Tritrophic interactions: willows, herbivorous insects and insectivorous birds

Insectivorous birds can increase plant growth by consuming herbivorous insects and reducing insect damage. However, plant traits such as the level of chemical defense may affect the quantity and quality of insects, and alter the foraging behavior of birds. Therefore, I predicted that plant traits can also modify the effect of birds on leaf damage and plant growth. This study compared the effect of insectivorous birds on the herbivory and growth of two chemically different willow species, weakly defended Salix phylicifolia and strongly defended S. myrsinifolia under two fertilization levels. Half of the willows were protected from birds using a translucent gill-net, which did not limit access by insects. The effect of birds on the densities of leaf-chewing insects and leaf damage was considerable on unfertilized S. phylicifolia but less obvious on fertilized ones. The effect of bird predation was negligible on S. myrsinifolia, which had very low insect densities in all treatments. Birds increased the growth of the experimental willows, but the effect was clear only in unfertilized S. phylicifolia. I suggest that birds avoided foraging on willows with low populations of insects and little visible damage. The study shows that bird predation can alter the patterns of insect densities we see on willows, emphasizing the importance of considering multitrophic effects when studying plant-insect interactions.