An increase in biotic interactions towards lower latitudes is one of the most consistent patterns in ecology. Higher temperatures and more stable climatic conditions at low latitudes are thought to enhance biotic interactions, accelerating biological evolution and leading to stronger anti-herbivore defences in plants. However, some studies report contradictory findings, highlighting the need for further investigation into the underlying mechanisms. We used a combination of field observations and feeding trials in controlled environments to investigate the effect of climate on chemical defences and insect herbivory in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur L.) throughout most of its geographic range in Europe, while controlling for physical defences. The concentration of lignin, flavonoids, and total phenolics increased significantly with temperature, whereas both field herbivory and weight of spongy moth (Lymantria dispar L.) larvae were negatively influenced by temperature. Lignin concentration positively influenced the weight of spongy moth larvae whereas it had no effect on field herbivory. We found no evidence of strong positive relationships between insect herbivory and larvae growth with leaf defences. Our study underscores the complexity of plant-herbivore interactions along climatic gradients and highlights the need for further research to disentangle these intricate relationships.

Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences Institute of Entomology Branišovská 31 370 05 České Budějovice Czech Republic

CRETUS Ecology Unit Department Functional Biology Faculty of Biology Universidade de Santiago de Compostela 15782 Santiago de Compostela Spain

Département de Biologie Université de Sherbrooke Sherbrooke QC Canada

Department of Agroecology Aarhus University Flakkebjerg ResearchCentre 4200 Slagelse Denmark

Department of Biology University of Turku 20014 Turku Finland

Department of Ecology Environment and Plant Sciences Stockholm University Stockholm Sweden

Department of Forest Protection Slovenian Forestry Institute Ljubljana Slovenia

Department of Geography University of Santiago de Compostela Praza da Universidade 1 15703 Santiago de Compostela Spain

Department of Geosciences and Natural Resource Management University of Copenhagen Rolighedsvej 23 1958 Frederiksberg Denmark

European and Mediterranean Plant Protection Organization 21 Boulevard Richard Lenoir 75011 Paris France

Faculty of Forestry and Wood Technology Mendel University in Brno Zemedelska 3 613 00 Brno Czech Republic

Faculty of Forestry University of Belgrade Kneza Višeslava 1 11030 Belgrade Serbia

Faculty of Science University of South Bohemia Branišovská 1645 31a 370 05 České Budějovice Czech Republic

Forest Biology Center Institute of Environmental Biology Faculty of Biology Adam Mickiewicz University Uniwersytetu Poznańskiego 6 61 614 Poznan Poland

Forest Entomology Swiss Federal Institute for Forest Snow and Landscape Research WSL Birmensdorf Switzerland

Forest Research Centre Associate Laboratory TERRA School of Agriculture University of Lisbon Lisbon Portugal

HUN REN DU Anthropocene Ecology Research Group University of Debrecen 4010 Debrecen Hungary

INRAE UE Ferlus 86000 Lusignan France

Institute of Biosciences and BioResources National Research Council of Italy Sesto Fiorentino Italy

Institute of Terrestrial Ecosystems Department of Environmental Systems Science ETH Zürich Zurich Switzerland

Integrative Ecology Group Estación Biológica de Doñana Seville Spain

Misión Biológica de Galicia Apartado de Correos 28 36080 Pontevedra Galicia Spain

National Institute for Research and Development in Forestry Marin Drăcea Voluntari Romania

Northwest German Forest Research Institute Forest Nature Conservation Prof Oelkers Str 6 34346 Hann Münden Germany

OneNature Ecology Arnhem the Netherlands

School of Biological Sciences University of Reading Reading UK

UniLaSalle AGHYLE UP 2018 C101 FR 60026 Beauvais France

Univ Bordeaux INRAE BIOGECO Cestas France

University of Göttingen Forest Nature Conservation Büsgenweg 3 37077 Göttingen Germany

University of Orléans Orléans France

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