Plant-herbivore interactions along ecological gradients in tropical rainforest: Drivers of network structure and specialisation
Abstrakt
This thesis concerns the community ecology of Lepidopteran herbivores and
their host plants in rainforests of Papua New Guinea. We specifically focus on
examining the drivers of plant-herbivore interaction network structure and
herbivore specialisation across rainforest succession and elevation. Using one
of the most comprehensive and unique datasets of its kind, gathered using a
'whole forest' approach, we investigate how networks are structured in young
secondary, mature secondary and primary forest. Furthermore, we revisit a
classic ecological question, exploring specialisation of herbivores and how
abiotic and biotic factors might influence this. We show that an understanding
of host community properties including phylogeny, physical structure and
theorised defensive investment can be used to explain interaction network
structure. We also find that specialisation changes with elevation, guild type
and habitat use in ways which are difficult to predict. We finish by analysing
and presenting our relatively novel methodological approach. It is our hope
that it can gain wider adoption thus facilitating broader comparative studies.