02057nas a2200217   4500008004100000245015100041210006900192300001300261490000700274520127900281653002401560653002901584653002101613653001801634653003301652653002701685100001501712700001601727700001901743856007701762       2010                        eng d00aGrasshoppers (Orthoptera:  Acrididae) select vegetation patches in local-scale responses to foliar nitrogen but not phosphorus in native grassland0 aGrasshoppers Orthoptera Acrididae select vegetation patches in l  a533 -5400 v183 a<p>Key elements such as nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) are often limiting relative to the nutritional needs of herbivores that feed on them. While N often limits insect herbivores in natural terrestrial ecosystems, the effect of P is poorly studied in the field, even though compelling hypotheses from the ecological stoichiometry literature predict its importance. We evaluated small-scale spatial distributions of, and herbivory by, grasshoppers among neighboring plots that vary in foliar-N and -P in tallgrass prairie. Grasshopper densities were 67% greater in N-fertilized plots but detected no effect to grasshopper densities from P-fertilizer. Leaf damage to the dominant grass Andropogon gerardii was 32% greater in N-fertilized plots, but no response to foliar-P was detected. Herbivore damage to a common forb, goldenrod (Solidago missouriensis), was not strongly linked by fertilizer treatments, although there was increased leaf damage in N-fertilizer treatments when no P was applied (a significant N &times; P interaction). Under field conditions at local scales, we conclude that spatially heterogeneous distributions of grasshoppers are primarily affected by foliar-N in host plants with little evidence that P-levels contribute to the spatial patterns.</p>10aAndropogon gerardii10aecological stoichiometry10ainsect herbivory10aKonza Prairie10aN-P fertilization experiment10aSolidago missouriensis1 aLoaiza, V.1 aJonas, J.L.1 aJoern, Anthony  uhttps://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1744-7917.2010.01376.x