Trophic cascades in tropical rainforests: Effects of vertebrate predator exclusion on arthropods and plants in Papua New Guinea

Abstract

AbstractInsect herbivores have the potential to consume large amounts of plant tissue in tropical forests, but insectivorous vertebrates effectively control their abundances, indirectly increasing plant fitness accordingly. Despite several studies already sought understanding of the top‐down effects on arthropod community structure and herbivory, such studies of trophic cascades in old tropics are underrepresented, and little attention was paid to top‐down forces in various habitats. Therefore, we examine how flying insectivorous vertebrates (birds and bats) impact arthropods and, consequently, affect herbivore damage of leaves in forest habitats in Papua New Guinea. In a 3‐month long predator exclosure experiment conducted at four study sites across varying elevation and successional stage, we found that vertebrate predators reduced arthropod density by ∼52%. In addition, vertebrate predators decreased the mean body size of arthropods by 26% in leaf chewers and 47% in non‐herbivorous arthropods but had only a small effect on mesopredators and sap suckers. Overall, the exclusion of vertebrate predators resulted in a ~ 41% increase in leaf damage. Our results, across different types of tropical forests in Papua New Guinea, demonstrate that flying vertebrate insectivores have a crucial impact on plant biomass, create a selective pressure on larger and non‐predatory prey individuals and they prey partition with mesopredators.