1
|
Azevedo-Schmidt L, Currano ED. Leaf traits linked to structure and palatability drive plant-insect interactions within three forested ecosystems. AMERICAN JOURNAL OF BOTANY 2024; 111:e16263. [PMID: 38014690 DOI: 10.1002/ajb2.16263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 11/09/2023] [Accepted: 11/10/2023] [Indexed: 11/29/2023]
Abstract
PREMISE Plant traits and insect herbivory have been highly studied within the modern record but only to a limited extent within the paleontological. Preservation influences what can be measured within the fossil record, but modern methods are also not compatible with paleobotanical methods. To remedy this knowledge gap, a comparable framework was created here using modern and paleobotanical methods, allowing for future comparisons within the fossil record. METHODS Insect feeding damage on selected tree species at Harvard Forest, the Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, and La Selva were characterized using the damage type system prevalent within paleobotanical studies and compared with leaf traits. Linear models and random forest analyses tested the influence of leaf traits on total, specialized, gall, and mine frequency and diversity. RESULTS Structural traits like leaf dry mass per area and palatability traits, including lignin and phosphorus concentrations, are important variables affecting gall and mine damage. The significance and strength of trait-herbivory relationships varied across forest types, which is likely driven by differences in local insect populations. CONCLUSIONS This work addresses the persistent gap between modern and paleoecological studies focusing on the influence of leaf traits on insect herbivory. This is important as modern climate change alters our understanding of plant-insect interactions, providing a need for contextualizing these relationships within evolutionary time. The fossil record provides information on terrestrial response to past climatic events and, thus, should be implemented when considering how to preserve biodiversity under current and future global change.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lauren Azevedo-Schmidt
- Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of California Davis, Davis, California, USA
- Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
- Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | - Ellen D Currano
- Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
- Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Knecht RJ, Swain A, Benner JS, Emma SL, Pierce NE, Labandeira CC. Endophytic ancestors of modern leaf miners may have evolved in the Late Carboniferous. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2023; 240:2050-2057. [PMID: 37798874 DOI: 10.1111/nph.19266] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2023] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 10/07/2023]
Abstract
Endophytic feeding behaviors, including stem borings and galling, have been observed in the fossil record from as early as the Devonian and involve the consumption of a variety of plant (and fungal) tissues. Historically, the exploitation of internal stem tissues through galling has been well documented as emerging during the Pennsylvanian (c. 323-299 million years ago (Ma)), replaced during the Permian by galling of foliar tissues. However, leaf mining, a foliar endophytic behavior that today is exhibited exclusively by members of the four hyperdiverse holometabolous insect orders, has been more sparsely documented, with confirmed examples dating back only to the Early Triassic (c. 252-250 Ma). Here, we describe a trace fossil on seed-fern foliage from the Rhode Island Formation of Massachusetts, USA, representing the earliest indication of a general, endophytic type of feeding damage and dating from the Middle Pennsylvanian (c. 312 Ma). Although lacking the full features of Mesozoic leaf mines, this specimen provides evidence of how endophytic mining behavior may have originated. It sheds light on the evolutionary transition to true foliar endophagy, contributes to our understanding of the behaviors of early holometabolous insects, and enhances our knowledge of macroevolutionary patterns of plant-insect interactions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard J Knecht
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Anshuman Swain
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
| | - Jacob S Benner
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of Tennessee Knoxville, Knoxville, TN, 37996, USA
| | - Steve L Emma
- Independent Researcher, Providence, RI, 02908, USA
| | - Naomi E Pierce
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
- Museum of Comparative Zoology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, 02138, USA
| | - Conrad C Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, DC, 20013, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, 20742, USA
- College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, 100048, China
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Austin AT, Ballaré CL. Attackers gain the upper hand over plants in the face of rapid global change. Curr Biol 2023; 33:R611-R620. [PMID: 37279692 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2023.03.082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Interactions among organisms in natural ecosystems are the foundational underpinnings of nearly all ecological studies. It has never been more important to increase our awareness of how these interactions are altered by human activity, threatening biodiversity and disrupting ecosystem functioning. Much of the historic focus of species conservation has been the preservation of endangered and endemic species at risk from hunting, over-exploitation, and habitat destruction. However, there is increasing evidence that differences between plants and their attacking organisms in the speed and direction of physiological, demographic, and genetic (adaptation) responses to global change are having devastating consequences, resulting in large-scale losses of dominant or abundant plant species, particularly in forest ecosystems. From the elimination in the wild of the American chestnut to the extensive regional damage caused by insect outbreaks in temperate forest ecosystems, these losses of dominant species change the ecological landscape and functioning, and represent important threats to biodiversity at all scales. Introductions due to human activity, range shifts due to climate change, and their combination are the principal drivers behind these profound ecosystem changes. In this Review, we argue that there is an urgent need to increase our recognition and hone our predictive power for how these imbalances may occur. Moreover, we should seek to minimize the consequences of these imbalances in order to ensure the preservation of the structure, function and biodiversity of entire ecosystems, not just rare or highly endangered species.