Herbivory

Herbivory is the consumption of living plant material by animals. It ranges from grazing on grasses to feeding on leaves, seeds, roots, or sap.

Plant defense against herbivory: Physical, chemical, and indirect traits that reduce plant damage or discourage herbivores. These defenses influence which plants herbivores can eat and how much damage feeding causes.
Autotroph: An organism that builds organic compounds from inorganic sources using light or chemical energy. Plants are the primary producers whose tissues supply most herbivores' food.
Crop damage by wildlife: Loss or impairment of cultivated plants caused by wild animals feeding on them. Wild herbivores can reduce harvests by eating or damaging crops.
Trophic cascade: A chain of indirect effects across trophic levels, often triggered by changes in predator abundance. Predators can alter vegetation indirectly by changing herbivore numbers or behavior.
Herbivore-induced plant volatiles: Airborne chemicals plants release after herbivore damage, sometimes attracting predators or parasitoids of the attacker. Some plants turn feeding damage into a chemical signal that recruits herbivore enemies.
Heterotroph: An organism that obtains energy and carbon by consuming other organisms or their products. Animals are heterotrophs, and herbivores obtain food directly from plants.
Integrated pest management: An approach to pest control combining monitoring, prevention, and multiple control methods to limit harm and unnecessary pesticide use. Crop-eating insects are managed by combining ecological knowledge with targeted controls.
Plant–herbivore coevolution: Reciprocal evolutionary change between plants and the animals that consume them. Plant defenses and herbivore counter-adaptations can evolve in response to one another.
Plant secondary metabolites: Plant compounds that are not directly required for basic growth but affect interactions with other organisms. Tannins, alkaloids, and other compounds can make plant tissues toxic or difficult to digest.
Trophic level: A position in a food chain or food web defined by an organism's feeding relationships. Herbivores typically occupy the level between primary producers and predators.

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