Plant defences to no avail? Responses of plants of varying edibility to food web manipulations in a low arctic scrubland

Dahlgren Jonas, Oksanen Lauri, Oksanen Tarja, Olofsson Johan, Hamback Peter A., Lindgren Asa

Research article - Peer-reviewed, 2009

Plant defences to no avail? Responses of plants of varying edibility to food web manipulations in a low arctic scrubland

Dahlgren Jonas, Oksanen Lauri, Oksanen Tarja, Olofsson Johan, Hamback Peter A., Lindgren Asa

Abstract

Conclusions: Our results corroborate the Green World Hypothesis, indicating that in the absence of predators, plant defences do not prevent runaway consumption of the vegetation. The fate of plants in predator-free systems with browsing vertebrates depends primarily on the accessibility of each plant during the limiting season. Evergreen ericoids then form the most sensitive functional group.

Keywords

arctic; food web dynamics; herbivory; Myodes rufocanus; plant defences; tolerance; trade-offs

Published in

Evolutionary Ecology Research
2009, volume: 11, number: 8, pages: 1189-1203

Authors' information

Dahlgren, Jonas

Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Department of Forest Resource Management

Dahlgren, Jonas

Umeå University

Oksanen, Lauri

Oksanen, Tarja

Olofsson, Johan

Hambäck, Peter A

Lindgren, Åsa

UKÄ Subject classification

Environmental Sciences related to Agriculture and Land-use

URI (permanent link to this page)

https://res.slu.se/id/publ/27473