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Amy T Austin
- IFEVA, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| | - Carlos L Ballaré
- IFEVA, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Facultad de Agronomía, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Av. San Martín 4453, C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, Argentina; IIB-INTECH, Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas, Universidad Nacional de San Martín, B1650HMP Buenos Aires, Argentina.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Swain A, Azevedo-Schmidt LE, Maccracken SA, Currano ED, Dunne JA, Labandeira CC, Fagan WF. Sampling bias and the robustness of ecological metrics for plant-damage-type association networks. Ecology 2023; 104:e3922. [PMID: 36415050 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 10/05/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Plants and their insect herbivores have been a dominant component of the terrestrial ecological landscape for the past 410 million years and feature intricate evolutionary patterns and co-dependencies. A complex systems perspective allows for both detailed resolution of these evolutionary relationships as well as comparison and synthesis across systems. Using proxy data of insect herbivore damage (denoted by the damage type or DT) preserved on fossil leaves, functional bipartite network representations provide insights into how plant-insect associations depend on geological time, paleogeographical space, and environmental variables such as temperature and precipitation. However, the metrics measured from such networks are prone to sampling bias. Such sensitivity is of special concern for plant-DT association networks in paleontological settings where sampling effort is often severely limited. Here, we explore the sensitivity of functional bipartite network metrics to sampling intensity and identify sampling thresholds above which metrics appear robust to sampling effort. Across a broad range of sampling efforts, we find network metrics to be less affected by sampling bias and/or sample size than richness metrics, which are routinely used in studies of fossil plant-DT interactions. These results provide reassurance that cross-comparisons of plant-DT networks offer insights into network structure and function and support their widespread use in paleoecology. Moreover, these findings suggest novel opportunities for using plant-DT networks in neontological terrestrial ecology to understand functional aspects of insect herbivory across geological time, environmental perturbations, and geographic space.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anshuman Swain
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.,Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Lauren E Azevedo-Schmidt
- Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA.,Climate Change Institute, University of Maine, Orono, Maine, USA
| | - S Augusta Maccracken
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, Colorado, USA
| | - Ellen D Currano
- Department of Botany, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA.,Department of Geology & Geophysics, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, USA
| | | | - Conrad C Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Washington, District of Columbia, USA.,Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA.,College of Life Sciences and Academy for Multidisciplinary Studies, Capital Normal University, Beijing, People's Republic of China
| | - William F Fagan
- Department of Biology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, USA
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Maccracken SA, Miller IM, Johnson KR, Sertich JM, Labandeira CC. Insect herbivory on Catula gettyi gen. et sp. nov. (Lauraceae) from the Kaiparowits Formation (Late Cretaceous, Utah, USA). PLoS One 2022; 17:e0261397. [PMID: 35061696 PMCID: PMC8782542 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0261397] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/17/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The Upper Cretaceous (Campanian Stage) Kaiparowits Formation of southern Utah, USA, preserves abundant plant, invertebrate, and vertebrate fossil taxa. Taken together, these fossils indicate that the ecosystems preserved in the Kaiparowits Formation were characterized by high biodiversity. Hundreds of vertebrate and invertebrate species and over 80 plant morphotypes are recognized from the formation, but insects and their associations with plants are largely undocumented. Here, we describe a new fossil leaf taxon, Catula gettyi gen et. sp. nov. in the family Lauraceae from the Kaiparowits Formation. Catula gettyi occurs at numerous localities in this deposit that represent ponded and distal floodplain environments. The type locality for C. gettyi has yielded 1,564 fossil leaf specimens of this species, which provides the opportunity to circumscribe this new plant species. By erecting this new genus and species, we are able to describe ecological associations on C. gettyi and place these interactions within a taxonomic context. We describe an extensive archive of feeding damage on C. gettyi caused by herbivorous insects, including more than 800 occurrences of insect damage belonging to five functional feeding groups indicating that insect-mediated damage on this taxon is both rich and abundant. Catula gettyi is one of the best-sampled host plant taxa from the Mesozoic Era, a poorly sampled time interval, and its insect damage is comparable to other Lauraceae taxa from the younger Late Cretaceous Hell Creek Flora of North Dakota, USA.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- S. Augusta Maccracken
