@article {KNZ001210,
	title = {Host-plant quality alters grass/forb consumption by a mixed-feeding insect herbivore, Melanoplus bivittauts (Orthoptera: Acrididae)},
	journal = {Ecological Entomology},
	volume = {33},
	year = {2008},
	pages = {546 -554},
	abstract = {<p>1.\&ensp;Factors affecting the nutritional ecology of mixed-feeding, polyphagous herbivores are poorly understood. Mixed-feeding herbivores do better when they consume both forb and grass species although they typically feed primarily on forbs, which are of relatively higher protein content than grasses. 2.\&ensp;In a field experiment, we examined the effects of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilization and associated changes in host-plant C:N:P on proportional grass consumption by a mixed-feeding insect herbivore, Melanoplus bivittatus, using natural abundance stable carbon isotope (12C/13C) methods. We also examined a grass-feeding (Phoetaliotes nebrascensis) and forb-feeding (Hesperotettix viridis) species. 3.\&ensp;The C isotope signatures of M. bivittatus collected from plots fertilized with nitrogen (+N), phosphorus (+P), nitrogen and phosphorus (+N+P) and no fertilizer were compared with the C isotope signatures of plants in those plots to determine the proportion of assimilated C derived from C4 grasses and C3 forbs in each plot. We also examined the relationship between M. bivittatus diets and plant C:N:P stoichiometry. 4.\&ensp;The proportion of grass assimilated approximately doubled in N-fertilized treatments (39.1 \&plusmn; 0.1\%) compared with non-fertilized treatments (19 \&plusmn; \&lt;0.1\%), an increase associated with decreased C:N and increased N:P of grasses. 5.\&ensp;These results indicate that mixed-feeding M. bivittatus can selectively feed to balance C:N:P intake even when choosing between two structurally and chemically different groups of plants. 6.\&ensp;The strong relationship between diet selection and grass stoichiometry also suggests that plant nutrient composition may be more important than defensive chemistry in food choice.</p>},
	keywords = {LTER-KNZ, C3 photosynthetic pathway, C4 photosynthetic pathway, Carbon (C), grasshopper, nitrogen (N), optimal foraging, Orthoptera: Acrididae, phosphorus (P), stoichiometry, tallgrass prairie},
	doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01004.x},
	url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01004.x},
	author = {Jonas, J.L. and Anthony Joern}
}
