebrates provide or indirectly influence all ecosystem services.
• They are the major providers of a few services, and influence most of the others to a great degree.
• BUT: the basic science has not been done to evaluate their relative importance.
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Outline 1. Why care about invertebrates?
Invertebrates and humans 2. Research question: What
determines invertebrate herbivore community structure in coastal tallgrass prairies?
3. Other projects 4. How to use this information?
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Fundamental question in ecology:
What is the relative importance of factors that affect the abundance and
diversity of organisms?
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Why grasshoppers?
• One of the major herbivores in most prairies across the US
• Can eat more than ungulate herbivores combined
• Relatively easy to sample
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Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant biomass Plant diversity Plant micro-
nutrients Plant macro-
nutrients
P L A N T Q U A L I T Y
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
X
X
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Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant biomass Plant diversity Plant micro-
nutrients Plant macro-
nutrients
P L A N T Q U A L I T Y
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
X
X
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Pristine prairie Restored prairie
Shell-rich area Invasive forest
Measured grasshopper diversity and density, and possible predictors across 3 habitats (n=12).
Predators Wolf spider density
Soil Moisture
Oyster shell content pH
Plant community Biomass Diversity Water
Plant height Macro-nutrients
(N, P) Micro-nutrients (Ca, Cu, Fe, K, Mg,
Mn, Na, S, Zn) Root biomass Root moisture
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0%
2%
1% 2%
Herbivores%(orthopterans)%
df%=%22%t%=%=2.54%
P%=%<%0.019%%%
0%
5%
1% 2%
Detri2vores%(isopods)%df%=%22%t%=%=2.00%
P%=%<%0.058%%%
0%
1%
2% Omnivores%(crayfish)%
df%=%22%t%=%5.79%
P%=%<%0.001%%%
0%
0.08%
0.16%
1% 2%
Predators%(wolf%spiders)%df%=%22%t%=%=6.92%P%=%%0.496%%%
Nu
mb
er o
f in
div
idu
als
pe
r m2
Shell-rich areas Pristine prairie Density of food web members
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Significant drought event in 2011 Herbivore
abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant biomass Plant diversity Plant micro-
nutrients Plant macro-
nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
X
X
Results
Precipitation &
temperature
Soil moisture
Single-factor, bivariate
relationships; build up to multiple
factors.
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Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant biomass Plant diversity Plant micro-
nutrients Plant macro-
nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
X
X
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
Results
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Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant diversity Plant biomass Plant micro-
nutrients Plant macro-
nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
X
X
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
Plant biomass
Results
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Results
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant biomass Plant diversity
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
X
X
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
Plant diversity
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Nitrogen
Results Phosphorus
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
X
X
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
Plant macro-nurients
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Results Calcium Potassium
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
X
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
Sodium Sulfur
Plant micronutrients X
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Results
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
Site characteristics
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
X
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
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Results
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & management
Fragment size
Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
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Results
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & manage-
ment Fragment
size Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
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Results
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & manage-
ment Fragment
size Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
Dependent variable
Predictors (coefficent)
R2 P F
Density P (0.456) Soil moisture (-0.866)
Fe (-0.564) N (-0.649)
Veg height (-0.219) Plant diversity (0.501)
Ca (0.478)
0.48 <0.001 11.59
Richness K(0.920) S (-0.687)
0.35 <0.001 7.653
Dependent variable
Predictors (coefficent)
R2 P F
Grass-feeder density
N:P 0.221 0.006 5.105
Mixed-feeder density
Ca (0.014) Roots (-0.229)
Zn (0.734)
0.732 <0.001 30.755
Forb-feeder density
Ca (1.453) P (-0.561) Na (0.475) Zn (-0.322)
0.791 <0.001 4.763
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CONCLUSION: What is the relative importance of factors that affect the abundance
and distribution of prairie herbivores?
Herbivore abundance
Herbivore community characteristics
Herbivore diversity
Plant community characteristics
Plant micro-nutrients
Plant macro-nutrients
Precipitation &
temperature
C L I M A T E
Soil macro-nutrients
Soil micro-
nutrients
G E O L O G Y
Land use & manage-
ment Fragment
size Time since restoration
H U M A N I N F L U E N C E S
Top down controls
Plant biomass
Plant diversity
Predator pressure &
Parasite load
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Conclusions: If you build it, will they come?
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Katydid: Orchelimum
vulgaris
Grasshopper: Melanoplus
femurrubrum
Grasshopper: Metataplea brevicornis
Katydid: Concephalus
strictus
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Species%specific%effects%
=100%
=50%
0%
50%
100%
=100%
=50%
0%
50%
100%
Grass%feeders% Mixed%feeders%
2%Grass% 2%Mixed%Both%
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Grasshopper%diversity%conclusions%
• The%number%of%species%doesn’t%necessarily%maSer,%but%the%iden2ty%of%the%species%you%have%maSers.%
• Next—bigger%experiment%at%more%sites.%
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**Disclaimer: understanding of what controls communities, not to be used to manage insects with current results**
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