Community heterogeneity and the evolution of interactions between plants and insect herbivores

2006/12/01 by Anurag Agrawal, Anurag A. Agrawal, Jennifer A. Lau +3 · 313 citations
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Environmental Science · #Biology #Ecology #Ecology and Vegetation Dynamics Studies #Evolutionary ecology #Herbivore #Host (biology) #Insect #Plant Parasitism and Resistance #Plant and animal studies #Plant community #Plant tolerance to herbivory #Selection (genetic algorithm) #Species richness

paper · doi:10.1086/511529

published in The Quarterly Review of Biology 81(4), 349-376 (University of Chicago Press)

openalex publication_date 2006/12/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/05

Abstract

Plant communities vary tremendously in terms of productivity, species diversity, and genetic diversity within species. This vegetation heterogeneity can impact both the likelihood and strength of interactions between plants and insect herbivores. Because altering plant-herbivore interactions will likely impact the fitness of both partners, these ecological effects also have evolutionary consequences. We review several hypothesized and well-documented mechanisms whereby variation in the plant community alters the plant-herbivore interaction, discuss potential evolutionary outcomes of each of these ecological effects, and conclude by highlighting several avenues for future research. The underlying theme of this review is that the neighborhood of plants is an important determinant of insect attack, and this results in feedback effects on the plant community. Because plants exert selection on herbivore traits and, reciprocally, herbivores exert selection on plant-defense traits, variation in the plant community likely contributes to spatial and temporal variation in both plant and insect traits, which could influence macroevolutionary patterns.

Citations

• Organization of a Plant‐Arthropod Association in Simple and Diverse Habitats: The Fauna of Collards (Brassica Oleracea)

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