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Sobhy IS, Gurr GM, Hefin Jones T. Induced plant resistance and its influence on natural enemy use of plant-derived foods. CURRENT OPINION IN INSECT SCIENCE 2024; 64:101218. [PMID: 38838913 DOI: 10.1016/j.cois.2024.101218] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Revised: 05/28/2024] [Accepted: 05/30/2024] [Indexed: 06/07/2024]
Abstract
In response to herbivory, plants employ several inducible defenses to mitigate herbivore damage. These plant-induced responses can trigger subtle changes in plant metabolite composition, altering the profiles of plant-produced exudates such as (extra-) floral nectar and plant guttation. Natural enemies consume these plant-produced exudates, which serve as consistent and nutrient-dense food sources. There is mounting evidence that natural enemies' access to plant-produced exudates impacts their fitness, performance, and life history traits. Nonetheless, the role of induced plant defense on plant-produced exudates and the subsequent effect on natural enemies remains under-researched. This review, thus, highlights the potential role of induced plant defense on the profiles of plant-produced exudates, with a particular emphasis on altered metabolic changes affecting resource nutritional value and consequently the fitness and performance of natural enemies. Future directions and potential implications in biological control practices are also highlighted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Islam S Sobhy
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK.
| | - Geoff M Gurr
- Gulbali Institute, Charles Sturt University, Leeds Parade, Orange NSW 2800, Australia
| | - T Hefin Jones
- School of Biosciences, Cardiff University, Museum Avenue, Cardiff CF10 3AX, UK
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2
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Calixto ES, de Oliveira Pimenta IC, Lange D, Marquis RJ, Torezan-Silingardi HM, Del-Claro K. Emerging Trends in Ant-Pollinator Conflict in Extrafloral Nectary-Bearing Plants. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2024; 13:651. [PMID: 38475497 DOI: 10.3390/plants13050651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2024] [Revised: 02/23/2024] [Accepted: 02/25/2024] [Indexed: 03/14/2024]
Abstract
The net outcomes of mutualisms are mediated by the trade-offs between the costs and benefits provided by both partners. Our review proposes the existence of a trade-off in ant protection mutualisms between the benefits generated by the ants' protection against the attack of herbivores and the losses caused by the disruption of pollination processes, which are commonly not quantified. This trade-off has important implications for understanding the evolution of extrafloral nectaries (EFNs), an adaptation that has repeatedly evolved throughout the flowering plant clade. We propose that the outcome of this trade-off is contingent on the specific traits of the organisms involved. We provide evidence that the protective mutualisms between ants and plants mediated by EFNs have optimal protective ant partners, represented by the optimum point of the balance between positive effects on plant protection and negative effects on pollination process. Our review also provides important details about a potential synergism of EFN functionality; that is, these structures can attract ants to protect against herbivores and/or distract them from flowers so as not to disrupt pollination processes. Finally, we argue that generalizations regarding how ants impact plants should be made with caution since ants' effects on plants vary with the identity of the ant species in their overall net outcome.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Denise Lange
- Department of Biology, Federal University of Technology-Parana, Campus Santa Helena, Santa Helena, Curitiba 80230-901, PR, Brazil
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA
| | - Helena Maura Torezan-Silingardi
- Postgraduation Program in Entomology, Department of Biology, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, SP, Brazil
- Institute of Biology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38405-240, MG, Brazil
| | - Kleber Del-Claro
- Postgraduation Program in Entomology, Department of Biology, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto 14040-900, SP, Brazil
- Institute of Biology, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia 38405-240, MG, Brazil
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3
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Das S, Das A. Ants are more than just curious bystanders to some flowers-they act as significant pollinators. FRONTIERS IN INSECT SCIENCE 2023; 3:1145761. [PMID: 38469491 PMCID: PMC10926462 DOI: 10.3389/finsc.2023.1145761] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/25/2023] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
