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Article: Dependence of herbivory on autotrophic nitrogen content and on net primary production across ecosystems.
- Article from:
- The Biological Bulletin
- Article date:
- October 1, 1998
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1998 Marine Biological Laboratory. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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To determine what factors control the abundance of herbivores in an ecosystem (1), and thus the effects these consumers have on autotrophic biomass (2), we must first understand why and how much herbivory differs among ecosystems. Previous reports suggest that ecosystems dominated by richer autotrophs (i.e., those with a higher nutrient content) support higher rates of herbivory (2) and that the same is true for more productive ecosystems (1,3). If ecosystems composed of richer autotrophs are indeed subject to higher herbivory rates, the association between net primary production (NPP) and herbivory across ecosystems may point to a contradiction, because more productive ...