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Herbivore metabolism and stoichiometry each constrain herbivory at different organizational scales across ecosystems
Author(s) -
Hillebrand Helmut,
Borer Elizabeth T.,
Bracken Matthew E. S.,
Cardinale Bradley J.,
Cebrian Just,
Cleland Elsa E.,
Elser James J.,
Gruner Daniel S.,
Stanley Harpole W.,
Ngai Jacqueline T.,
Sandin Stuart,
Seabloom Eric W.,
Shurin Jonathan B.,
Smith Jennifer E.,
Smith Melinda D.
Publication year - 2009
Publication title -
ecology letters
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 6.852
H-Index - 265
eISSN - 1461-0248
pISSN - 1461-023X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1461-0248.2009.01304.x
Subject(s) - herbivore , trophic level , ecology , ecosystem , biology , population , ecological stoichiometry , per capita , abundance (ecology) , demography , sociology
Plant‐herbivore interactions mediate the trophic structure of ecosystems. We use a comprehensive data set extracted from the literature to test the relative explanatory power of two contrasting bodies of ecological theory, the metabolic theory of ecology (MTE) and ecological stoichiometry (ES), for per‐capita and population‐level rates of herbivory across ecosystems. We found that ambient temperature and herbivore body size (MTE) as well as stoichiometric mismatch (ES) both constrained herbivory, but at different scales of biological organization. Herbivore body size, which varied over 11 orders of magnitude, was the primary factor explaining variation in per‐capita rates of herbivory. Stoichiometric mismatch explained more variation in population‐level herbivory rates and also in per‐capita rates when we examined data from within functionally similar trophic groups (e.g. zooplankton). Thus, predictions from metabolic and stoichiometric theories offer complementary explanations for patterns of herbivory that operate at different scales of biological organization.