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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) 2024; 13:651. [PMID: 38475497 DOI: 10.3390/plants13050651] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [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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2
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Reinhardt JR, Marquis RJ. Ecosystem engineering and leaf quality together affect arthropod community structure and diversity on white oak (Quercus alba L.). Oecologia 2023; 203:13-25. [PMID: 37689603 PMCID: PMC10615914 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-023-05439-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/11/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023]
Abstract
Shelter building caterpillars act as ecosystem engineers by creating and maintaining leaf shelters, which are then colonized by other arthropods. Foliage quality has been shown to influence initial colonization by shelter-building caterpillars. However, the effects of plant quality on the interactions between ecosystem engineers and their communities have yet to be studied at the whole plant level. We examined how leaf tying caterpillars, as ecosystem engineers, impact arthropod communities on Quercus alba (white oak), and the modifying effect of foliage quality on these interactions. We removed all leaf tying caterpillars and leaf ties on 35 Q. alba saplings during the season when leaf tying caterpillars were active (June-September), and compared these leaf tie removal trees to 35 control trees whose leaf ties were left intact. Removal of these ecosystem engineers had no impact on overall arthropod species richness, but reduced species diversity, and overall arthropod abundance and that of most guilds, and changed the structure of the arthropod community as the season progressed. There was an increase in plant-level species richness with increasing number of leaf ties, consistent with Habitat Diversity Hypothesis. In turn, total arthropod density, and that of both leaf tying caterpillars and free-feeding caterpillars were affected by foliar tannin and nitrogen concentrations, and leaf water content. The engineering effect was greatest on low quality plants, consistent with the Stress-Gradient Hypothesis. Our results demonstrate that interactions between ecosystem engineering and plant quality together determine community structure of arthropods on Q. alba in Missouri.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jason R Reinhardt
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.
- USDA Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Forest and Woodland Ecosystems, 1221 South Main Street, Moscow, ID, 83843, USA.
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 1 University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA
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3
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Romero GQ, Gonçalves-Souza T, Roslin T, Marquis RJ, Marino NAC, Novotny V, Cornelissen T, Orivel J, Sui S, Aires G, Antoniazzi R, Dáttilo W, Breviglieri CPB, Busse A, Gibb H, Izzo TJ, Kadlec T, Kemp V, Kersch-Becker M, Knapp M, Kratina P, Luke R, Majnarić S, Maritz R, Mateus Martins P, Mendesil E, Michalko J, Mrazova A, Novais S, Pereira CC, Perić MS, Petermann JS, Ribeiro SP, Sam K, Trzcinski MK, Vieira C, Westwood N, Bernaschini ML, Carvajal V, González E, Jausoro M, Kaensin S, Ospina F, Cristóbal-Pérez EJ, Quesada M, Rogy P, Srivastava DS, Szpryngiel S, Tack AJM, Teder T, Videla M, Viljur ML, Koricheva J. Climate variability and aridity modulate the role of leaf shelters for arthropods: A global experiment. Glob Chang Biol 2022; 28:3694-3710. [PMID: 35243726 DOI: 10.1111/gcb.16150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2021] [Accepted: 02/20/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Current climate change is disrupting biotic interactions and eroding biodiversity worldwide. However, species sensitive to aridity, high temperatures, and climate variability might find shelter in microclimatic refuges, such as leaf rolls built by arthropods. To explore how the importance of leaf shelters for terrestrial arthropods changes with latitude, elevation, and climate, we conducted a distributed experiment comparing arthropods in leaf rolls versus control leaves across 52 sites along an 11,790 km latitudinal gradient. We then probed the impact of short- versus long-term climatic impacts on roll use, by comparing the relative impact of conditions during the experiment versus average, baseline conditions at the site. Leaf shelters supported larger organisms and higher arthropod biomass and species diversity than non-rolled control leaves. However, the magnitude of the leaf rolls' effect differed between long- and short-term climate conditions, metrics (species richness, biomass, and body size), and trophic groups (predators vs. herbivores). The effect of leaf rolls on predator richness was influenced only by baseline climate, increasing in magnitude in regions experiencing increased long-term aridity, regardless of latitude, elevation, and weather during the experiment. This suggests that shelter use by predators may be innate, and thus, driven by natural selection. In contrast, the effect of leaf rolls on predator biomass and predator body size decreased with increasing temperature, and increased with increasing precipitation, respectively, during the experiment. The magnitude of shelter usage by herbivores increased with the abundance of predators and decreased with increasing temperature during the experiment. Taken together, these results highlight that leaf roll use may have both proximal and ultimate causes. Projected increases in climate variability and aridity are, therefore, likely to increase the importance of biotic refugia in mitigating the effects of climate change on species persistence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gustavo Q Romero
- Laboratory of Multitrophic Interactions and Biodiversity, Department of Animal Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - Thiago Gonçalves-Souza
- Laboratory of Ecological Synthesis and Biodiversity Conservation, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, Brazil
| | - Tomas Roslin
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Ecology, Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden
- Spatial Foodweb Ecology Group, Department of Agricultural Sciences, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, USA
| | - Nicholas A C Marino
- Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ecologia, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Vojtech Novotny
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Tatiana Cornelissen
- Centre for Ecological Synthesis and Conservation, Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Jerome Orivel
- CNRS, UMR Ecologie des Forêts de Guyane (EcoFoG), AgroParisTech, CIRAD, INRAE, Université de Guyane, Université des Antilles, Campus agronomique, Kourou cedex, France
| | - Shen Sui
