Global patterns of herbivory and responses to future climate changes

• Grant number: 24/10486-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: January 01, 2025
• End date: June 30, 2027
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Ecology
• Principal Investigator: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
• Grantee: Luziene Seixas dos Santos
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biologia (IB). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 19/08474-8 - Freshwater ecosystems under climate change: impacts across multiple levels of organisation, AP.PFPMCG.TEM
• Associated scholarship(s): 25/04935-1 - Global patterns of herbivory and response to climatic factors, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Interactions between plants and herbivores are among the most important factors shaping the dynamics of plant communities and governing the functioning of terrestrial ecosystems. Because herbivory results from numerous ecological and evolutionary processes, predicting variation in the amount of biomass consumed by insects over large spatial scales has proven challenging. One of the most tested hypotheses predicts that herbivory decreases with increasing latitude due to limiting environmental conditions, but studies across different areas and gradients have produced conflicting conclusions. One possible source of these differing results lies partly in variations in sampling methodologies and the actual quantification of herbivory. Another relevant point is that both climate and primary productivity can be determining factors in latitudinal patterns of herbivory, although they are not always included in predictive models. Recent studies also suggest that anticipated climate changes may affect herbivory by altering plant functional traits and the feeding behavior of herbivores. Given these new scenarios, it becomes crucial to understand and evaluate how abiotic factors (climate and primary productivity) and biotic factors (functional and phylogenetic diversity) can influence the amount of plant biomass consumed by insects in current and future scenarios. These issues will be assessed through climate modeling using global databases of herbivory (flower and leaf feeding) and through experimental evaluation of climate change scenarios in a greenhouse setting. Understanding the factors influencing herbivory variation can contribute to elucidating the ecological and evolutionary roles of herbivores in the formation and structure of plant communities. Furthermore, it is essential for conservation efforts to understand how plants and plant-herbivore interactions will respond to these new conditions, particularly in tropical ecosystems.