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Updated: Jun 23, 2025

Linking Predation Risk, Herbivore Physiological Stress and Microbial Decomposition of Plant Litter
Published on: March 12, 2013
Nutrient dilution and the future of herbivore populations
Michael Kaspari1, Ellen A R Welti2
1School of Biological Sciences, University of Oklahoma, Norman, OK 73019, USA; Conservation Ecology Center, Smithsonian's National Zoo and Conservation Biology Institute, Front Royal, VA 22630, USA.
Abstract:
Nutrient dilution (ND) - the decrease in the concentration of nutritional elements in plant tissue - arises from an increase in the mass of carbohydrates and/or a decrease in the 20+ essential elements. Increasing CO2 levels and its promotion of biomass are linked to nutrient dilution. We build a case for nutrient dilution as a key driver in global declines in herbivore abundance. Herbivores must build element-rich animal tissue from nutrient-poor plant tissue, and their abundance commonly increases with fertilization of both macro- and micronutrients. We predict the global impacts of nutrient dilution will be magnified in some of Earth's most biodiverse, highly productive, and/or nutrient-poor ecosystems and should favor specific traits of herbivores, including sap-feeding and ruminant microbiomes.
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