- New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Nagada Harbour, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Gustavo Aires
- Laboratory of Ecological Synthesis and Biodiversity Conservation, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, Brazil
| | - Reuber Antoniazzi
- Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture, Stephen F. Austin State University, Nacogdoches, Texas, USA
| | - Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C, Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Crasso P B Breviglieri
- Laboratory of Multitrophic Interactions and Biodiversity, Department of Animal Biology, Institute of Biology, University of Campinas (UNICAMP), Campinas, Brazil
| | - Annika Busse
- Department of Nature Conservation and Research, Bavarian Forest National Park, Grafenau, Germany
| | - Heloise Gibb
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Evolution, La Trobe University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Thiago J Izzo
- Departamento de Botânica e Ecologia, Universidade Federal de Mato Grosso, Cuiabá, Brasil
| | - Tomas Kadlec
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Victoria Kemp
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Monica Kersch-Becker
- Department of Entomology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Michal Knapp
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
| | - Pavel Kratina
- School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
| | - Rebecca Luke
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK
| | - Stefan Majnarić
- Faculty of Science, Department of biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Robin Maritz
- Department of Biodiversity and Conservation Biology, University of the Western Cape, Bellville, South Africa
| | - Paulo Mateus Martins
- Laboratory of Ecological Synthesis and Biodiversity Conservation, Department of Biology, Federal Rural University of Pernambuco (UFRPE), Recife, Brazil
- Programa de Pós-graduação em Etnobiologia e Conservação da Natureza, Universidade Federal Rural de Pernambuco (UFRPE) [Federal Rural University of Pernambuco], Recife, Brazil
- Department of Zoology, University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand
| | - Esayas Mendesil
- Department of Horticulture and Plant Sciences, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia
| | - Jaroslav Michalko
- Institute of Biotechnology, Faculty of Biotechnology and Food Sciences, Slovak University of Agriculture, Nitra, Slovakia
- Mlynany Arboretum, Institute of Forest Ecology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava, Slovakia
| | - Anna Mrazova
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - Samuel Novais
- Red de Interacciones Multitróficas, Instituto de Ecología A.C, Xalapa, Mexico
| | - Cássio C Pereira
- Centre for Ecological Synthesis and Conservation, Department of Genetics, Ecology and Evolution, UFMG, Belo Horizonte, Brazil
| | - Mirela S Perić
- Faculty of Science, Department of biology, University of Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
| | - Jana S Petermann
- Department of Environment and Biodiversity, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Sérvio P Ribeiro
- Laboratory of Ecoehalth, Ecology of Canopy Insects and Natural Succession, NUPEB-Universidade Federal de Ouro Preto, Ouro Preto, Brazil
| | - Katerina Sam
- Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
- Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
| | - M Kurtis Trzcinski
- Department of Forest & Conservation Sciences, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Camila Vieira
- Pós-graduação em Ecologia e Conservação de Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brazil
| | - Natalie Westwood
- Dept. of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Maria L Bernaschini
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Valentina Carvajal
- Laboratorio de Ecologia, Grupo de Investigación en Ecosistemas Tropicales, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
| | - Ezequiel González
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Institute for Environmental Science, University of Koblenz-Landau, Landau, Germany
| | - Mariana Jausoro
- Departamento de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Nacional de Chilecito, Chilecito, Spain
| | - Stanis Kaensin
- New Guinea Binatang Research Center, Nagada Harbour, Madang, Papua New Guinea
| | - Fabiola Ospina
- Departamento de Ciencias Biológicas, Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales, Universidad de Caldas, Manizales, Colombia
| | - E Jacob Cristóbal-Pérez
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica (LANASE), Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Mauricio Quesada
- Laboratorio Nacional de Análisis y Síntesis Ecológica (LANASE), Escuela Nacional de Estudios Superiores Unidad Morelia
- Instituto de Investigaciones en Ecosistemas y Sustentabilidad, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Morelia, Michoacán, México
| | - Pierre Rogy
- Dept. of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Diane S Srivastava
- Dept. of Zoology and Biodiversity Research Centre, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
| | - Scarlett Szpryngiel
- Department of Zoology, The Swedish Museum of Natural History, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ayco J M Tack
- Department of Ecology, Environment and Plant Sciences, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Tiit Teder
- Department of Ecology, Faculty of Environmental Sciences, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Prague, Czech Republic
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
| | - Martin Videla
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal (CONICET-Universidad Nacional de Córdoba), Córdoba, Argentina
| | - Mari-Liis Viljur
- Department of Zoology, Institute of Ecology and Earth Sciences, University of Tartu, Tartu, Estonia
- Field Station Fabrikschleichach, Department of Animal Ecology and Tropical Biology (Zoology III), Julius Maximilians University Würzburg, Rauhenebrach, Germany
| | - Julia Koricheva
- Department of Biological Sciences, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham, Surrey, UK