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, United States of America
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States of America
| | - Ian M. Miller
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, United States of America
- National Geographic Society, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Kirk R. Johnson
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
| | - Joseph M. Sertich
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, United States of America
| | - Conrad C. Labandeira
- Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, CO, United States of America
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, United States of America
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States of America
- BEES Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, United States of America
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing,China
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Moiseeva MG, Kodrul TM, Tekleva MV, Maslova NP, Wu X, Jin J. Fossil Leaves of Meliosma (Sabiaceae) With Associated Pollen and a Eupodid Mite From the Eocene of Maoming Basin, South China. Front Ecol Evol 2022. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.770687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
A first occurrence of the genus Meliosma (Sabiaceae) is reported from the upper Eocene of the Maoming Basin of South China. This fossil is one of the oldest reliable records of the genus within its modern center of diversity. Fossil leaves are assigned to a new species, Meliosma eosinica sp. nov. based on leaf morphology and epidermal characters. The leaf epidermal anatomy of fossil Meliosma is illustrated for the first time. We also provide the first SEM observation of pollen grains associated with Meliosma. This study also documents an occurrence of mites within the leaf domatia previously unknown from the fossil record. We presume that the studied mite belongs to the superfamily Eupodoidea (Arthropoda), and probably the family Eupodidae, which comprises very small soft-bodied cosmopolitan mites occupying a wide range of terrestrial habitats. Additionally, we analyze the damage types on the fossil leaves of Meliosma. They exhibit exclusively external foliage feeding damage caused by arthropods and traces of probable fungal infection. A review of currently known fossil occurrences of leaves, fruits, and wood of Meliosma provides evidence for the geological and geographical distribution of the genus.
Collapse
|
7
|
Labandeira CC. Ecology and Evolution of Gall-Inducing Arthropods: The Pattern From the Terrestrial Fossil Record. Front Ecol Evol 2021. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2021.632449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Insect and mite galls on land plants have a spotty but periodically rich and abundant fossil record of damage types (DTs), ichnotaxa, and informally described gall morphotypes. The earliest gall is on a liverwort of the Middle Devonian Period at 385 million years ago (Ma). A 70-million-year-long absence of documented gall activity ensues. Gall activity resumes during the Pennsylvanian Period (315 Ma) on vegetative and reproductive axial organs of horsetails, ferns, and probably conifers, followed by extensive diversification of small, early hemipteroid galler lineages on seed-plant foliage during the Permian Period. The end-Permian (P-Tr) evolutionary and ecological crisis extinguished most gall lineages; survivors diversified whose herbivore component communities surpassed pre-P-Tr levels within 10 million years in the mid-to late Triassic (242 Ma). During the late Triassic and Jurassic Period, new groups of galling insects colonized Ginkgoales, Bennettitales, Pinales, Gnetales, and other gymnosperms, but data are sparse. Diversifying mid-Cretaceous (125–90 Ma) angiosperms hosted a major expansion of 24 gall DTs organized as herbivore component communities, each in overlapping Venn-diagram fashion on early lineages of Austrobaileyales, Laurales, Chloranthales, and Eurosidae for the Dakota Fm (103 Ma). Gall diversification continued into the Ora Fm (92 Ma) of Israel with another 25 gall morphotypes, but as ichnospecies on a different spectrum of plant hosts alongside the earliest occurrence of parasitoid attack. The End-Cretaceous (K-Pg) extinction event (66 Ma) almost extinguished host–specialist DTs; surviving gall lineages expanded to a pre-K-Pg level 10 million years later at the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (56 Ma), at which time a dramatic increase of land surface temperatures and multiplying of atmospheric pCO2 levels induced a significant level of increased herbivory, although gall diversity increased only after the PETM excursion and during the Early Eocene Climatic Optimum (EECO). After the EECO, modern (or structurally convergent) gall morphotypes originate in the mid-Paleogene (49–40 Ma), evidenced by the Republic, Messel, and Eckfeld floras on hosts different from their modern analogs. During subsequent global aridification, the early Neogene (20 Ma) Most flora of the Czech Republic records several modern associations with gallers and plant hosts congeneric with their modern analogs. Except for 21 gall DTs in New Zealand flora, the gall record decreases in richness, although an early Pleistocene (3 Ma) study in France documents the same plant surviving as an endemic northern Iran but with decreasing associational, including gall, host specificity.
