Shifts in species richness, herbivore specialization, and plant resistance along elevation gradients
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Date
2012-05-15
Authors
Pellissier, L.
Fiedler, K.
Ndiribe, C.
Dubuis, A.
Pradervand, J. N.
Guisan, A.
Rasmann, S.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Abstract
Environmental gradients have been postulated to generate patterns of diversity
and diet specialization, in which more stable environments, such as tropical
regions, should promote higher diversity and specialization. Using field sampling
and phylogenetic analyses of butterfly fauna over an entire alpine region,
we show that butterfly specialization (measured as the mean phylogenetic distance
between utilized host plants) decreases at higher elevations, alongside a
decreasing gradient of plant diversity. Consistent with current hypotheses on
the relationship between biodiversity and the strength of species interactions,
we experimentally show that a higher level of generalization at high elevations
is associated with lower levels of plant resistance: across 16 pairs of plant species,
low-elevation plants were more resistant vis-a`-vis their congeneric alpine
relatives. Thus, the links between diversity, herbivore diet specialization, and
plant resistance along an elevation gradient suggest a causal relationship analogous
to that hypothesized along latitudinal gradients.
Description
Keywords
Diet breadth, generalist herbivores, host plant, phylogenetic ecology, plant resistance, plant–herbivore interaction, polyphagy, specialist herbivores.
Citation
Pellissier, L., Fiedler, K., Ndribe, C., Dubuis, A., Pradervand, J.N., Guisan, A. and Rasmann, S., 2012. Shifts in species richness, herbivore specialization, and plant resistance along elevation gradients. Ecology and Evolution, 2(8), pp.1818-1825.