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Salazar D, Marquis RJ. Testing the role of local plant chemical diversity on plant-herbivore interactions and plant species coexistence. Ecology 2022; 103:e3765. [PMID: 35611398 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.3765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/07/2021] [Revised: 03/24/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that herbivorous insects influence local composition and richness of Neotropical plant species, particularly in species-rich genera. Species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and chemical diversity all influence the ability of insect herbivores to find and utilize their hosts. The relative impact of these components of diversity on species coexistence and plant-herbivore interactions is not well understood. We constructed 60 local communities of up to 13 species of Piper (Piperaceae) in native, mature forest at a lowland wet forest location in Costa Rica. Species composition of each community was chosen such that species richness, phylogenetic diversity, and GCMS-based chemical diversity were varied independently among communities. We predicted that chemical diversity would most strongly affect the communities across time, with smaller effects of taxonomic and phylogenetic diversity. Thirteen months after the experimental planting, we assessed survivorship of each cutting, measured total leaf area loss of the survivors, leaf area loss to generalist and specialist herbivorous insect species, and local extinction of species. Generalist and specialist herbivory decreased with increasing levels of species richness and phylogenetic diversity, respectively. Surprisingly, there was no independent effect of chemical diversity on any of the three measures of herbivore damage. Nevertheless, plots with a higher chemical and phylogenetic diversity showed decreased plant mortality and local species extinction. Overall, our results suggest that both chemical and phylogenetic similarity are important factors in the assembly and maintenance of tropical plant communities. The fact that chemical diversity influences plant mortality suggests that leaf herbivores, and possibly other plant natural enemies, could increase plant diversity via selective mortality of similar chemotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Salazar
- International Center for Tropical Botany, Institute of Environment, Department of Biological Sciences, Florida International University
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States
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5
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Abstract
Abstract
Caterpillars build various shelters that protect them from natural enemies, but whether specific shelters provide different protection is unknown. To disentangle a caterpillar species’ shelter from the rest of its phenotype, we performed a field experiment in which two caterpillar species (Urbanus dorantes and U. proteus) were removed from their original shelters, placed into shelters made by conspecifics or heterospecifics, and monitored for predation and parasitism. Predation was intense, with 0–48% of caterpillars surviving depending on treatment. Shelter builder identity significantly affected predation independent of occupant identity, with caterpillars placed in U. proteus shelters experiencing higher predation than those in U. dorantes shelters. The effect of shelter builder identity was related to shelter type: shriveled leaf shelters built by U. dorantes had a lower risk of predation than cut-and-fold shelters built by either species. Cut-and-fold shelters built by the two species did not have significantly different shapes. Caterpillar stage also significantly affected predation (mid-instars were more successful than early instars), but caterpillar species identity did not. Surprisingly, parasitism was rare, but both shriveled leaf shelters and cut-and-fold shelters resulted in similar overall caterpillar mortality. The differences in predation and overall mortality between shelter types suggest a trade-off between protection from predators and parasitoids. This experiment demonstrates that shelter type determines the fate of the caterpillar inside, independent of the identity of the caterpillar that built the shelter. This is the first experimental evidence that predation may select for shelter type and associated shelter-building behavior in Lepidoptera.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christina S Baer
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 223 Research Building and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, 111 Benton Hall, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121-4400, USA
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 223 Research Building and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, 111 Benton Hall, 1 University Blvd., St. Louis, MO 63121-4400, USA
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6
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Dáttilo W, Serio‐Silva JC, Thompson JN, Del‐Claro K, Guimarães PR, Oliveira PS, Jordano P, Marquis RJ, Koptur S. In remembrance of Victor Rico Gray (1951‐2021): An astonishing tropical ecologist. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12987] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología Instituto de Ecología AC Xalapa, Veracruz Mexico
| | - Juan Carlos Serio‐Silva
- Red de Biología y Conservación de Vertebrados Instituto de Ecología AC Xalapa, Veracruz Mexico
| | - John N. Thompson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology University of California Santa Cruz CA USA
| | - Kleber Del‐Claro
- Laboratório de Ecologia Comportamental e de Interações Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia MG Brazil
| | - Paulo R. Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia Instituto de Biociências Universidade de São Paulo São Paulo SP Brazil
| | - Paulo S. Oliveira
- Departamento de Biologia Animal Universidade Estadual de Campinas Campinas SP Brazil
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Integrative Ecology Group Estación Biológica de Doñana (EBD–CSIC) Sevilla Spain
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis, 1 University Boulevard St. Louis MO USA
| | - Suzanne Koptur
- Department of Biology Florida International University Miami FL USA
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Priest GV, Camarota F, Vasconcelos HL, Powell S, Marquis RJ. Active modification of cavity nest‐entrances is a common strategy in arboreal ants. Biotropica 2021. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12922] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Galen V. Priest
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
| | - Flávio Camarota
- Department of Biological Sciences The George Washington University Washington DC USA
- Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia Brazil
- Instituto de Biologia Geral Universidade Federal de Viçosa Viçosa Brazil
| | | | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences The George Washington University Washington DC USA
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
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8