Collapse
|
8
|
Adroit B, Zhuang X, Wappler T, Terral JF, Wang B. A case of long-term herbivory: specialized feeding trace on Parrotia (Hamamelidaceae) plant species. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2020; 7:201449. [PMID: 33204482 PMCID: PMC7657907 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.201449] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2020] [Accepted: 09/25/2020] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Interactions between plants and insects evolved during millions of years of coevolution and maintain the trophic balance of terrestrial ecosystems. Documenting insect damage types (DT) on fossil leaves is essential for understanding the evolution of plant-insect interactions and for understanding the effects of major environmental changes on ecosystem structure. However, research focusing on palaeoherbivory is still sparse and only a tiny fraction of fossil leaf collections have been analysed. This study documents a type of insect damage found exclusively on the leaves of Parrotia species (Hamamelidaceae). This DT was identified on Parrotia leaves from Willershausen (Germany, Pliocene) and from Shanwang (China, Miocene) and on their respective endemic modern relatives: Parrotia perisca in the Hyrcanian forests (Iran) and Parrotia subaequalis in the Yixing forest (China). Our study demonstrates that this insect DT persisted over at least 15 Myr spanning eastern Asia to western Europe. Against expectations, more examples of this type of herbivory were identified on the fossil leaves than on the modern examples. This mismatch may suggest a decline of this specialized plant-insect interaction owing to the contraction of Parrotia populations in Eurasia during the late Cenozoic. However, the continuous presence of this DT demonstrates a robust and long-term plant-herbivore association, and provides new evidence for a shared biogeographic history of the two host plants.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Adroit
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China
| | - Xin Zhuang
- College of Life Sciences, Nanjing University, 22 Hankou Road, Nanjing 210093, People's Republic of China
| | | | - Jean-Frederic Terral
- Institut des Sciences de l'Evolution, UMR5554 Université de Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, EPHE, Place Eugène Bataillon, 34095 Montpellier cedex 05, France
| | - Bo Wang
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, People's Republic of China
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Schachat SR, Labandeira CC, Maccracken SA. The importance of sampling standardization for comparisons of insect herbivory in deep time: a case study from the late Palaeozoic. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2018; 5:171991. [PMID: 29657798 PMCID: PMC5882722 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.171991] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2017] [Accepted: 03/02/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Sampling standardization has not been fully addressed for the study of insect herbivory in the fossil record. The effects of sampling within a single locality were explored almost a decade ago, but the importance of sampling standardization for comparisons of herbivory across space and time has not yet been evaluated. Here, we present a case study from the Permian in which we evaluate the impact of sampling standardization on comparisons of insect herbivory from two localities that are similar in age and floral composition. Comparisons of insect damage type (DT) diversity change dramatically when the number of leaves examined is standardized by surface area. This finding suggests that surface area should always be taken into account for comparisons of DT diversity. In addition, the three most common metrics of herbivory-DT diversity, proportion of leaves herbivorized and proportion of leaf surface area herbivorized-are inherently decoupled from each other. The decoupling of the diversity and intensity of insect herbivory necessitates a reinterpretation of published data because they had been conflated in previous studies. Future studies should examine the divergent ecological factors that underlie these metrics. We conclude with suggestions to guide the sampling and analysis of herbivorized leaves in the fossil record.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sandra R. Schachat
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
- Department of Geological Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Conrad C. Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
- College of Life Sciences, Capital Normal University, Beijing 100048, People's Republic of China
| | - S. Augusta Maccracken
- Department of Paleobiology, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC 20013, USA
- Department of Entomology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Roslin T, Hardwick B, Novotny V, Petry WK, Andrew NR, Asmus A, Barrio IC, Basset Y, Boesing AL, Bonebrake TC, Cameron EK, Dáttilo W, Donoso DA, Drozd P, Gray CL, Hik DS, Hill SJ, Hopkins T, Huang S, Koane B, Laird-Hopkins B, Laukkanen L, Lewis OT, Milne S, Mwesige I, Nakamura A, Nell CS, Nichols E, Prokurat A, Sam K, Schmidt NM, Slade A, Slade V, Suchanková A, Teder T, van Nouhuys S, Vandvik V, Weissflog A, Zhukovich V, Slade EM. Higher predation risk for insect prey at low latitudes and elevations. Science 2018; 356:742-744. [PMID: 28522532 DOI: 10.1126/science.aaj1631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 201] [Impact Index Per Article: 33.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2016] [Accepted: 04/06/2017] [Indexed: 11/02/2022]
Abstract
