The 'Herbivory Uncertainty Principle': application in a cerrado site

Researchers may alter the ecology of their studied organisms, even carrying out apparently beneficial activities, as in herbivory studies, when they may alter herbivory damage. We tested whether visit frequency altered herbivory damage, as predicted by the 'Herbivory Uncertainty Principle'. In a cerrado site, we established 80 quadrats, in which we sampled all woody individuals. We used four visit frequencies (high, medium, low, and control), quantifying, at the end of three months, herbivory damage for each species in each treatment. We did not corroborate the 'Herbivory Uncertainty Principle', since visiting frequency did not alter herbivory damage, at least when the whole plant community was taken into account. However, when we analysed each species separately, four out of 11 species presented significant differences in herbivory damage, suggesting that the researcher is not independent of its measurements. The principle could be tested in other ecological studies in which it may occur, such as those on animal behaviour, human ecology, population dynamics, and conservation.