Ant-plant associations are ubiquitous and highly diverse in almost all terrestrial environments, resulting in complex ecological networks. Although ant-plant mutualism is prevalent, ant-mediated pollination is uncommon, and only a few investigations have demonstrated their role in pollination. Thus, the topic of ant-mediated pollination requires revision to assess its significance in pollination biology. Ants are frequent floral visitors, but their impact on plant reproductive fitness is rarely acknowledged; nonetheless, numerous flower-visiting ants have been investigated for their involvement in promoting floral development and hybrid vigor in crops. In this study, we present a summary of the scientific literature published over the last four decades on ants' involvement in pollination, the diversity of pollinating ants to various host plants, the ant-plant pollinating networks, and seasonal patterns of ant-mediated pollination. Ants generally forage for flowers in quest of nectar and other sustenance, and in doing so they pollinate the flowers that they encounter. This review identified the pollination networks between ants and plants at the species and family levels. Pollination is often affected by a number of aspects, including the flower's sex, its ovary position, the inflorescence it bears, and the time of year. The available literature demonstrates that ants visit the inflorescences of the same species only to promote cross-pollination, a process known as "geitonogamy"; however, we conclude that ants may visit different inflorescences of different plants in the field. If ant pollination is the norm, there is less selection pressure to acquire self-compatibility; nonetheless, ants' cross-pollination may have caused ants to co-evolve with the pollinating flowers. This indicates that ants are more than just curious bystanders to some flowers; they act as significant pollinators.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Amlan Das
- Entomology Laboratory, Department of Zoology, University of Calcutta, Kolkata, West Bengal, India
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Koptur S, Primoli AS, Pimienta MC. Defoliation in Perennial Plants: Predictable and Surprising Results in Senna spp. PLANTS (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2023; 12:587. [PMID: 36771669 PMCID: PMC9919507 DOI: 10.3390/plants12030587] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2022] [Revised: 01/26/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 06/18/2023]
Abstract
When some plants are defoliated, they may suffer by reaching a smaller final size than if they had not been damaged. Other plants may compensate for damage, ending up the same size as if they had not been damaged. Still, others may overcompensate, ending up larger after defoliation than if they had been spared from damage. We investigated the response of Senna species (Fabaceae) to defoliation, comparing two native and several ornamental congeners, all of which grow locally in southern Florida. Many Senna spp. bear foliar nectaries as nutritional resources for beneficial insects that may, in exchange, protect them from herbivores. We grew five species from seed and subjected them to three levels of defoliation for a period of several months to measure effects of leaf area removal on plant height, number of leaves, and number of extrafloral nectaries. Only three of five species displayed shorter plant heights with greater levels of damage. Two species produced fewer new leaves with moderate to severe defoliation. In only one species, the number of extrafloral nectaries decreased with defoliation, suggesting that while extrafloral nectar production may be an inducible defense in some species, producing more nectaries in response to damage does not occur in these Senna species.
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Diversity and Resilience of Seed-Removing Ant Species in Longleaf Sandhill to Frequent Fire. DIVERSITY 2022. [DOI: 10.3390/d14121012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Prescribed fire is used globally as a habitat restoration tool and is widely accepted as supporting biotic diversity. However, in fire-prone ecosystems, research has sometimes documented post-fire reduction in ant diversity and accompanying changes in seed removal behavior. This is concerning because ants provide important ecosystem services that can aid in restoration efforts, including seed dispersal. In this study, we examined the immediate impacts of fire in the well-studied ant community of longleaf pine forests (LLP) in the SE USA. We surveyed seed-removing ant species in a LLP sandhill ecosystem to investigate the effects of prescribed fire and coarse woody debris (CWD), a nesting and foraging resource, on ant community composition and ant–seed interactions. Seed-removing ants comprised a significant portion of detected ant species (20 of 45); eight of these species are documented removing seeds for the first time. Following an experimentally applied low-intensity summer burn, decreases in seed remover detection were observed, along with reductions in the number of seeds removed, across both burned and unburned areas; neither prescribed fire nor proximity to CWD significantly influenced these factors. Together, these results show that seed-removing ant species constitute a substantial proportion of the LLP sandhill ant community and are relatively robust to habitat changes mediated by low-intensity prescribed burning during the growing season. Considering ant community resiliency to fire, we can infer that using prescribed fire aligns with the goals of restoring and maintaining biotic diversity in this fire-prone ecosystem.