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Camarota F, Vasconcelos HL, Marquis RJ, Powell S. Revisiting ecological dominance in arboreal ants: how dominant usage of nesting resources shapes community assembly. Oecologia 2020; 194:151-163. [PMID: 32909091 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-020-04748-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2020] [Accepted: 09/02/2020] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Ecologically dominant species can shape the assembly of ecological communities via altering competitive outcomes. Moreover, these effects may be amplified under limited niche differentiation. Nevertheless, the influences of ecological dominance and niche differentiation on assembly are rarely considered together. Here, we provide a novel examination of dominance in a diverse arboreal ant community, defining dominance by the prevalent usage of nesting resources and addressing how it influences community assembly. We first used a series of quantitative observational and experimental studies to address the natural nesting ecology, colony incidence on surveyed trees, and level of dominance over newly available nesting resources by our focal species, Cephalotes pusillus. The experimental studies were then used further to examine whether C. pusillus shapes assembly via an influence on cavity usage by co-occurring species. C. pusillus was confirmed as a dominant user of cavity nesting resources, with highly generalized nesting ecology, occupying about 50% of the trees within the focal system, and accounting for more than a third of new cavity occupation in experiments. Our experiments showed further that the presence of C. pusillus was associated with modest effects on species richness, but significant decreases in cavity-occupation levels and significant shifts in the entrance-size usage by co-occurring species. These results indicate that C. pusillus, as a dominant user of nesting resources, shapes assembly at multiple levels. Broadly, our findings highlight that complex interactions between a dominant species and the resource-usage patterns of other species can underlie species assembly in diverse ecological communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávio Camarota
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, USA. .,Instituto de Biologia, Universidade Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, Brazil. .,Instituto de Biologia Geral, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, Viçosa, MG, Brazil.
| | | | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA
| | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences, The George Washington University, Washington, USA
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Baer CS, Marquis RJ. Between predators and parasitoids: Complex interactions among shelter traits, predation and parasitism in a shelter‐building caterpillar community. Funct Ecol 2020. [DOI: 10.1111/1365-2435.13641] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Christina S. Baer
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri‐St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
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Abdala‐Roberts L, Puentes A, Finke DL, Marquis RJ, Montserrat M, Poelman EH, Rasmann S, Sentis A, van Dam NM, Wimp G, Mooney K, Björkman C. Tri-trophic interactions: bridging species, communities and ecosystems. Ecol Lett 2019; 22:2151-2167. [PMID: 31631502 PMCID: PMC6899832 DOI: 10.1111/ele.13392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 50] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/10/2019] [Revised: 08/18/2019] [Accepted: 09/05/2019] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
A vast body of research demonstrates that many ecological and evolutionary processes can only be understood from a tri-trophic viewpoint, that is, one that moves beyond the pairwise interactions of neighbouring trophic levels to consider the emergent features of interactions among multiple trophic levels. Despite its unifying potential, tri-trophic research has been fragmented, following two distinct paths. One has focused on the population biology and evolutionary ecology of simple food chains of interacting species. The other has focused on bottom-up and top-down controls over the distribution of biomass across trophic levels and other ecosystem-level variables. Here, we propose pathways to bridge these two long-standing perspectives. We argue that an expanded theory of tri-trophic interactions (TTIs) can unify our understanding of biological processes across scales and levels of organisation, ranging from species evolution and pairwise interactions to community structure and ecosystem function. To do so requires addressing how community structure and ecosystem function arise as emergent properties of component TTIs, and, in turn, how species traits and TTIs are shaped by the ecosystem processes and the abiotic environment in which they are embedded. We conclude that novel insights will come from applying tri-trophic theory systematically across all levels of biological organisation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Abdala‐Roberts
- Departamento de Ecología TropicalCampus de Ciencias Biológicas y AgropecuariasUniversidad Autónoma de YucatánKm. 15.5 Carretera Mérida‐XmatkuilMX‐97000MéridaYucatánMéxico
| | - Adriana Puentes
- Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesBox 7044SE‐750 07UppsalaSweden
| | - Deborah L. Finke
- Division of Plant SciencesUniversity of Missouri1‐33 Agriculture BuildingUS‐65211ColumbiaMOUSA
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology CenterUniversity of Missouri–St. Louis1 University BoulevardUS‐63121St. LouisMOUSA
| | - Marta Montserrat
- Instituto de Hortofruticultura Subtropical y Mediterránea “La Mayora” (IHSM‐UMA‐CSIC)Consejo Superior de Investigaciones CientíficasE‐29750Algarrobo‐Costa (Málaga)Spain
| | - Erik H. Poelman
- Laboratory of EntomologyWageningen UniversityP.O. Box 166700 AAWageningenThe Netherlands
| | - Sergio Rasmann
- Institute of BiologyUniversity of NeuchâtelRue Emile‐Argand 11CH‐2000NeuchâtelSwitzerland
| | - Arnaud Sentis
- UMR RECOVERIRSTEAAix Marseille University3275 route Cézanne13182Aix‐en‐ProvenceFrance
| | - Nicole M. van Dam
- Molecular Interaction EcologyFriedrich‐Schiller‐University Jena & German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research (iDiv)Halle‐Jena‐LeipzigDeutscher Platz 5eDE‐04103LeipzigGermany
| | - Gina Wimp
- Department of BiologyGeorgetown University406 Reiss Science BuildingUS‐20057WashingtonDCUSA
| | - Kailen Mooney
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary BiologyUniversity of California Irvine321 Steinhaus HallUS‐92697IrvineCAUSA
| | - Christer Björkman
- Department of EcologySwedish University of Agricultural SciencesBox 7044SE‐750 07UppsalaSweden
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11
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Marquis RJ, Lill JT, Forkner RE, Le Corff J, Landosky JM, Whitfield JB. Declines and Resilience of Communities of Leaf Chewing Insects on Missouri Oaks Following Spring Frost and Summer Drought. Front Ecol Evol 2019. [DOI: 10.3389/fevo.2019.00396] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
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12
