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The two authors contributed equally to this paper.
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Approaches for testing herbivore effects on plant population dynamics
Article first published online: 19 JUL 2006
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01220.x
Additional Information
How to Cite
HALPERN, S. L. and UNDERWOOD, N. (2006), Approaches for testing herbivore effects on plant population dynamics. Journal of Applied Ecology, 43: 922–929. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2664.2006.01220.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 19 JUL 2006
- Article first published online: 19 JUL 2006
- Received 16 January 2006; final copy received 12 June 2006Editor: Phil Hulme
Keywords:
- biological control;
- carrying capacity;
- density dependence;
- enemy-release hypothesis;
- invasions;
- matrix population models;
- plant–herbivore interactions;
- population regulation
Summary
- 1As plant invasions pose one of the greatest threats to biodiversity, it is critical to improve both our understanding of invasiveness and strategies for control. Much research into plant invasions and their management, including biological control, assumes strong demographic effects by natural enemies, including herbivores. However, the importance of natural enemies in the regulation of plant populations remains controversial: some ecologists contend that they rarely affect plant populations, and others that they can strongly limit plant population sizes.
- 2We briefly review the conflicting views and suggest that new approaches to gather and analyse data are needed before the effects of natural enemies on plant populations can be fully characterized.
- 3We outline experimental and analytical approaches that incorporate density dependence into population models and thus provide a more complete test of the long-term effects of natural enemies on plant populations. We also introduce new methods for obtaining stochastic estimates of equilibrium density, which will provide a key test of enemy effects on plant population size.
- 4Synthesis and applications. Designing effective strategies for invasive plant management requires information about the factors that limit plant population size. Together, the experiments and analyses we describe measure more clearly how natural enemies influence plant population dynamics. They will provide an important tool in evaluating the role of enemy release in plant invasions and for predicting the potential success of biological control. Such information should help to prioritize strategies that are most likely to control invasive plants effectively and will contribute to risk assessment when considering the release of non-native natural enemies as biological control agents.