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Villamil N, Sommervogel B, Pannell JR. Disentangling the effects of jasmonate and tissue loss on the sex allocation of an annual plant. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2022; 13:812558. [PMID: 36119626 PMCID: PMC9478112 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2022.812558] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2021] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
Selection through pollinators plays a major role in the evolution of reproductive traits. However, herbivory can also induce changes in plant sexual expression and sexual systems, potentially influencing conditions governing transitions between sexual systems. Previous work has shown that herbivory has a strong effect on sex allocation in the wind-pollinated annual plant Mercurialis annua, likely via responses to resource loss. It is also known that many plants respond to herbivory by inducing signaling, and endogenous responses to it, via the plant hormone jasmonate. Here, we attempt to uncouple the effects of herbivory on sex allocation in M. annua through resource limitation (tissue loss) versus plant responses to jasmonate hormone signaling. We used a two-factorial experiment with four treatment combinations: control, herbivory (25% chronic tissue loss), jasmonate, and combined herbivory and jasmonate. We estimated the effects of tissue loss and defense-inducing hormones on reproductive allocation, male reproductive effort, and sex allocation. Tissue loss caused plants to reduce their male reproductive effort, resulting in changes in total sex allocation. However, application of jasmonate after herbivory reversed its effect on male investment. Our results show that herbivory has consequences on plant sex expression and sex allocation, and that defense-related hormones such as jasmonate can buffer the impacts. We discuss the physiological mechanisms that might underpin the effects of herbivory on sex allocation, and their potential implications for the evolution of plant sexual systems.
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Chinarelli HD, Nogueira A, Leal LC. Extrafloral nectar production induced by simulated herbivory does not improve ant bodyguard attendance and ultimately plant defence. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2021. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blab159] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Highly competitive and aggressive ant species are efficient bodyguards that monopolize the more attractive plants bearing extrafloral nectaries. Given that herbivory often increases the quality of extrafloral nectar, we hypothesized that plants damaged by herbivory would be more prone to interact with high-quality ant bodyguards and be better defended against herbivores. We performed an experiment with Chamaecrista nictitans plants. We induced anti-herbivore responses by applying jasmonic acid to a group of plants while keeping another group unmanaged. We measured extrafloral nectar production, censused ants visiting extrafloral nectaries and, subsequently, added herbivore mimics to measure the efficiency of ant anti-herbivore defence in both conditions. Induction increased the volume of extrafloral nectar and the mass of sugar per nectary without affecting the sugar concentration or the patterns of plant attendance and defence by ants. Thus, we found no evidence that defence-induced C. nictitans plants are more prone to interact with high-quality bodyguards or to receive better anti-herbivore defence. These findings highlight that increases in extrafloral nectar production are not always rewarded with increases in the biotic defences; instead, these rewards might be dependent on the traits of the nectar induced by herbivory events and/or on the ecological context in which the interaction is embedded. Consequently, herbivory might increase the costs of this induced biotic defence to plants bearing extrafloral nectaries when the induced defence does not increase the attractiveness of the plants to ants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Henrique D Chinarelli
- Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Artur Riedel, 275 , Eldorado, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Anselmo Nogueira
- Centro de Ciências Naturais e Humanas (CCNH), Universidade Federal do ABC, Alameda da Universidade, s/nº, Anchieta, São Bernardo do Campo, São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Laura C Leal
- Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Rua Artur Riedel, 275 , Eldorado, Diadema, São Paulo, Brazil
