The importance of abiotic changes on plant and animal community interactions

Experiments were conducted in both greenhouse and field settings using a three trophic level system to determine whether abiotic changes alone could alter predator-prey-resource interactions, the relative contribution of trait-mediated and density-mediated effects, and trait-mediated and density-mediated impact intensity under varying abiotic conditions. Three manuscripts were produced; the first describes how grasshoppers altered their diet under changed light and temperature conditions in a field setting; the second explains an experiment that demonstrated that non-lethal predators can have as large an effect as those that are lethal; the third shows how light and shade can change the magnitude of trait- and density-mediated interactions and their relative contributions. Resource managers must think about the potential threats to protected areas such as global warming and development and the impact of abiotic changes on plant and animal communities in order to predict their consequences.