Trait-matching and mass effect determine the functional response of herbivore communities to landuse intensification
Résumé
1. Trait-based approaches represent a promising way to understand how trophic interactions
shape animal communities. The approach relies on the identification of the traits that mediate
the linkages between adjacent trophic levels, i.e. ‘trait-matching’. Yet, how trait-matching
explains the abundance and diversity of animal communities has been barely explored. This
question may be particularly critical in the context of land-use intensification, currently threatening
biodiversity and associated ecosystem services.
2. We collected a large dataset on plant and grasshopper traits from communities living in
204 grasslands, in an intensively managed agricultural landscape. We used a multi-trait
approach to quantify the relative contributions of trait-matching and land-use intensification
acting at both local and landscape scales on grasshopper functional diversity. We considered
two key independent functional traits: incisor strength and body size of grasshopper
species. Incisor strength, a resource-acquisition trait, strongly matches grasshopper feeding
niche. Body size correlates with mobility traits, and may determine grasshopper dispersal
abilities.
3. Plant functional diversity positively impacted the diversity of grasshopper resource-acquisition
traits, according to the degree of trait-matching observed between plants and herbivores.
However, this positive effect was significantly higher in old grasslands. In addition, the presence
of specific habitats in the landscape (i.e. wood and alfalfa) strongly enhanced grasshopper
resource-acquisition trait diversity in the focal grassland. Finally, grasshopper body size
increased with landscape simplification, although the response was modulated by local factors
such as soil depth.
4. Trait-matching between plants and herbivores was an important driver explaining the abundance
and diversity of resource-acquisition traits within grasshopper communities. However,
the presence of specific habitats in the surrounding landscape had also a strong influence on
herbivore functional diversity in grasslands. Our study suggests that also mass effects are a
central mechanism promoting higher functional diversity within animal communities in highly
disturbed anthropogenic systems.