Elzinga, David C.

Klausmeier, Christopher A.

Wetzel, William C.

English

ISU ReD: Research and eData

Extreme Climate Events and the Ecological Dynamicsof Plant-Herbivore InteractionsDavid C. Elzinga1,*, Christopher A. Klausmeier2, William C. Wetzel31Department of Mathematics, University of Tennessee, Knoxville, TN 379962Department of Plant Biology, Michigan State University, Hickory Corners, MI 490603Department of Entomology and Ecology, Evolutionary Biology, and Behavior Program, Michigan State University,East Lansing, MI 48824delzinga@vols.utk.eduExtreme climate events are a common feature of many ecosystems, and they are becoming more universaland stronger with climate change. A basic understanding of how the properties of an ecosystem interactwith the characteristics of an extreme climate event that foster an ecological response is necessary for ourability to predict the consequences of climate change. We constructed a seasonal delay differential equationmodel around a common phenology of herbivore-plant interactions. We simulated numerous extreme climateevents on four general systems to determine their reaction patterns. We found that systems with highherbivore growth rates and/or plants with delayed defensive responses to herbivore attack are more sensitiveto extreme climate events. Further, systems where herbivores gain immunity to plant defenses with ontogenyare relatively more stable in response to extreme climate events. In addition, extreme climate events weregenerally more influential when they directly altered plant defense level or herbivore density (e.g., mortality)than when they temporarily altered the parameters governing the plant-herbivore interaction. Finally, all ofthese effects depended on when an extreme climate event occurred relative to the seasonal patterns of theherbivore-plant system. Our results indicate that extreme climate events have the potential to dramaticallyalter ecological dynamics for many years after a single event, and the details of the consequences depend onthe ecological characteristics of the ecosystem, the ways in which the event influences the organisms in theecosystem, and the seasonal timing of the events.

Extreme Climate Events and the Ecological Dynamics of Plant-Herbivore Interactions

https://ir.library.illinoisstate.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1243&amp;context=beer

Extreme Climate Events and the Ecological Dynamics of Plant-Herbivore Interactions

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ISU ReD: Research and eData