Biotic interactions underlie ecosystem structure and function, but predicting interaction outcomes is difficult. We tested the hypothesis that biotic interaction strength increases toward the equator, using a global experiment with model caterpillars to measure predation risk. Across an 11,660-kilometer latitudinal gradient spanning six continents, we found increasing predation toward the equator, with a parallel pattern of increasing predation toward lower elevations. Patterns across both latitude and elevation were driven by arthropod predators, with no systematic trend in attack rates by birds or mammals. These matching gradients at global and regional scales suggest consistent drivers of biotic interaction strength, a finding that needs to be integrated into general theories of herbivory, community organization, and life-history evolution.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Tomas Roslin
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Post Office Box 7044, SE-750 07 Uppsala, Sweden. .,Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Post Office Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Bess Hardwick
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Post Office Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vojtech Novotny
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Branisovska 31, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,The New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Post Office Box 604, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - William K Petry
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA.,Institute of Integrative Biology, Eidgenössische Technische Hochschule (ETH) Zürich, Universitätstrasse 16, 8092 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Nigel R Andrew
- Insect Ecology Lab, Centre of Excellence for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, University of New England, NSW, Australia, 2351, Australia
| | - Ashley Asmus
- Department of Biology, The University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
| | - Isabel C Barrio
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E9 Alberta, Canada.,Institute of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Iceland, Sturlugata 7 IS-101 Reykjavik, Iceland
| | - Yves Basset
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Branisovska 31, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | - Andrea Larissa Boesing
- Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, T-14, CEP 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil
| | - Timothy C Bonebrake
- School of Biological Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, Pok Fu Lam Rd, Hong Kong SAR, People's Republic of China
| | - Erin K Cameron
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, Post Office Box 65, FI-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland.,Center for Macroecology, Evolution and Climate Change, Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 15, København, Denmark
| | - Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología, CP 91070, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - David A Donoso
- Instituto de Ciencias Biológicas, Escuela Politécnica Nacional, Ladrón de Guevara E11-253, Quito, Ecuador
| | - Pavel Drozd
- University of Ostrava, Faculty of Science-Department of Biology and Ecology, Chittussiho 10, 710 00 Slezská Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Claudia L Gray
- Evolutionarily Distinct and Globally Endangered (EDGE) of Existence, Conservation Programmes, Zoological Society of London, Regent's Park, London NW1 4RY, UK.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - David S Hik
- Department of Biological Sciences, University of Alberta, Edmonton, T6G 2E9 Alberta, Canada
| | - Sarah J Hill
- Insect Ecology Lab, Centre of Excellence for Behavioural and Physiological Ecology, University of New England, NSW, Australia, 2351, Australia
| | - Tapani Hopkins
- Zoological Museum, Biodiversity Unit, FI-20014 University of Turku, Finland
| | - Shuyin Huang
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303 Yunnan, People's Republic of China
| | - Bonny Koane
- The New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Post Office Box 604, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Benita Laird-Hopkins
- Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute, Apartado 0843-03092, Panama City, Republic of Panama
| | | | - Owen T Lewis
- Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK
| | - Sol Milne
- University of Aberdeen, Zoology Building, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen AB24 2TZ, UK
| | - Isaiah Mwesige
- Makerere University Biological Field Station, Post Office Box 409, Fort Portal, Uganda
| | - Akihiro Nakamura
- Key Laboratory of Tropical Forest Ecology, Xishuangbanna Tropical Botanical Garden, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Mengla, 666303 Yunnan, People's Republic of China
| | - Colleen S Nell
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California-Irvine, 321 Steinhaus Hall, Irvine, CA 92697-2525, USA
| | - Elizabeth Nichols
- Department of Ecology, University of São Paulo, Rua do Matão 321, T-14, CEP 05508-900, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.,Department of Biology, Swarthmore College, 500 College Avenue, Swarthmore, PA 19081, USA
| | - Alena Prokurat
- State Institution of Education, Zditovo High School, Zditovo, Belarus
| | - Katerina Sam
- Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre of the Czech Academy of Sciences (CAS), Branisovska 31, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic.,Department of Zoology, Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Branisovska 1760, 37005 Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Niels M Schmidt
- Arctic Research Centre, Aarhus University, Ny Munkegade 114, DK-8000 Aarhus C, Denmark.,Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, DK-4000 Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Alison Slade
- 40 Town End Lane, Lepton, Huddersfield, HD8 ONA, UK
| | - Victor Slade
- 40 Town End Lane, Lepton, Huddersfield, HD8 ONA, UK
| | - Alžběta Suchanková
- University of Ostrava, Faculty of Science-Department of Biology and Ecology, Chittussiho 10, 710 00 Slezská Ostrava, Czech Republic
| | - Tiit Teder
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, EE-51014 Tartu, Estonia
| | - Saskya van Nouhuys
- Metapopulation Research Centre, Department of Biosciences, Post Office Box 65, FI-00014, University of Helsinki, Finland
