Tolerance of native and exotic prairie grasses to herbivory byMelanoplusgrasshoppers: application of a nondestructive method for estimating plant biomass changes as a response to herbivory

Abstract

Abstract Plant tolerance to herbivory is an important component of plant competitive ability, which can facilitate the plant invasion process. The prediction of higher tolerance to herbivory in invasive plants has received mixed support in experimental studies, partially because of differences in methods of estimating plant tolerance in terms of plant growth. Using nondestructive methods to accurately estimate aboveground biomass, a standard measure of plant growth, can be challenging, especially for grasses. In addition, using different proxies for plant biomass may potentially cause mixed results in the estimation of plant tolerance. To address these issues, in our study, we conducted field and greenhouse experiments using native Andropogon gerardii Vitman and Bouteloua curtipendula (Michx.) Torr. and exotic Bothriochloa ischaemum (L.) Keng and Miscanthus sinensis Andersson grasses and examined their relative response to nymphal Melanoplus spp. grasshoppers. We first determined that, in most grass speci...