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Abstract Herbivory can affect the soil microbiome, creating legacies that affect plant resistance, but how these effects vary by feeding guild and the plant traits involved remain underexplored. We tested how soil legacies created by a leaf‐chewing caterpillar (Spodoptera exigua) and a sap‐feeding aphid (Aphis gossypii) influence resistance inBaccharis salicifoliaby evaluating changes in plant traits and soil microbial diversity.We conditioned soil with three herbivory treatments onB. salicifolia: caterpillar herbivory, aphid herbivory or control (no herbivory). Then, we grew new plants in sterile soil inoculated with 10% conditioned soil from each treatment and conducted resistance bioassays, measured plant nutritional and defence traits and analysed microbial diversity.Caterpillar, but not aphid herbivory, created legacies that affected resistance to both herbivores in opposite directions: plants in caterpillar‐conditioned soil had 16% smaller aphid colonies than plants in control soil, and a 76% increase in caterpillar performance relative to aphid‐conditioned soil, suggesting guild‐specific trade‐offs in resistance. These plants also showed a 12% higher carbon‐to‐nitrogen ratio than plants in control soil, mediating resistance to the aphid but not to the caterpillar. Herbivory did not affect microbial taxonomic diversity, suggesting shifts in microbiome biomass or function underlie the observed effects.Our findings highlight that herbivory‐induced soil legacies are guild‐specific and can alter plant resistance via trait‐mediated pathways, underscoring the importance of considering herbivore identity when evaluating above–below‐ground feedbacks. Read the freePlain Language Summaryfor this article on the Journal blog. 

ABSTRACT Differences in dominance are frequently invoked to explain the outcomes of competition. Yet, what it means to be dominant, and which traits underlie dominance, are poorly understood. Here, we sought to determine the relationships between multiple aspects of dominance, the potential for trade‐offs with discovery ability, and the traits associated with these patterns within a high elevation community of five ant taxa. We examined several common dominance metrics—behavioral dominance (winning aggressive encounters at both the individual and colony levels), numerical dominance (abundance and activity in baits and pitfall traps), and ecological dominance (high relative frequency in baits)—and found that individual‐ and colony‐level behavioral dominance was positively correlated, as were ecological and numerical dominance. However, colony‐level behavioral and numerical dominance were negatively correlated, and no other dominance metrics were associated. There was a dominance‐discovery trade‐off, as increased behavioral (but not numerical or ecological) dominance was associated with slower resource discovery. This trade‐off was likely driven by behaviorally dominant ants having larger body sizes and recruiting a greater biomass of workers to baits. In contrast, fast discoverers were more abundant in the environment (i.e., numerically dominant). Complementing our empirical study, a meta‐analysis of 54 responses from 21 studies showed that the association between dominance and discovery ability depended on the dominance metric. Whereas discovery ability was positively correlated with numerical dominance, its relationships with behavioral and ecological dominance were highly variable and not significantly different from zero. Overall, our empirical findings, in combination with the synthesis of past studies, demonstrate that different aspects of ant dominance are not equivalent. Yet, regardless of dominance type, there is little evidence that dominance‐discovery trade‐offs occur in most ant communities. 

Abstract Abiotic and biotic factors interact to influence phenotypic evolution; however, identifying the causal agents of selection that drive the evolution and expression of traits remains challenging. In a field common garden, we manipulated water availability and herbivore abundance across 3 years, and evaluated clinal variation in functional traits and phenology, phenotypic plasticity, local adaptation, and selection using diverse accessions of the perennial forb, Boechera stricta. Consistent with expectations, drought stress exacerbated damage from herbivores. We found significant plasticity and genetic clines in foliar and phenological traits. Water availability and herbivory interacted to exert selection, even on traits like flowering duration, which showed no clinal variation. Furthermore, the direction of selection on specific leaf area in response to water availability mirrored the genetic cline and plasticity, suggesting that variation in water levels across the landscape influences the evolution of this trait. Finally, both herbivory and water availability likely contribute to local adaptation. This work emphasizes the additive and synergistic roles of abiotic and biotic factors in shaping phenotypic variation across environmental gradients. 

