The Importance of Scale in Evaluating Herbivory Impacts

Interactions between plants and herbivores may be analyzed at many levels. As we move from one level of organization to another, the impacts of herbivory change, and so do the meanings of the words we use to describe those impacts. The hypothesis that plants may benefit from herbivory through compensatory growth has been tested at several levels. Although the concept of compensation is potentially useful, its meaning is measurement dependent and level specific. The importance of scaling considerations emerges from a hierarchical approach to the study of herbivory.