Abstract
We used reciprocal transplant experiments to test the relative strengths of the effects of plant clone and environment on the density of insect herbivores both directly, via plant effects, and indirectly, via natural enemy effects. We performed reciprocal transplants of Spartina alterniflora, salt marsh cord grass, among three sites that differed in environmental characteristics, in densities of the herbivore Prokelisia marginata, and in attack rates of Prokelisia eggs by the parasitoid Anagrus sophiae. Herbivore density was significantly affected by both site of origin (plant clone) and recipient site (local environment). This may be because both plant clone and local environment affect plant quality or because they affect attack rates of herbivores by natural enemies. Our results show that in the Spartina–Prokelisia–Anagrus system, the effects of plants on herbivores via their natural enemies may be equivalent in strength to plant quality effects.
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