Abstract How consumer diversity determines consumption efficiency is a central issue in ecology. In the context of predation and biological control, this relationship concerns predator diversity and predation efficiency. Reduced predation efficiency can result from different predator taxa eating each other in addition to their common prey (interference due to intraguild predation). By contrast, multiple predator taxa with overlapping but complementary feeding niches can generate increased predation efficiency on their common prey (enemy complementarity). When viewed strictly from an ecological perspective, intraguild predation and enemy complementarity are opposing forces. However, from an evolutionary ecology perspective, predators facing strong intraguild predation may evolve traits that reduce their predation risk, possibly leading to niche complementarity between enemies; thus, selection from intraguild predation may lead to enemy complementarity rather than opposing it. As specialized predators that live in or on their hosts, parasitoids are subjected to intraguild predation from generalist predators that consume the parasitoids' hosts. The degree to which parasitoid–predator interactions are ruled by interference versus enemy complementarity has been debated. Here, we address this issue with field experiments in a forest community consisting of multiple species of trees, herbivorous caterpillars, parasitoids, ants, and birds. Our experiments and analyses found no interference effects, but revealed clear evidence for complementarity between parasitoids and birds (not ants). Parasitism rates by hymenopterans and dipterans were negatively associated with bird predation risk, and the variation in the strength of this negative association suggests that this enemy complementarity was due to parasitoid avoidance of intraguild predation. We further argue that avoidance of intraguild predation by parasitoids and other arthropod predators may explain enigmatic patterns in vertebrate–arthropod–plant food webs in a variety of terrestrial ecosystems. 

Abstract Tree diversity can promote both predator abundance and diversity. However, whether this translates into increased predation and top‐down control of herbivores across predator taxonomic groups and contrasting environmental conditions remains unresolved. We used a global network of tree diversity experiments (TreeDivNet) spread across three continents and three biomes to test the effects of tree species richness on predation across varying climatic conditions of temperature and precipitation. We recorded bird and arthropod predation attempts on plasticine caterpillars in monocultures and tree species mixtures. Both tree species richness and temperature increased predation by birds but not by arthropods. Furthermore, the effects of tree species richness on predation were consistent across the studied climatic gradient. Our findings provide evidence that tree diversity strengthens top‐down control of insect herbivores by birds, underscoring the need to implement conservation strategies that safeguard tree diversity to sustain ecosystem services provided by natural enemies in forests. 

Abstract Ecological theory predicts that herbivory should be weaker on islands than on mainland based on the assumption that islands have lower herbivore abundance and diversity. However, empirical tests of this prediction are rare, especially for insect herbivores, and those few tests often fail to address the mechanisms behind island–mainland divergence in herbivory. In particular, past studies have not addressed the relative contribution of top‐down (i.e. predator‐driven) and bottom‐up (i.e. plant‐driven) factors to these dynamics.To address this, we experimentally excluded insectivorous vertebrate predators (e.g. birds, bats) and measured leaf traits associated with herbivory in 52 populations of 12 oak (Quercus) species in three island–mainland sites: The Channel Islands of California vs. mainland California, Balearic Islands vs. mainland Spain, and the island Bornholm vs. mainland Sweden (N = 204 trees). In each site, at the end of the growing season, we measured leaf damage by insect herbivores on control vs. predator‐excluded branches and measured leaf traits, namely: phenolic compounds, specific leaf area, and nitrogen and phosphorous content. In addition, we obtained climatic and soil data for island and mainland populations using global databases. Specifically, we tested for island–mainland differences in herbivory, and whether differences in vertebrate predator effects or leaf traits between islands and mainland contributed to explaining the observed herbivory patterns.Supporting predictions, herbivory was lower on islands than on mainland, but only in the case of Mediterranean sites (California and Spain). We found no evidence for vertebrate predator effects on herbivory on either islands or mainland in any study site. In addition, while insularity affected leaf traits in some of the study sites (Sweden‐Bornholm and California), these effects were seemingly unrelated to differences in herbivory.Synthesis. Our results suggest that vertebrate predation and the studied leaf traits did not contribute to island–mainland variation patterns in herbivory, calling for more nuanced and comprehensive investigations of predator and plant trait effects, including measurements of other plant traits and assessments of predation by different groups of natural enemies. 