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Bustos‐Segura C, Hernández‐Cumplido J, Traine J, Benrey B. Herbivory and jasmonate treatment affect reproductive traits in wild Lima bean, but without transgenerational effects. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2021; 108:2096-2104. [PMID: 34693514 PMCID: PMC9297984 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.1786] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2021] [Revised: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 07/19/2021] [Indexed: 05/05/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Plant responses to herbivores and their elicitors include changes in traits associated with phenology, defense, and reproduction. Induced responses by chewing herbivores are known to be hormonally mediated by the jasmonate pathway and can cascade and affect late-season seed predators and pollinators. Moreover, herbivore-induced plant responses can be transmitted to the next generation. Whether herbivore-induced transgenerational effects also apply to phenological traits is less well understood. METHODS Here, we explored responses of wild lima bean plants (Phaseolus lunatus) to herbivory and jasmonate treatment and possible transgenerational effects of herbivore-induced early flowering. In a controlled field experiment, we exposed lima bean plants to herbivory by leaf beetles or methyl jasmonate sprays (MJ). We then compared plant development, phenology, reproductive fitness and seed traits among these treatments and undamaged, untreated control plants. RESULTS We found that MJ and leaf herbivory induced similar responses, with treated plants growing less, flowering earlier, and producing fewer seeds than undamaged plants. However, seed size, phenolics and cyanogenic glycosides concentrations did not differ among treatments. Seed germination rates and flowering time of the offspring were similar among maternal treatments. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the results confirm that responses of lima bean to herbivory by leaf beetles are mediated by jasmonate; however, effects on phenological traits are not transmitted to the next generation. We discuss why transgenerational effects of herbivory might be restricted to traits that directly target herbivores.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carlos Bustos‐Segura
- Institute of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary EntomologyUniversity of NeuchâtelRue Emile‐Argand 112000Switzerland
| | | | - Juan Traine
- Institute of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary EntomologyUniversity of NeuchâtelRue Emile‐Argand 112000Switzerland
| | - Betty Benrey
- Institute of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary EntomologyUniversity of NeuchâtelRue Emile‐Argand 112000Switzerland
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9
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Vázquez-Barrios V, Boege K, Sosa-Fuentes TG, Rojas P, Wegier A. Ongoing ecological and evolutionary consequences by the presence of transgenes in a wild cotton population. Sci Rep 2021; 11:1959. [PMID: 33479296 PMCID: PMC7820435 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-81567-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2020] [Accepted: 12/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/29/2023] Open
Abstract
After 25 years of genetically modified cotton cultivation in Mexico, gene flow between transgenic individuals and their wild relatives represents an opportunity for analysing the impacts of the presence of novel genes in ecological and evolutionary processes in natural conditions. We show comprehensive empirical evidence on the physiological, metabolic, and ecological effects of transgene introgression in wild cotton, Gossypium hirsutum. We report that the expression of both the cry and cp4-epsps genes in wild cotton under natural conditions altered extrafloral nectar inducibility and thus, its association with different ant species: the dominance of the defensive species Camponotus planatus in Bt plants, the presence of cp4-epsps without defence role of Monomorium ebeninum ants, and of the invasive species Paratrechina longicornis in wild plants without transgenes. Moreover, we found an increase in herbivore damage to cp4-epsps plants. Our results reveal the influence of transgene expression on native ecological interactions. These findings can be useful in the design of risk assessment methodologies for genetically modified organisms and the in situ conservation of G. hirsutum metapopulations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valeria Vázquez-Barrios
- grid.9486.30000 0001 2159 0001Posgrado en Ciencias Biológicas, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico ,grid.9486.30000 0001 2159 0001Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Karina Boege
- grid.9486.30000 0001 2159 0001Departamento de Ecología Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Tania Gabriela Sosa-Fuentes
- grid.9486.30000 0001 2159 0001Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
| | - Patricia Rojas
- grid.452507.10000 0004 1798 0367Red de Biodiversidad y Sistemática, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Xalapa, Veracruz Mexico
| | - Ana Wegier
- grid.9486.30000 0001 2159 0001Laboratorio de Genética de la Conservación, Jardín Botánico, Instituto de Biología, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City, Mexico