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Dáttilo W, Lara-Rodríguez N, Jordano P, Guimarães PR, Thompson JN, Marquis RJ, Medeiros LP, Ortiz-Pulido R, Marcos-García MA, Rico-Gray V. Unravelling Darwin's entangled bank: architecture and robustness of mutualistic networks with multiple interaction types. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 283:rspb.2016.1564. [PMID: 27881755 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.1564] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Trying to unravel Darwin's entangled bank further, we describe the architecture of a network involving multiple forms of mutualism (pollination by animals, seed dispersal by birds and plant protection by ants) and evaluate whether this multi-network shows evidence of a structure that promotes robustness. We found that species differed strongly in their contributions to the organization of the multi-interaction network, and that only a few species contributed to the structuring of these patterns. Moreover, we observed that the multi-interaction networks did not enhance community robustness compared with each of the three independent mutualistic networks when analysed across a range of simulated scenarios of species extinction. By simulating the removal of highly interacting species, we observed that, overall, these species enhance network nestedness and robustness, but decrease modularity. We discuss how the organization of interlinked mutualistic networks may be essential for the maintenance of ecological communities, and therefore the long-term ecological and evolutionary dynamics of interactive, species-rich communities. We suggest that conserving these keystone mutualists and their interactions is crucial to the persistence of species-rich mutualistic assemblages, mainly because they support other species and shape the network organization.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wesley Dáttilo
- Red de Ecoetología, Instituto de Ecología A.C., Carretera Antigua a Coatepec 351, El Haya, 91070 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
| | - Nubia Lara-Rodríguez
- Centro Iberoamericano de la Biodiversidad (CIBIO), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Integrative Ecology Group, Estación Biológica de Doñana, 41092 Sevilla, Spain
| | - Paulo R Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-900 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - John N Thompson
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95064, USA
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St Louis, St Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA
| | - Lucas P Medeiros
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade de São Paulo, 05508-900 São Paulo, Brazil
| | - Raul Ortiz-Pulido
- Centro de Investigaciones Biológicas, Universidad Autónoma del Estado de Hidalgo, Pachuca, Hidalgo 42001, Mexico
| | - Maria A Marcos-García
- Centro Iberoamericano de la Biodiversidad (CIBIO), Universidad de Alicante, 03690 Alicante, Spain
| | - Victor Rico-Gray
- Instituto de Neuroetología, Universidad Veracruzana, 91190 Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
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13
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Galetti M, Moleón M, Jordano P, Pires MM, Guimarães PR, Pape T, Nichols E, Hansen D, Olesen JM, Munk M, de Mattos JS, Schweiger AH, Owen-Smith N, Johnson CN, Marquis RJ, Svenning JC. Ecological and evolutionary legacy of megafauna extinctions. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2017; 93:845-862. [PMID: 28990321 DOI: 10.1111/brv.12374] [Citation(s) in RCA: 98] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2017] [Revised: 08/26/2017] [Accepted: 09/01/2017] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
For hundreds of millions of years, large vertebrates (megafauna) have inhabited most of the ecosystems on our planet. During the late Quaternary, notably during the Late Pleistocene and the early Holocene, Earth experienced a rapid extinction of large, terrestrial vertebrates. While much attention has been paid to understanding the causes of this massive megafauna extinction, less attention has been given to understanding the impacts of loss of megafauna on other organisms with whom they interacted. In this review, we discuss how the loss of megafauna disrupted and reshaped ecological interactions, and explore the ecological consequences of the ongoing decline of large vertebrates. Numerous late Quaternary extinct species of predators, parasites, commensals and mutualistic partners were associated with megafauna and were probably lost due to their strict dependence upon them (co-extinctions). Moreover, many extant species have megafauna-adapted traits that provided evolutionary benefits under past megafauna-rich conditions, but are now of no or limited use (anachronisms). Morphological evolution and behavioural changes allowed some of these species partially to overcome the absence of megafauna. Although the extinction of megafauna led to a number of co-extinction events, several species that likely co-evolved with megafauna established new interactions with humans and their domestic animals. Species that were highly specialized in interactions with megafauna, such as large predators, specialized parasites, and large commensalists (e.g. scavengers, dung beetles), and could not adapt to new hosts or prey were more likely to die out. Partners that were less megafauna dependent persisted because of behavioural plasticity or by shifting their dependency to humans via domestication, facilitation or pathogen spill-over, or through interactions with domestic megafauna. We argue that the ongoing extinction of the extant megafauna in the Anthropocene will catalyse another wave of co-extinctions due to the enormous diversity of key ecological interactions and functional roles provided by the megafauna.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauro Galetti
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP Brazil.,Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Marcos Moleón
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-SCIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Sevilla, Spain.,Departamento de Zoología, Universidad de Granada, Granada, Spain
| | - Pedro Jordano
- Estación Biológica de Doñana, EBD-SCIC, Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas, Sevilla, Spain
| | - Mathias M Pires
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP Brazil
| | - Paulo R Guimarães
- Departamento de Ecologia, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP Brazil
| | - Thomas Pape
- Natural History Museum of Denmark, University of Copenhagen, Copenhagen, Denmark
| | | | - Dennis Hansen
- Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies, University of Zurich, 8057 Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Jens M Olesen
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Michael Munk
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Jacqueline S de Mattos
- Departamento de Ecologia, Instituto de Biociências, Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP), 13506-900, Rio Claro, SP Brazil
| | - Andreas H Schweiger
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
| | - Norman Owen-Smith
- Centre for African Ecology, School of Animal Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Wits 2050, South Africa
| | - Christopher N Johnson
- School of Biological Sciences & Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Australian Biodiversity and Heritage, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, U.S.A
