Seedling biology is critical for understanding plant life histories, population dynamics, and community processes. Many biotic and abiotic factors conspire to limit seedling recruitment, but of these, none is more important than herbivory, so much so that plant communities across the globe can be shaped by the interaction between young plants and their herbivores at this most vulnerable time. Considerable recent evidence has revealed that plant defense differs markedly between seedlings and mature plants, and current research focusing explicitly on seedling defense and seedling herbivory is providing key new insights into plant population and community dynamics. The goal of this session is to highlight how seedling research can shed light on long-standing questions about the evolution of plant defense and community ecology. We propose to bring various case studies on seedling-herbivore interactions together into a single oral session in order to promote cross-synthesis between researchers focusing on the organismal/ecophysiological aspects of seedling-herbivore interactions and researchers focusing on community-level aspects of seedling herbivory. Towards this end, we have invited a range of speakers from those with expertise on the functional aspects of seedling defense, to those whose primary focus is the effect of seedling herbivory on regeneration ecology and plant conservation; in so doing, we aim to develop a synthesis between these distinct fields and promote future interdisciplinary research on seedling-herbivore interactions. Our list of speakers not only reflects a broad diversity of topics, it also represents a combination of well-established scientists and relative new-comers, including two graduate students. The session will begin with speakers presenting original data on the functional aspects of seedling defense, and then transition into talks focused on how seedling herbivory mediates regeneration patterns and community dynamics. There are three additional spots available to be filled by the Program Director. Because seedling herbivory, establishment, and regeneration play critical roles in all plant communities and influence the conservation of endangered and rare species as well as the spread of invasive species, this session has broad appeal to a wide range of ecologists and will attract a large and diverse audience.