Trait-matching and mass effect determine the functional response of herbivore communities to land use intensification

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 sampled 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 st...1. 基于性状的研究方法（Trait-based approaches）是解析营养级互作如何塑造动物群落的颇具前景的研究途径。该方法依托对介导相邻营养级间关联的性状的识别，即性状匹配（trait-matching）。然而，性状匹配如何解释动物群落的丰度与多样性，这一问题迄今鲜有探索。在当前土地利用集约化正威胁生物多样性及其支撑的生态系统服务的背景下，这一问题的解答尤为关键。 2. 本研究从集约化管理的农业景观内的204个采样草地群落中，收集了植物与蝗虫的性状大数据集。我们采用多性状研究方法，量化了局地与景观尺度下，性状匹配与土地利用集约化对蝗虫功能多样性的相对贡献。本研究选取了两项关键独立功能性状：蝗虫物种的切齿强度与体型。切齿...