Abstract Insectivorous birds have ecologically important effects on prey abundance, behavior, and evolution, and through top‐down control, birds indirectly reduce herbivory and promote plant growth. While several studies sought to characterize biogeographic patterns in top‐down control by birds, variation in bird predation along elevational gradients is not well characterized in terms of both its commonness and the mechanisms underlying such variation. Here, we characterized variation in bird predation along a 700‐m montane elevation gradient using artificial clay caterpillars, assessing the roles of variation in aridity, other elevational effects not associated with aridity (e.g., most notably growing season length), and bird abundance and diversity. Multivariate models revealed increasing attack rates with aridity (when controlling for the effects of elevation) and elevation (when controlling for aridity). Because aridity declines with elevation, elevational patterns were not detectable in a univariate analysis. Bird abundance (but not diversity) decreased with elevation (but not aridity) and did not provide an explanation for our results, suggesting that the underlying mechanisms were behaviorally based. We speculate that the declining abundance of insect prey with elevation and aridity leads to increased bird foraging efforts and thus the likelihood of attacking clay caterpillars. If widespread, these dynamics have important consequences for both the interpretation of predation bioassays generally and our understanding of the multivariate drivers of variation in top‐down control by predators and predation risks experienced by prey. 

Abstract Conspecific plant density and heterospecific frequency are key drivers of herbivore damage. However, most studies have investigated their effects separately and for single (rather than multiple) focal plant species.We conducted an experiment involving three tree species, namely:Cordia dodecandra(Boraginaceae),Manilkara zapota(Zapotaceae), andPiscidia piscipula(Fabaceae). We manipulated understory densities ofM. zapotaandC. dodecandra(focal species) and their frequency relative toP. piscipula.Three months after planting, we surveyed insect leaf chewer and sucking damage on the former two. Because these species are attacked by different herbivores, we predicted a negative effect of heterospecific frequency on herbivory.Density and frequency varied in the direction and function of their effects on herbivory depending on the plant species and attacking herbivore. As expected,Piscidia piscipulafrequency had a negative linear effect onM. zapotaleaf‐chewer damage, whereas conspecific density did not affect chewer damage on this species. In contrast, density and frequency had non‐linear effects onC. dodecandrachewer damage, namely positive (hump‐shaped) and negative (U‐shaped) relationships, respectively. In addition, density and frequency had positive linear effects onC. dondecandradamage by leafhoppers.These findings call for more work jointly assessing plant inter‐specific variation in density‐ and frequency‐dependent variation in herbivory and its underlying drivers. 

Abstract The diversity of specialized molecules produced by plants radiating along ecological gradients is thought to arise from plants' adaptations to local conditions. Therefore, closely related species growing in similar habitats should phylogenetically converge, or diverge, in response to similar climates, or similar interacting animal communities. We here asked whether closely related species in the genusHaplopappus(Asteraceae) growing within the same elevation bands in the Andes, converged to produce similar floral odors. To do so, we combine untargeted analysis of floral volatile organic compounds with insect olfactory bioassay in congenericHaplopappus(Asteraceae) species growing within the same elevation bands along the Andean elevational gradient. We then asked whether the outcome of biotic interactions (i.e., pollination vs. seed predation) would also converge across species within the same elevation. We found that flower odors grouped according to their elevational band and that the main floral visitor preferred floral heads from low‐elevation band species. Furthermore, the cost–benefit ratio of predated versus fertilized seeds was consistent within elevation bands, but increased with elevation, from 6:1 at low to 8:1 at high elevations. In the light of our findings, we propose that climate and insect community changes along elevation molded a common floral odor blend, best adapted for the local conditions. Moreover, we suggest that at low elevation where floral resources are abundant, the per capita cost of attracting seed predators is diluted, while at high elevation, sparse plants incur a higher herbivory cost per capita. Together, our results suggest that phytochemical convergence may be an important factor driving plant–insect interactions and their ecological outcomes along ecological gradients. 

Global change is causing unprecedented degradation of the Earth’s biological systems and thus undermining human prosperity. Past practices have focused either on monitoring biodiversity decline or mitigating ecosystem services degradation. Missing, but critically needed, are management approaches that monitor and restore species interaction networks, thus bridging existing practices. Our overall aim here is to lay the foundations of a framework for developing network management, defined here as the study, monitoring, and management of species interaction networks. We review theory and empirical evidence demonstrating the importance of species interaction networks for the provisioning of ecosystem services, how human impacts on those networks lead to network rewiring that underlies ecosystem service degradation, and then turn to case studies showing how network management has effectively mitigated such effects or aided in network restoration. We also examine how emerging technologies for data acquisition and analysis are providing new opportunities for monitoring species interactions and discuss the opportunities and challenges of developing effective network management. In summary, we propose that network management provides key mechanistic knowledge on ecosystem degradation that links species- to ecosystem-level responses to global change, and that emerging technological tools offer the opportunity to accelerate its widespread adoption.