Interaction of induced resistance and herbivore movement: spatial distribution of herbivores, plant damage and plant resistance

Induced resistance is a type of phenotypic plasticity in which plants change their level of resistance to herbivores in response to herbivore damage. By definition inducible resistance adds a source of variance to the interaction between plants and their herbivores. The temporal variability of inducible resistance can affect temporal herbivore population dynamics, and it has been predicted that induced resistance should also affect spatial variance in distributions of herbivores and damage to plants. Because many herbivores can move away from plants of low quality, herbivore movement should mediate the interaction of induced resistance with spatial distributions of herbivores, herbivore damage and plant resistance. To test these ideas, I am using models (in collaboration with Kurt Anderson and Brian Inouye), and experiments using tomato and a pest caterpillar (Spodoptera).