Abstract

Understanding the drivers of seedling herbivory is critical for predicting plant community dynamics in forest ecosystems. For every individual seedling captured in this census, we conducted a comprehensive analysis of various factors that could potentially influence focal seedling herbivory. These factors included seedling height, biotic neighborhood, plant functional traits, topography, and the density of herbivore events. Our results reveal that both biotic and abiotic factors play a significant role in shaping seedling herbivory patterns. We found that seedling height and the presence of conspecifics have a positive correlation with herbivory, which supports both the plant apparency and Janzen-Connell hypotheses. On the other hand, higher heterospecific density and diversity were associated with reduced herbivory, in line with the herd protection and associational resistance hypotheses. Interestingly, interactions with ants, which serve as an example of interspecific mutualist, were found to directly and indirectly influence these dynamics. Overall, our study highlights the complex interplay of community structure, physical and chemical traits of plants, and interspecific interactions in determining herbivory patterns in forest ecosystems. These findings provide valuable insights into forest dynamics and can potentially inform conservation strategies in subtropical forests.