植物-植食性动物相互关系研究进展

植物光合作用固定下来的能量沿食物链首先流向相邻营养级的植食性动物。植物-植食性动物相互关系是自然界中最普遍、最重要的一种种间关系, 是食物网理论的基础与核心。该文从植食性动物对植物个体、种群和群落特征的影响, 以及植物在个体、种群和群落3个水平上对植食性动物的防御机制与策略两方面, 综述了当前植物-植食性动物相互关系的研究进展。植食性动物的采食, 可以显著改变植物个体或种群的生长、繁殖和存活率, 植物种群的变化则进一步反馈于植物群落组成和多样性特征。相应地, 植物在个体、种群和群落水平形成了一系列的防御机制, 其中在个体和种群水平以化学与物理防御为主, 而群落水平则是通过影响动物的行为或天敌而实现的。该文对相关领域的重要假说和理论进行了介绍、比较。最后, 该文提出了植物-植食性动物相互关系研究的未来发展趋势。随着全球变化和人类活动对自然系统干扰的加剧, 在不同的时空尺度上探索这些干扰如何影响动植物关系, 以及这些影响如何反馈于生态系统的结构、功能和稳定性, 不但有重要的理论意义, 也将为未来制定合理的生态系统管理政策提供实际支撑。

Research progresses of plant-herbivore interactions

Plant-herbivore interaction is one of the most common and important interspecific relationships in nature, which is the core and foundation of the food web theory. In this paper, we review the effects of herbivores on the characteristics of plant individuals, populations and communities, as well as the defense strategies and mechanisms of plants against herbivores at the levels of individuals, populations and communities. Herbivory can significantly change the growth, reproduction and survival rates of plant individuals and populations, which can in turn affect the composition and diversity of plant communities. In order to defend against herbivory, plants have evolved a series of defense mechanisms at the individual, population and community levels. At the individual and population levels, plants avoid herbivory mainly by chemical and physical defense. At the community level, however, plant defenses are achieved mainly by their influences on the behaviors of herbivores. This paper then introduces and compares important hypotheses and theories in related fields. Finally, we point out major existing research issues and identify possible future research directions. Given that natural systems are experiencing strong disturbances from human activities and climate changes, exploring how these disturbances affect plant-animal interactions, and how these changes in plant-animal interactions feedback on the structure, function and stability of the ecosystems, will not only have important theoretical significance, but also help us to formulate successful ecosystem management policy in the future.