| | - Jens-Christian Svenning
- Section for Ecoinformatics & Biodiversity, Department of Bioscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark
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14
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Salazar D, Jaramillo MA, Marquis RJ. Chemical similarity and local community assembly in the species rich tropical genus Piper. Ecology 2017; 97:3176-3183. [PMID: 27870051 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2015] [Revised: 03/30/2016] [Accepted: 05/12/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Community ecologists have strived to find mechanisms that mediate the assembly of natural communities. Recent evidence suggests that natural enemies could play an important role in the assembly of hyper-diverse tropical plant systems. Classic ecological theory predicts that in order for coexistence to occur, species differences must be maximized across biologically important niche dimensions. For plant-herbivore interactions, it has been recently suggested that, within a particular community, plant species that maximize the difference in chemical defense profiles compared to neighboring taxa will have a relative competitive advantage. Here we tested the hypothesis that plant chemical diversity can affect local community composition in the hyper-diverse genus Piper at a lowland wet forest location in Costa Rica. We first characterized the chemical composition of 27 of the most locally abundant species of Piper. We then tested whether species with different chemical compositions were more likely to coexist. Finally, we assessed the degree to which Piper phylogenetic relationships are related to differences in secondary chemical composition and community assembly. We found that, on average, co-occurring species were more likely to differ in chemical composition than expected by chance. Contrary to expectations, there was no phylogenetic signal for overall secondary chemical composition. In addition we found that species in local communities were, on average, more phylogenetically closely related than expected by chance, suggesting that functional traits other than those measured here also influence local assembly. We propose that selection by herbivores for divergent chemistries between closely related species facilitates the coexistence of a high diversity of congeneric taxa via apparent competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Salazar
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, 1005 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, California, 94720-3140, USA.,Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | | | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
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15
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Marquis RJ, Salazar D, Baer C, Reinhardt J, Priest G, Barnett K. Ode to Ehrlich and Raven or how herbivorous insects might drive plant speciation. Ecology 2017; 97:2939-2951. [PMID: 27870033 DOI: 10.1002/ecy.1534] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/30/2015] [Revised: 06/27/2016] [Accepted: 07/07/2016] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
Abstract
Fifty years ago, Ehrlich and Raven proposed that insect herbivores have driven much of plant speciation, particularly at tropical latitudes. There have been no explicit tests of their hypotheses. Indeed there were no proposed mechanisms either at the time or since by which herbivores might generate new plant species. Here we outline two main classes of mechanisms, prezygotic and postzygotic, with a number of scenarios in each by which herbivore-driven changes in host plant secondary chemistry might lead to new plant lineage production. The former apply mainly to a sympatric model of speciation while the latter apply to a parapatric or allopatric model. Our review suggests that the steps of each mechanism are known to occur individually in many different systems, but no scenario has been thoroughly investigated in any one system. Nevertheless, studies of Dalechampia and its herbivores and pollinators, and patterns of defense tradeoffs in trees on different soil types in the Peruvian Amazon provide evidence consistent with the original hypotheses of Ehrlich and Raven. For herbivores to drive sympatric speciation, our findings suggest that interactions with both their herbivores and their pollinators should be considered. In contrast, herbivores may drive speciation allopatrically without any influence by pollinators. Finally, there is evidence that these mechanisms are more likely to occur at low latitudes and thus more likely to produce new species in the tropics. The mechanisms we outline provide a predictive framework for further study of the general role that herbivores play in diversification of their host plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | - Diego Salazar
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA.,Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, 3040 Valley Life Sciences Bldg #3140, Berkeley, California, 94720, USA
| | - Christina Baer
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | - Jason Reinhardt
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA.,Department of Forest Resources, University of Minnesota, 1530 Cleveland Ave. N., St. Paul, Minnesota, 55108, USA
| | - Galen Priest
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA
| | - Kirk Barnett
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri, 63121, USA.,Hawkesbury Institute for the Environment, Western Sydney University, Hawkesbury Campus, Penrith, New South Wales, 2751, Australia
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16
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Marquis RJ. GENOTYPIC VARIATION IN LEAF DAMAGE IN PIPER ARIEIANUM (PIPERACEAE) BY A MULTISPECIES ASSEMBLAGE OF HERBIVORES. Evolution 2017; 44:104-120. [PMID: 28568211 DOI: 10.1111/j.1558-5646.1990.tb04282.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 41] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/23/1988] [Accepted: 10/23/1989] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The shrub Piper arieianum (Piperaceae) has a diverse herbivore fauna (95 species total) in Costa Rican rain forest. The effect of plant genotype on leaf damage by individual herbivore species and total leaf area removed was studied in P. arieianum through a cloning experiment. Damage patterns were measured over 3.5 years for two plots, four genotypes per plot, in the understory of lowland rain forest. In both plots, there were significant differences among genotypes in total leaf area missing throughout the study period. Rankings of genotypes based on overall damage remained constant over time in plot 1 but changed in plot 2. Certain individual herbivore species caused significantly higher damage in some genotypes than in others; the change in genotype rankings in plot 2 was associated with increased damage to particular genotypes by specific herbivore groups. The genotype most heavily damaged by a given insect species varied depending on the herbivore species; thus, resistance to one herbivore species did not necessarily confer resistance against all species. Those herbivore species causing the greatest proportion of damage for a given plant changed over time. Because total damage resulted from the summation of losses to individual herbivore species, whether an individual plant lost more leaf area than its neighbors depended on the relative abundance of the herbivore species at any one time. Finally, for a portion of the study period in each plot, more heavily damaged clones grew less than lesser damaged clones. Together with previous reports that naturally growing plants differ significantly in damage and that these differences are sufficient to cause fitness differences, the results presented here suggest that the herbivores of P. arieianum represent a selective force for changes in resistance but that this selective force changes both in intensity and quality over time.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Marquis
