Ecosystem engineering and leaf quality together affect arthropod community structure and diversity on white oak (Quercus alba L.).

ABSTRACT: Shelter building caterpillars act as ecosystem engineers by creating and maintaining leaf shelters, which are then colonized by other arthropods. Foliage quality has been shown to influence initial colonization by shelter-building caterpillars. However, the effects of plant quality on the interactions between ecosystem engineers and their communities have yet to be studied at the whole plant level. We examined how leaf tying caterpillars, as ecosystem engineers, impact arthropod communities on Quercus alba (white oak), and the modifying effect of foliage quality on these interactions. We removed all leaf tying caterpillars and leaf ties on 35 Q. alba saplings during the season when leaf tying caterpillars were active (June-September), and compared these leaf tie removal trees to 35 control

SUBMITTER: Reinhardt JR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10615914 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature