Abstract
Changes in plant-herbivore interactions across time scales: bridging paleoecology and contemporary ecology Plants and arthropods predominate in terrestrial ecosystems, both in biodiversity and biomass (Bar-On et al., 2018). Their trophic interactions, primarily herbivory, have profoundly shaped terrestrial ecosystems, affecting evolutionary trajectories, ecosystem structures, and responses to environmental change. The fossil record provides key insights into long-term processes and large-scale patterns of arthropod (mainly insect) herbivory stretching back to early terrestrial ecosystems, such as the Silurian (~443-419 million years ago) and Devonian (~419-359 million years ago) (Labandeira and Wappler, 2023), despite limitations from temporal and spatial gaps and the need to deduce ecological patterns based on insect morphology, community composition, and plant damage caused by herbivores. Contemporary ecology, in contrast, allows for direct real-time observation and precise measurement of variables related to herbivory, though it lacks the expansive temporal scope.
Ideally, our understanding of plant-insect interactions would integrate insights from both ancient and modern ecosystems, spanning ecological (particularly macroecological) and evolutionary patterns across geologic timescales and present-day contexts, with implications for the future. The five manuscripts in this Research Topic contain a multitude of paleoecological insights that will interest specialists in both ancient and modern ecosystems.