Tritrophic interaction diversity in gallery forests: A biologically rich and understudied component of the Brazilian cerrado
2021
Rabelo, Raiane Serejo | Dyer, Lee A. | Lepesqueur, Cíntia | Salcido, Danielle M. | da Silva, Thayane Pereira | Rodrigues, Hanna Pâmela A. | Trindade, Tácito Barbosa | Diniz, Ivone Rezende | Nascimento, André Rangel | Tepe, Eric J. | Massad, Tara Joy
Creating robust datasets of plant–insect interactions is important for understanding ecosystem dynamics, and data on species interactions can be used to evaluate conservation interventions. In the present work, we collected plant–herbivore–parasitoid data on an understudied but critical ecosystem—gallery forests in the Brazilian cerrado. We collected caterpillars on shrubs of Piper (Piperaceae) over the course of a year in seven gallery forests of varying sizes in order to compare seasonal changes in α- and β- diversity and tritrophic interaction networks as well as the role of fragment size in determining species and interaction diversity. Caterpillars were more abundant and diverse in the wet season and also increased with resource availability—the more Piper individuals present, the greater the abundance and richness of herbivores. The number of unique interactions between (i) plants and herbivores and (ii) herbivores and parasitoids did not change across seasons, but there was a high degree of turnover in the herbivore fauna between sites and seasons. Specialization was greatest in the dry-rainy season transition, when new leaves typically flush. Consistent with records of parasitism rates in the cerrado sensu stricto, parasitism in the gallery forests was greatest in the dry-rainy seasons. Forest size was not related to caterpillar richness. Overall, this work demonstrates the conservation value of gallery forests in supporting plant species that span the Amazon and the Atlantic Rainforest as well as diverse and highly seasonal trophic interactions.
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