High specialization and limited structural change in plant‐herbivore networks along a successional chronosequence in tropical montane forest

Secondary succession is well‐understood, to the point of being predictable for plant communities, but the successional changes in plant‐herbivore interactions remains poorly explored. This is particularly true for tropical forests, despite the increasing importance of early successional stages in tropical landscapes. Deriving expectations from successional theory, we examine properties of plant‐herbivore interaction networks while accounting for host phylogenetic structure along a succession chronosequence in montane rainforest in Papua New Guinea. We present one of the most comprehensive successional investigations of interaction networks, equating to >40 person years of field sampling, and one of the few focused on montane tropical forests. We use a series of nine 0.2ha forest plots across young secondary, mature secondary and primary montane forest, sampled almost completely for woody plants and larval leaf chewers (Lepidoptera), using forest felling. These networks comprised of 1...次生演替（Secondary succession）的相关机制已得到充分阐释，乃至可对植物群落的演替过程实现精准预测，但针对植物-草食动物互作的演替变化，相关研究仍较为匮乏。尽管热带景观中早期演替阶段的生态重要性日益凸显，但热带森林领域的相关研究缺口尤为突出。本研究基于演替理论推导研究预期，以巴布亚新几内亚山地雨林的演替时间序列样地为研究对象，在考量宿主系统发育结构的前提下，解析植物-草食动物互作网络的特征。本研究是目前针对互作网络开展的最全面的演替相关调查之一，累计野外采样时长超40人年，同时也是少数聚焦山地热带森林的同类研究之一。我们在幼龄次生林、成熟次生林以及原生山地雨林中设置了9块面积为0.2ha的样地，通过林木砍伐法几乎完整采集了样地内的木本植物与鳞翅目（Lepidoptera）幼虫食叶类群样本。本次研究的互作网络共计包含1……