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Herbivory is of extreme ecological importance and prevalence among insects.Perhaps one third (or 500,000) of all described species are herbivores. [4] Herbivorous insects are by far the most important animal pollinators, and constitute significant prey items for predatory animals, as well as acting as major parasites and predators of plants; parasitic species often induce the formation of galls.
This plays an important role for generalist herbivores that eat a variety of plants. Keystone herbivores keep vegetation populations in check and allow for a greater diversity of both herbivores and plants. [63] When an invasive herbivore or plant enters the system, the balance is thrown off and the diversity can collapse to a monotaxon system ...
In zoology, a florivore (not to be confused with a folivore) is an animal which mainly eats products of flowers.Florivores are types of herbivores (often referred to as floral herbivores), yet within the feeding behaviour of florivory, there are a range of other more specific feeding behaviours, including, but not limited to: [1]
Small herbivores are less likely to decrease plant diversity. Because small non-digging animals may not cause too many disturbances to the environment. Intermediate-sized herbivores mostly increase plant diversity by consuming or influencing the dominant plant species, such as herbivore birds, that can directly use dominant plant species. [1]
The heights of plants preferred by herbivores can give indications of the local and regional herbivore density. [14] Compositional and structural changes in forest vegetation can have cascading effects on the entire ecosystem , including impacts on soil quality and stability, micro- and macro- invertebrates , small mammals, songbirds, and ...
An example comes from the research of Tim Clutton-Brock, who found that the black-and-white colobus, a folivore generalist, needs a home range of only 15 ha. On the other hand, the more specialized red colobus monkey has a home range of 70 ha, which it requires to find patchy shoots, flowers and fruit. [5]
Since 300 million years ago, insects have been known to consume nectar and pollinate flowers. In the Mesozoic, between 200 and 150 million years ago, insects' feeding patterns started to diversify. [7] The evolution of plant defenses to reduce cost and increase resistance to herbivores is a crucial component of the Optimal Defense Hypothesis.
A graminivore is a herbivorous animal that feeds primarily on grass, [1] specifically "true" grasses, plants of the family Poaceae (also known as Graminae). Graminivory is a form of grazing . These herbivorous animals have digestive systems that are adapted to digest large amounts of cellulose , which is abundant in fibrous plant matter and ...