| | - Vigdis Vandvik
- Department of Biology, University of Bergen, Post Office Box 7800, 5020 Bergen, Norway
| | - Anita Weissflog
- Department of Plant Ecology, University of Bayreuth, 95440 Bayreuth, Germany
| | - Vital Zhukovich
- State Institution of Education, Zditovo High School, Zditovo, Belarus
| | - Eleanor M Slade
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Agricultural Sciences, Post Office Box 27, FI-00014 University of Helsinki, Finland.,Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, South Parks Road, Oxford OX1 3PS, UK.,Lancaster Environment Centre, University of Lancaster, Lancaster, UK
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Abstract
The great bulk of the angiosperm fossil record consists of isolated fossil leaves that preserve abundant shape and venation (leaf architectural) information but are difficult to identify because they are not attached to other plant organs. Thus, poor taxonomic knowledge has tempered the tremendous potential of fossil leaves for constructing finely resolved records of biodiversity through time, extinction and recovery, past climate change and biotic response, paleoecology, and plant-animal associations. Moreover, paleoecological and paleoclimatic interpretations of fossil leaves are in great need of new approaches. Recent work is rapidly increasing the scientific value of fossil angiosperm leaves through advances in traditional paleobotanical reconstruction, phylogenetic understanding of both leaf architecture and the response of leaf shape to climate, quantitative plant ecology using measurable, correlatable leaf traits, and improved understanding of insect leaf-feeding damage. These emerging areas offer many novel opportunities to link paleoecology and neoecology. Increased collaboration across traditionally separate research areas is critical to continued success.
Collapse
|
12
|
|
13
|
Mishra M, Lomate PR, Joshi RS, Punekar SA, Gupta VS, Giri AP. Ecological turmoil in evolutionary dynamics of plant-insect interactions: defense to offence. PLANTA 2015; 242:761-771. [PMID: 26159435 DOI: 10.1007/s00425-015-2364-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2015] [Accepted: 07/01/2015] [Indexed: 06/04/2023]
Abstract
Available history manifests contemporary diversity that exists in plant-insect interactions. A radical thinking is necessary for developing strategies that can co-opt natural insect-plant mutualism, ecology and environmental safety for crop protection since current agricultural practices can reduce species richness and evenness. The global environmental changes, such as increased temperature, CO₂ and ozone levels, biological invasions, land-use change and habitat fragmentation together play a significant role in re-shaping the plant-insect multi-trophic interactions. Diverse natural products need to be studied and explored for their biological functions as insect pest control agents. In order to assure the success of an integrated pest management strategy, human activities need to be harmonized to minimize the global climate changes. Plant-insect interaction is one of the most primitive and co-evolved associations, often influenced by surrounding changes. In this review, we account the persistence and evolution of plant-insect interactions, with particular focus on the effect of climate change and human interference on these interactions. Plants and insects have been maintaining their existence through a mutual service-resource relationship while defending themselves. We provide a comprehensive catalog of various defense strategies employed by the plants and/or insects. Furthermore, several important factors such as accelerated diversification, imbalance in the mutualism, and chemical arms race between plants and insects as indirect consequences of human practices are highlighted. Inappropriate implementation of several modern agricultural practices has resulted in (i) endangered mutualisms, (ii) pest status and resistance in insects and (iii) ecological instability. Moreover, altered environmental conditions eventually triggered the resetting of plant-insect interactions. Hence, multitrophic approaches that can harmonize human activities and minimize their interference in native plant-insect interactions are needed to maintain natural balance between the existence of plants and insects.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Manasi Mishra
- Plant Molecular Biology Unit, Division of Biochemical Sciences, CSIR-National Chemical Laboratory, Dr. Homi Bhabha Road, Pune, 411 008, MS, India
| | | | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
LIMA FLAVIANAJDE, SARAIVA ANTÔNIOA, SILVA MARIAADA, BANTIM RENANA, SAYÃO JULIANAM. A new angiosperm from the Crato Formation (Araripe Basin, Brazil) and comments on the Early Cretaceous Monocotyledons. AN ACAD BRAS CIENC 2014; 86:1657-72. [DOI: 10.1590/0001-3765201420140339] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2014] [Accepted: 09/09/2014] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The Crato Formation paleoflora is one of the few equatorial floras of the Early Cretaceous. It is diverse, with many angiosperms, especially representatives of the clades magnoliids, monocotyledons and eudicots, which confirms the assumption that angiosperm diversity during the last part of the Early Cretaceous was reasonably high. The morphology of a new fossil monocot is studied and compared to all other Smilacaceae genus, especially in the venation. Cratosmilax jacksoni gen. et sp. nov. can be related to the Smilacaceae family, becoming the oldest record of the family so far. Cratosmilax jacksoni is a single mesophilic leaf with entire margins, ovate shape, with acute apex and base, four venation orders and main acrodromous veins. It is the first terrestrial monocot described for the Crato Formation, monocots were previously described for the same formation, and are considered aquatics. Cratosmilax jacksoni is the first fossil record of Smilacaceae in Brazil, and the oldest record of this family.
