PCI Ecology

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Title *

Insect herbivory on urban trees: Complementary effects of tree neighbours and predationuse asterix (*) to get italics

Authors *

Alex Stemmelen, Alain Paquette, Marie-Lise Benot, Yasmine Kadiri, Hervé Jactel, Bastien CastagneyrolPlease use the format "First name initials family name" as in "Marie S. Curie, Niels H. D. Bohr, Albert Einstein, John R. R. Tolkien, Donna T. Strickland"

Year *

2020

Picture *

Abstract *

<p>Insect herbivory is an important component of forest ecosystems functioning and can affect tree growth and survival. Tree diversity is known to influence insect herbivory in natural forest, with most studies reporting a decrease in herbivory with increasing tree diversity. Urban ecosystems, on the other hand, differ in many ways from the forest ecosystem and the drivers of insect herbivory in cities are still debated. We monitored 48 urban trees from five species − three native and two exotic − in three parks of Montreal (Canada) for leaf insect herbivory and predator activity on artificial larvae, and linked herbivory with both predation and tree diversity in the vicinity of focal trees. Leaf insect herbivory decreased with increasing tree diversity and with increasing predator attack rate. Our findings indicate that tree diversity is a key determinant of multitrophic interactions between trees, herbivores and predators in urban environments and that managing tree diversity could contribute to pest control in cities.</p>

Indicate the full web address (DOI or URL) giving public access to these data (if you have any problems with the deposit of your data, please contact contact@ecology.peercommunityin.org). In case all raw data are included in the preprint, indicate the DOI or URL of the preprint. *

https://doi.org/10.15454/R4NESAYou should fill this box only if you chose 'All or part of the results presented in this preprint are based on data'. URL must start with http:// or https://

Indicate the full web address (DOI or URL) giving public access to these scripts (if you have any problems with the deposit of your scripts, please contact contact@ecology.peercommunityin.org). In case all raw scripts are included in the preprint, indicate the DOI or URL of the preprint. *

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Indicate the full web address (DOI, SWHID or URL) giving public access to these codes (if you have any problems with the deposit of your codes, please contact contact@ecology.peercommunityin.org). In case all raw codes are included in the preprint, indicate the DOI or URL of the preprint. *

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Keywords (optional)

Artificial prey, Insect herbivory, Tree diversity, Top-down control, Urban biodiversity

Methods that require specific expertise (optional)

NonePlease indicate the methods that may require specialised expertise during the peer review process (use a comma to separate various required expertises).

Thematic fields *

Biodiversity, Biological control, Community ecology, Ecosystem functioning, Herbivory

Suggested reviewers - Suggest up to 10 reviewers (provide names and Email addresses). (Optional)

No need for them to be recommenders of PCIEcology. Please do not suggest reviewers for whom there might be a conflict of interest. Reviewers are not allowed to review preprints written by close colleagues (with whom they have published in the last four years, with whom they have received joint funding in the last four years, or with whom they are currently writing a manuscript, or submitting a grant proposal), or by family members, friends, or anyone for whom bias might affect the nature of the review - see the code of conduct

Opposed reviewers - Suggest up to 5 people not to invite as reviewers. (Optional)

e.g. John Doe [john@doe.com]

Submission date

2020-04-20 13:49:36

Recommender

Ruth Arabelle Hufbauer

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