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Santos ATF, Leal LC. My plant, my rules: bodyguard ants of plants with extrafloral nectaries affect patterns of pollinator visits but not pollination success. Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2018. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/bly165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Anna Thiciane F Santos
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil
| | - Laura C Leal
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Evolução, Universidade Estadual de Feira de Santana, Bahia, Brazil
- Departamento de Ecologia e Biologia Evolutiva, Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Diadema, Brazil
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Câmara T, Leal IR, Blüthgen N, Oliveira FMP, Queiroz RTD, Arnan X. Effects of chronic anthropogenic disturbance and rainfall on the specialization of ant-plant mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a Brazilian dry forest. J Anim Ecol 2018; 87:1022-1033. [PMID: 29504629 DOI: 10.1111/1365-2656.12820] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/10/2017] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
Anthropogenic disturbance and climate change might negatively affect the ecosystem services provided by mutualistic networks. However, the effects of such forces remain poorly characterized. They may be especially important in dry forests, which (1) experience chronic anthropogenic disturbances (CADs) as human populations exploit forest resources, and (2) are predicted to face a 22% decline in rainfall under climate change. In this study, we investigated the separate and combined effects of CADs and rainfall levels on the specialization of mutualistic networks in the Caatinga, a seasonally dry tropical forest typical of north-eastern Brazil. More specifically, we examined interactions between plants bearing extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and ants. We analysed whether differences in network specialization could arise from environmentally mediated variation in the species composition, namely via the replacement of specialist by generalist species. We characterized these ant-plant networks in 15 plots (20 × 20 m) that varied in CAD intensity and mean annual rainfall. We quantified CAD intensity by calculating three indices related to the main sources of disturbance in the Caatinga: livestock grazing (LG), wood extraction (WE) and miscellaneous resource use (MU). We determined the degree of ant-plant network specialization using four metrics: generality, vulnerability, interaction evenness and H2 '. Our results indicate that CADs differentially influenced network specialization: we observed positive, negative, and neutral responses along LG, MU and WE gradients, respectively. The pattern was most pronounced with LG. Rainfall also shaped network specialization, markedly increasing it. While LG and rainfall were associated with changes in network species composition, this trend was not related to the degree of species specialization. This result suggests that shifts in network specialization might be related to changes in species behaviour, not species composition. Our study highlights the vulnerability of such dry forest ant-plant networks to climate change. Moreover, dry forests experience highly heterogeneous anthropogenic disturbances, creating a geographic mosaic of selective forces that may shape the co-evolution of interactions between ants and EFN-bearing plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Talita Câmara
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Inara R Leal
- Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Nico Blüthgen
- Ecological Networks Research Group, Department of Biology, Technische Universidad Darmstadt, Darmstadt, Germany
| | - Fernanda M P Oliveira
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil
| | - Rubens T de Queiroz
- Department of Systematics and Ecology, Universidade Federal da Paraíba, João Pessoa, Brazil
| | - Xavier Arnan
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Vegetal, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brazil.,CREAF, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Catalunya, Spain
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Cuny MAC, Gendry J, Hernández-Cumplido J, Benrey B. Changes in plant growth and seed production in wild lima bean in response to herbivory are attenuated by parasitoids. Oecologia 2018; 187:447-457. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-018-4119-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2017] [Accepted: 03/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
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13