Collapse
|
15
|
Donovan MP, Wilf P, Labandeira CC, Johnson KR, Peppe DJ. Novel insect leaf-mining after the end-Cretaceous extinction and the demise of cretaceous leaf miners, Great Plains, USA. PLoS One 2014; 9:e103542. [PMID: 25058404 PMCID: PMC4110055 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0103542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2014] [Accepted: 07/03/2014] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Plant and associated insect-damage diversity in the western U.S.A. decreased significantly at the Cretaceous-Paleogene (K-Pg) boundary and remained low until the late Paleocene. However, the Mexican Hat locality (ca. 65 Ma) in southeastern Montana, with a typical, low-diversity flora, uniquely exhibits high damage diversity on nearly all its host plants, when compared to all known local and regional early Paleocene sites. The same plant species show minimal damage elsewhere during the early Paleocene. We asked whether the high insect damage diversity at Mexican Hat was more likely related to the survival of Cretaceous insects from refugia or to an influx of novel Paleocene taxa. We compared damage on 1073 leaf fossils from Mexican Hat to over 9000 terminal Cretaceous leaf fossils from the Hell Creek Formation of nearby southwestern North Dakota and to over 9000 Paleocene leaf fossils from the Fort Union Formation in North Dakota, Montana, and Wyoming. We described the entire insect-feeding ichnofauna at Mexican Hat and focused our analysis on leaf mines because they are typically host-specialized and preserve a number of diagnostic morphological characters. Nine mine damage types attributable to three of the four orders of leaf-mining insects are found at Mexican Hat, six of them so far unique to the site. We found no evidence linking any of the diverse Hell Creek mines with those found at Mexican Hat, nor for the survival of any Cretaceous leaf miners over the K-Pg boundary regionally, even on well-sampled, surviving plant families. Overall, our results strongly relate the high damage diversity on the depauperate Mexican Hat flora to an influx of novel insect herbivores during the early Paleocene, possibly caused by a transient warming event and range expansion, and indicate drastic extinction rather than survivorship of Cretaceous insect taxa from refugia.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Michael P. Donovan
- Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Peter Wilf
- Department of Geosciences, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, United States of America
| | - Conrad C. Labandeira
- Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
- Department of Entomology and BEES Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, United States of America
| | - Kirk R. Johnson
- National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, District of Columbia, United States of America
| | - Daniel J. Peppe
- Department of Geology, Baylor University, Waco, Texas, United States of America
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Insect leaf-chewing damage tracks herbivore richness in modern and ancient forests. PLoS One 2014; 9:e94950. [PMID: 24788720 PMCID: PMC4008375 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0094950] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/05/2013] [Accepted: 03/20/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The fossil record demonstrates that past climate changes and extinctions significantly affected the diversity of insect leaf-feeding damage, implying that the richness of damage types reflects that of the unsampled damage makers, and that the two are correlated through time. However, this relationship has not been quantified for living leaf-chewing insects, whose richness and mouthpart convergence have obscured their value for understanding past and present herbivore diversity. We hypothesized that the correlation of leaf-chewing damage types (DTs) and damage maker richness is directly observable in living forests. Using canopy access cranes at two lowland tropical rainforest sites in Panamá to survey 24 host-plant species, we found significant correlations between the numbers of leaf chewing insect species collected and the numbers of DTs observed to be made by the same species in feeding experiments, strongly supporting our hypothesis. Damage type richness was largely driven by insect species that make multiple DTs. Also, the rank-order abundances of DTs recorded at the Panamá sites and across a set of latest Cretaceous to middle Eocene fossil floras were highly correlated, indicating remarkable consistency of feeding-mode distributions through time. Most fossil and modern host-plant pairs displayed high similarity indices for their leaf-chewing DTs, but informative differences and trends in fossil damage composition became apparent when endophytic damage was included. Our results greatly expand the potential of insect-mediated leaf damage for interpreting insect herbivore richness and compositional heterogeneity from fossil floras and, equally promisingly, in living forests.
