Consumer - interaction webs and the effect of aboveground vertebrates and invertebrates on ecosystem processes

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Wolfgang W. Weisser
• Co-Applicant: Professor Dr. Markus Fischer
• Subject Area: Ecology and Biodiversity of Plants and Ecosystems
• Term: from 2002 to 2011
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 5468999

The effects of invertebrate herbivory on ecosystem processes will be tested by excluding above-ground invertebrates from 5 m x 5 m subplots of all experimental plots using biocides. Net primary productivity and other ecosystem processes will be quantified in both treated and unmanipulated parts of the plot to study the relationships between plant diversity, invertebrate herbivory and ecosystem functioning. A second objective of this project is to test the interactions between plant diversity, plant productivity and the structure of the invertebrate community. Above-ground invertebrates will be sampled repeatedly from all grassland plots and allocated to a certain trophic role, i.e. herbivore, predator, parasitoid, or detritivore. Statistical modeling will reveal the influence of plant diversity manipulations on invertebrate density and invertebrate diversity at different trophic levels.

• DFG Programme: Research Units
• Subproject of: FOR 456: The Role of Biodiversity for Element Cycling and Trophic Interactions: An Experimental Approach in a Grassland Community
• International Connection: Switzerland
• Participating Persons: Professor Stefan Halle, Ph.D.; Professor Dr. Teja Tscharntke