PARENT SESSION
Contributed Oral Session 65: Herbivory: Physiological Responses
Tuesday, August 9, 1:30 PM - 5:00 PM, Meeting Room 520 A, Level 5, Palais des congrès de Montréal
Are there really latitudinal differences in intensity of herbivory.
Adams, Jonathan1, Zhang, Yangjian*,1, Cincotta, Cristy1, Bilek, Melissa1, 1 Rutgers University, Newark, NJ, U.S.
ABSTRACT- It is widely believed that herbivory by insects is more intense in warmer climates, and that the increased herbivory leads to more evolved plant defenses, which will affect various aspects of community and ecosystem functioning. Despite the interest in such patterns, evidence for latitudinal gradients in both herbivory and in plant defenses is sparse and often contentious. Conclusions are often based on literature reviews rather than systematic studies. Comparisons are often made between different plant species or communities, rather than same species over a gradient. In this study we will examine loss of leaf area to herbivores in a wide range of tree species along a latitudinal gradient in North America from Quebec to Florida. Species studied include Quercus alba, Quercus prinus, Quercus rubra, Fagus grandifolia, Acer saccharum, Acer rubrum and Liquidambar styracifolia. The results revealed that there is no apparent increase in insect herbivory along the decreasing latitude for each individual species. On the contrary, it was found that most species showed increasing herbivory along increasing latitude, and for Fagus grandifolia this increase was statistically significant.
Key words: herbivory, latitudinal