Collapse
|
17
|
Labandeira CC. A paleobiologic perspective on plant-insect interactions. CURRENT OPINION IN PLANT BIOLOGY 2013; 16:414-421. [PMID: 23829938 DOI: 10.1016/j.pbi.2013.06.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2013] [Revised: 05/24/2013] [Accepted: 06/07/2013] [Indexed: 06/02/2023]
Abstract
Fossil plant-insect associations (PIAs) such as herbivory and pollination have become increasingly relevant to paleobiology and biology. Researchers studying fossil PIAs now employ procedures for assuring unbiased representation of field specimens, use of varied analytical quantitative techniques, and address ecological and evolutionarily important issues. For herbivory, the major developments are: Late Silurian-Middle Devonian (ca. 420-385Ma) origin of herbivory; Late Pennsylvanian (318-299Ma) expansion of herbivory; Permian (299-252Ma) herbivore colonization of new habitats; consequences of the end-Permian (252Ma) global crisis; early Mesozoic (ca. 235-215Ma) rediversification of plants and herbivores; end-Cretaceous (66.5Ma) effects on extinction; and biological effects of the Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum (PETM) (55.8Ma). For pollination, salient issues include: Permian pollination evidence; the plant hosts of mid-Mesozoic (ca. 160-110Ma) long-proboscid pollinators; and effect of the angiosperm revolution (ca. 125-90Ma) on earlier pollinator relationships. Multispecies interaction studies, such as contrasting damage types with insect diversity and establishing robust food webs, expand the compass and relevance of past PIAs.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Conrad C Labandeira
- Smithsonian Institution, National Museum of Natural History, Department of Paleobiology, Washington, DC 20013, USA.
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Garibaldi LA, Kitzberger T, Chaneton EJ. Environmental and genetic control of insect abundance and herbivory along a forest elevational gradient. Oecologia 2011; 167:117-29. [DOI: 10.1007/s00442-011-1978-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 56] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2010] [Accepted: 03/14/2011] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
|
19
|
Currano ED, Labandeira CC, Wilf P. Fossil insect folivory tracks paleotemperature for six million years. ECOL MONOGR 2010. [DOI: 10.1890/09-2138.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 94] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
|
20
|
Affiliation(s)
- Michael J Benton
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom.
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Wappler T, Currano ED, Wilf P, Rust J, Labandeira CC. No post-Cretaceous ecosystem depression in European forests? Rich insect-feeding damage on diverse middle Palaeocene plants, Menat, France. Proc Biol Sci 2009; 276:4271-7. [PMID: 19776074 PMCID: PMC2817104 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2009.1255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 79] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2009] [Accepted: 08/25/2009] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect herbivores are considered vulnerable to extinctions of their plant hosts. Previous studies of insect-damaged fossil leaves in the US Western Interior showed major plant and insect herbivore extinction at the Cretaceous-Palaeogene (K-T) boundary. Further, the regional plant-insect system remained depressed or ecologically unbalanced throughout the Palaeocene. Whereas Cretaceous floras had high plant and insect-feeding diversity, all Palaeocene assemblages to date had low richness of plants, insect feeding or both. Here, we use leaf fossils from the middle Palaeocene Menat site, France, which has the oldest well-preserved leaf assemblage from the Palaeocene of Europe, to test the generality of the observed Palaeocene US pattern. Surprisingly, Menat combines high floral diversity with high insect activity, making it the first observation of a 'healthy' Palaeocene plant-insect system. Furthermore, rich and abundant leaf mines across plant species indicate well-developed host specialization. The diversity and complexity of plant-insect interactions at Menat suggest that the net effects of the K-T extinction were less at this greater distance from the Chicxulub, Mexico, impact site. Along with the available data from other regions, our results show that the end-Cretaceous event did not cause a uniform, long-lasting depression of global terrestrial ecosystems. Rather, it gave rise to varying regional patterns of ecological collapse and recovery that appear to have been strongly influenced by distance from the Chicxulub structure.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Torsten Wappler
- Division of Palaeontology, Steinmann Institute, Nussallee 8, 53115 Bonn, Germany.
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
22
|
Berggren Å, Björkman C, Bylund H, Ayres MP. The distribution and abundance of animal populations in a climate of uncertainty. OIKOS 2009. [DOI: 10.1111/j.1600-0706.2009.17558.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 77] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
|
23
|
Ian Woodward F, Slater H. A plant science network. THE NEW PHYTOLOGIST 2009; 183:919-921. [PMID: 19702774 DOI: 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02992.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
|