- Department of Entomology, University of Illinois, Urbana, IL, 61801
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17
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Dáttilo W, Lara-Rodríguez N, Jordano P, Guimarães PR, Thompson JN, Marquis RJ, Medeiros LP, Ortiz-Pulido R, Marcos-García MA, Rico-Gray V. Correction to ‘Unravelling Darwin's entangled bank: architecture and robustness of mutualistic networks with multiple interaction types’. Proc Biol Sci 2017; 284:rspb.2016.2635. [DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2016.2635] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
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18
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Camarota F, Powell S, S Melo A, Priest G, J Marquis R, L Vasconcelos H. Co-occurrence patterns in a diverse arboreal ant community are explained more by competition than habitat requirements. Ecol Evol 2016; 6:8907-8918. [PMID: 28035279 PMCID: PMC5192950 DOI: 10.1002/ece3.2606] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2016] [Revised: 10/11/2016] [Accepted: 10/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
A major goal of community ecology is to identify the patterns of species associations and the processes that shape them. Arboreal ants are extremely diverse and abundant, making them an interesting and valuable group for tackling this issue. Numerous studies have used observational data of species co‐occurrence patterns to infer underlying assembly processes, but the complexity of these communities has resulted in few solid conclusions. This study takes advantage of an observational dataset that is unusually well‐structured with respect to habitat attributes (tree species, tree sizes, and vegetation structure), to disentangle different factors influencing community organization. In particular, this study assesses the potential role of interspecific competition and habitat selection on the distribution patterns of an arboreal ant community by incorporating habitat attributes into the co‐occurrence analyses. These findings are then contrasted against species traits, to explore functional explanations for the identified community patterns. We ran a suite of null models, first accounting only for the species incidence in the community and later incorporating habitat attributes in the null models. We performed analyses with all the species in the community and then with only the most common species using both a matrix‐level approach and a pairwise‐level approach. The co‐occurrence patterns did not differ from randomness in the matrix‐level approach accounting for all ant species in the community. However, a segregated pattern was detected for the most common ant species. Moreover, with the pairwise approach, we found a significant number of negative and positive pairs of species associations. Most of the segregated associations appear to be explained by competitive interactions between species, not habitat affiliations. This was supported by comparisons of species traits for significantly associated pairs. These results suggest that competition is the most important influence on the distribution patterns of arboreal ants within the focal community. Habitat attributes, in contrast, showed no significant influence on the matrix‐wide results and affected only a few associations. In addition, the segregated pairs shared more biological characteristic in common than the aggregated and random ones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Flávio Camarota
- Instituto de Biologia Universidade Federal de Uberlândia Uberlândia Brazil; Department of Biological Sciences The George Washington University Washington DC USA
| | - Scott Powell
- Department of Biological Sciences The George Washington University Washington DC USA
| | - Adriano S Melo
- Departamento de Ecologia Universidade Federal de Goiás Goiânia Brazil
| | - Galen Priest
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri - St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center University of Missouri - St. Louis St. Louis MO USA
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19
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Salazar D, Jaramillo A, Marquis RJ. The impact of plant chemical diversity on plant-herbivore interactions at the community level. Oecologia 2016; 181:1199-208. [PMID: 27129320 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-016-3629-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the role of diversity in ecosystem processes and species interactions is a central goal of ecology. For plant-herbivore interactions, it has been hypothesized that when plant species diversity is reduced, loss of plant biomass to herbivores increases. Although long-standing, this hypothesis has received mixed support. Increasing plant chemical diversity with increasing plant taxonomic diversity is likely to be important for plant-herbivore interactions at the community level, but the role of chemical diversity is unexplored. Here we assess the effect of volatile chemical diversity on patterns of herbivore damage in naturally occurring patches of Piper (Piperaceae) shrubs in a Costa Rican lowland wet forest. Volatile chemical diversity negatively affected total, specialist, and generalist herbivore damage. Furthermore, there were differences between the effects of high-volatility and low-volatility chemical diversity on herbivore damage. High-volatility diversity reduced specialist herbivory, while low-volatility diversity reduced generalist herbivory. Our data suggest that, although increased plant diversity is expected to reduce average herbivore damage, this pattern is likely mediated by the diversity of defensive compounds and general classes of anti-herbivore traits, as well as the degree of specialization of the herbivores attacking those plants.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego Salazar
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California-Berkeley, 1005 Valley Life Sciences Building #3140, Berkeley, CA, 94720-3140, USA. .,Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA.
