The mechanisms by which elevated CO2 affects the interaction between herbivorous insects and their host plants
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Key Words: elevated CO2, herbivory insects, individual development, population fitness, interspecific interaction
Abstract: Global warming accompanied by increased atmospheric CO2 is the subject of enormous interest from scientists. Evidence of the direct effects of elevated CO2 on herbivorous insects is weak, and the major influence of CO2 on insects is through a cascade effect when host plants alter their primary and secondary metabolites. This review focuses on elevated CO2 as the main factor determining the interaction between plants and herbivorous insects. We here compare the responses of browsing herbivorous insect and phloem sucking insects to elevated CO2. We also explore the different response mechanisms of different insect feeding guilds to elevated environmental CO2.