Journal
JOURNAL OF TROPICAL ECOLOGY
Volume 29, Issue -, Pages 111-122Publisher
CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
DOI: 10.1017/S0266467413000102
Keywords
arthropods; diversity-herbivory relationships; habitat quality; insects; KwaZulu-Natal; leaf damage; plant-animal interactions; saplings; scarp forest; seedlings
Categories
Funding
- Robert Bosch foundation
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Forest fragmentation can alter herbivory on tree recruits with possible consequences for regeneration. We assessed effects of forest-fragment quality (tree diversity, vegetation complexity, relative abundance of pioneer trees) and matrix habitat onarthropods and herbivory in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. We compared arthropod abundances and herbivory on woody seedlings and saplings among four forest-fragment types differing in size and matrix (large fragments and small fragments surrounded by natural grassland, eucalypt and sugarcane plantations; n(plots) = 24) using analyses of covariance. We recorded 3385 arthropods and inspected 897 seedlings (71 species) and 876 saplings (91 species). Relative abundance of predators increased with fragment quality; that of herbivores decreased. Herbivory responses to fragment quality varied: seedling herbivory decreased with relative abundance of pioneers and sapling herbivory increased with vegetation complexity. Matrix effects were low with little variation in relative abundance of predators (0.39-0.53) and herbivores (0.22-0.32), proportion of seedling (8.3-11.0%) and sapling herbivory (12.4-14.3%) among the forest-fragment types. These findings indicate that herbivory on tree recruits is mediated by forest-fragment quality rather than matrix habitat. Future studies should evaluate whether contrasting effects of fragment quality on arthropods and herbivory are caused by weak trophic interactions and variable herbivore compositions.
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