Un nuevo método de análisis digital para la determinación de los niveles de consumo foliar

a protocol using the computer program adobe photoshop cs2 (version 9.0) is proposed for determining the level of herbivory on intact and consumed leaves, using mangroves as an example. the usual manual methods consist of drawing the leaf on graph paper, restoring the original shape in cases of damaged edges. the computerized methods are intended to accelerate the leaf measurement time with applications, digitalization equipment, and portable area measurers that are more efficient, faster, and more economically viable than the manual methods. the need to restore the edges of the consumed leaves is an obstacle to all methodologies. nonetheless, the reconstruction of the consumed foliar edges is shown to be more realistic with adobe photoshop, as this allows a better fit to the original shape of the leaf. moreover, this application allows the use of compacted files such as jpeg, permitting a simple, rapid, and precise method for determining the levels or rates of foliar herbivory