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Abdala-Roberts L, Hernández-Cumplido J, Chel-Guerrero L, Betancur-Ancona D, Benrey B, Moreira X. Effects of plant intraspecific diversity across three trophic levels: Underlying mechanisms and plant traits. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2016; 103:1810-1818. [PMID: 27756730 DOI: 10.3732/ajb.1600234] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2016] [Accepted: 08/30/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE OF STUDY Although there is increasing recognition of the effects of plant intraspecific diversity on consumers, the mechanisms by which such effects cascade-up to higher trophic levels remain elusive. METHODS We evaluated the effects of plant (lima bean, Phaseolus lunatus) intraspecific diversity on a suite of insect herbivores (leaf-chewers, aphids, and seed-eating beetles) and their third trophic-level associates (parasitoids and aphid-tending ants). We established plots of three plants, classified as monocultures of one population source or polycultures with mixtures of three of the four population sources (N = 16 plots per level of diversity). Within each plot, plants were individually placed in pots and canopy contact was prevented, therefore eliminating diversity effects on consumers arising from changes in plant traits due to plant physical interactions. KEY RESULTS Plant diversity reduced damage by leaf-chewers as well as aphid abundance, and the latter effect in turn reduced ant abundance. In contrast, plant diversity increased the abundance of seed-eating beetles, but did not influence their associated parasitoids. There were no effects of diversity on seed traits potentially associated with seed predation, suggesting that differences in early season herbivory between monocultures and polycultures (a likely mechanism of diversity effects on plants since plant interactions were prevented) did not drive concomitant changes in plant traits. CONCLUSIONS This study emphasizes that effects of plant intraspecific diversity on consumers are contingent upon differences in associate responses within and among higher trophic levels and suggests possible mechanisms by which such effects propagate up this food web.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Abdala-Roberts
- Departamento de Ecología Tropical, Campus de Ciencias Biológicas y Agropecuarias, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Km. 15.5 Carretera Mérida-Xmatkuil. 97000. Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | | | - Luis Chel-Guerrero
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Periférico Norte, Km. 33.5, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo Inn. 97203. Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | - David Betancur-Ancona
- Facultad de Ingeniería Química, Universidad Autónoma de Yucatán. Periférico Norte, Km. 33.5, Colonia Chuburná de Hidalgo Inn. 97203. Mérida, Yucatán, México
| | - Betty Benrey
- Institute of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology, University of Neuchâtel, Rue Emile-Argand 11, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland
| | - Xoaquín Moreira
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC), Apdo. 28 36080 Pontevedra, Galicia, Spain
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14
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Hernandez-Cumplido J, Glauser G, Benrey B. Cascading effects of early-season herbivory on late-season herbivores and their parasitoids. Ecology 2016; 97:1283-97. [DOI: 10.1890/15-1293.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Johnattan Hernandez-Cumplido
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology; Institute of Biology; Université de Neuchâtel (UNINE); Emile Argand 11 2009 Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Gaetan Glauser
- Neuchâtel Platform of Analytical Chemistry; University of Neuchâtel; Rue Emile Argand 11 2009 Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Betty Benrey
- Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology; Institute of Biology; Université de Neuchâtel (UNINE); Emile Argand 11 2009 Neuchâtel Switzerland
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15
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Moreira X, Petry WK, Hernández-Cumplido J, Morelon S, Benrey B. Plant defence responses to volatile alert signals are population-specific. OIKOS 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/oik.02891] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Xoaquín Moreira
- Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC); Apdo. 28 ES-36080 Pontevedra Galicia Spain
| | - William K. Petry
- Dept of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology; Univ. of California; Irvine CA 92697-2525 USA
| | - Johnattan Hernández-Cumplido
- Inst. of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology, Univ. of Neuchâtel; Rue Emile-Argand 11 CH-2000 Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Stéphanie Morelon
- Inst. of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology, Univ. of Neuchâtel; Rue Emile-Argand 11 CH-2000 Neuchâtel Switzerland
| | - Betty Benrey
- Inst. of Biology, Laboratory of Evolutionary Entomology, Univ. of Neuchâtel; Rue Emile-Argand 11 CH-2000 Neuchâtel Switzerland
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