Dynamics of plant secondary metabolites and consequences for food chains and community dynamics
TL;DRAbstract
A central issue in ecology is to identify the mechanisms driving and maintaining community diversity. Studies of plant–insect associations have played an important role in understanding ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie community dynamics (Whitham et al., 2006; Poelman et al., 2008b). Plants are autotrophic organisms that produce organic matter from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight, and as such they are at the base of most food webs. There is a wealth of animals that feed on plants, and insects are by far the most speciose of these. There are an estimated 6 million insect species, of which half are herbivorous (Schoonhoven et al., 2005). Terrestrial plant–animal communities, therefore, represent a large proportion of the communities on Earth.
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A central issue in ecology is to identify the mechanisms driving and maintaining community diversity. Studies of plant–insect associations have played an important role in understanding ecological and evolutionary processes that underlie community dynamics (Whitham et al., 2006; Poelman et al., 2008b). Plants are autotrophic organisms that produce organic matter from carbon dioxide, water and sunlight, and as such they are at the base of most food webs. There is a wealth of animals that feed on plants, and insects are by far the most speciose of these. There are an estimated 6 million insect species, of which half are herbivorous (Schoonhoven et al., 2005). Terrestrial plant–animal communities, therefore, represent a large proportion of the communities on Earth.
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