Biological Mission of Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apdo. 28, 36080 Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain.
Department of Tropical Ecology, Autonomous University of Yucatan, Apartado Postal 4-116, Itzimna, 97000 Merida, Yucatan, Mexico.
Curr Opin Insect Sci. 2016 Apr;14:1-7. doi: 10.1016/j.cois.2015.10.003. Epub 2015 Nov 20.
A rich body of theory has been developed to predict the effects of plant diversity on communities at higher trophic levels and the mechanisms underpinning such effects. However, there are currently a number of key gaps in knowledge that have hindered the development of a predictive framework of plant diversity effects on consumers. For instance, we still know very little about how the magnitude of plant trait variation (e.g. intra-specific vs. inter-specific), as well as the identity and combined effects of plant, herbivore and natural enemy traits, mediate plant diversity effects on consumers. Moreover, the fine-scale mechanisms (e.g. changes in consumer behaviour or recruitment responses) underlying such diversity effects in many cases remain elusive or have been overlooked. In addition, most studies of plant diversity effects on associated consumers have been developed under a static, unidirectional (bottom-up) framework of effects on herbivores and predators without taking into account the potential for dynamic feedbacks across trophic levels. Here we seek to address these key gaps in knowledge as well as to capitalize on recent advances and emerging frameworks in plant biodiversity research. In doing so, we provide new insights as well as recommendations which will stimulate new research and advance this field of study.
已经有大量的理论被用来预测植物多样性对更高营养级群落的影响，以及这些影响的潜在机制。然而，目前在知识方面仍存在一些关键的空白，这阻碍了建立一个关于植物多样性对消费者影响的预测框架。例如，我们仍然不太了解植物性状变异的程度（例如，种内与种间），以及植物、草食动物和天敌性状的特征和综合作用如何调节植物多样性对消费者的影响。此外，在许多情况下，这种多样性影响背后的细微机制（例如消费者行为或招募反应的变化）仍然难以捉摸或被忽视。此外，大多数关于植物多样性对相关消费者影响的研究都是在一个静态的、单向的（自上而下）影响草食动物和捕食者的框架下进行的，而没有考虑到跨营养级的动态反馈的可能性。在这里，我们试图解决这些知识上的关键空白，并利用植物生物多样性研究的最新进展和新兴框架。在这样做的过程中，我们提供了新的见解和建议，这将激发新的研究，并推动这一研究领域的发展。
