A survey of the standing levels of herbivory in seedlings from a Mexican rain forest

The standing levels of herbivory on the foliage of seedlings were measured for 52 species from Los Tuxtlas forest in southeastern Mexico. The level of damage averaged 10 percent or less; only a minimum of the sample showed extensive damage. Several types of damage to foliage were distinguished; some species displayed a predominance of one type, whereas other species sustained a variety of types. Besides pathogenic and physical damage, insects were the herbivores responsible for all of the damage. The interspecific variation in levels of herbivory could not be explained on the basis of plant life history or growth form. We suggest that plants with different life histories employ equally successful (or unsuccessful) antiherbivore mechanisms.