Latitudinal gradients in biotic processes affecting plant growth and establishment.

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The idea that plant-animal interactions are more intense in the tropics underpins much thinking about tropical ecology, global patterns in plant traits, and latitudinal gradients in biodiversity. In this project, we will provide the first direct and global test of this idea by quantifying the intensity of herbivory, seed predation and density-dependent seedling mortality at approximately 100 study sites around the world. We will also investigate the causes of these latitudinal gradients by determining which environmental variables are most closely associated with the strength of biotic interactions.