| | - Alejandra Jaramillo
- Facultad de Ciencias Basicas, Universidad Militar Nueva Granada, Bogota, Colombia
| | - Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology and the Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center, One University Boulevard, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63121, USA
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20
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Camarota F, Powell S, Vasconcelos HL, Priest G, Marquis RJ. Extrafloral nectaries have a limited effect on the structure of arboreal ant communities in a Neotropical savanna. Ecology 2015; 96:231-40. [PMID: 26236908 DOI: 10.1890/14-0264.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
How environmental contexts shape the strength of species interactions, and their influence on community structure, remains a key focus for the field of community ecology. In particular, the extent to which local competitive interactions impact community structure, and whether this differs across contexts, persists as a general issue that is unresolved across a broad range of animal systems. Studies of arboreal ants have shown that competitive interactions over carbon-rich exudates from extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) and homopteran aggregations can have positive and negative effects on the local abundances of individual species. Nevertheless, it is still unclear the extent to which these local effects scale to community-level effects. Here we address the role of food from extrafloral nectaries on the structure of arboreal ant communities in a savanna of central Brazil. We did this with a combination of a diversity survey across tree species with and without EFNs, a repeated survey at times of peak EFN activity, and testing of our survey findings with two experimental manipulations of nectar availability that also provided supplementary nesting cavities. Species richness, but not composition, differed significantly between trees with and without EFNs. However, trees with EFNs had, on average, only 9% more species than those without EFNs. Furthermore, ant species richness did not differ significantly between periods of high and low EFN activity. Although nectar supplementation significantly affected nest occupation rates, this difference was seen solely in. the experiment with a massive supply of nectar and there was no effect on total ant richness or identity of the focal assemblages. Our findings suggest that the effects of extrafloral nectar on the abundances of arboreal ants at local scales do not scale to a strong structuring force at the community level. We suggest that this is most likely due to a lack of specificity of community members for EFN tree species, and the diffuse temporal and spatial nature of the availability of active EFNs. These properties mean that observable short-lived activity and competition over particular EFNs does not ultimately drive lasting changes in the associated assemblage of species, and therefore, the community as a whole.
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Orrock JL, Dutra HP, Marquis RJ, Barber N. Apparent competition and native consumers exacerbate the strong competitive effect of an exotic plant species. Ecology 2015; 96:1052-61. [PMID: 26230025 DOI: 10.1890/14-0732.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Direct and indirect effects can play a key role in invasions, but experiments evaluating both are rare. We examined the roles of direct competition and apparent competition by exotic Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) by manipulating (1) L. maackii vegetation, (2) presence of L. maackii fruits, and (3) access to plants by small mammals and deer. Direct competition with L. maackii reduced the abundance and richness of native and exotic species, and native consumers significantly reduced the abundance and richness of native species. Although effects of direct competition and consumption were more pervasive, richness of native plants was also reduced through apparent competition, as small-mammal consumers reduced richness only when L. maackii fruits were present. Our experiment reveals the multiple, interactive pathways that affect the success and impact of an invasive exotic plant: exotic plants may directly benefit from reduced attack by native consumers, may directly exert strong competitive effects on native plants, and may also benefit from apparent competition.
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22
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Del-Claro K, Marquis RJ. Ant Species Identity has a Greater Effect than Fire on the Outcome of an Ant Protection System in Brazilian Cerrado. Biotropica 2015. [DOI: 10.1111/btp.12227] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Kleber Del-Claro
- Instituto de Biologia; Universidade Federal de Uberlândia (UFU); CP 593 Uberlândia MG CEP 38400-902 Brazil
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Biology and Whitney R. Harris World Ecology Center; University of Missouri-St. Louis; One University Boulevard; St. Louis MO 63121 U.S.A
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23
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Baer CS, Marquis RJ. Native leaf-tying caterpillars influence host plant use by the invasive Asiatic oak weevil through ecosystem engineering. Ecology 2014; 95:1472-8. [DOI: 10.1890/13-1689.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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Affiliation(s)
- H George Wang
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63121-4400, USA.
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Marquis RJ, Ricklefs RE, Abdala-Roberts L. Testing the low latitude/high defense hypothesis for broad-leaved tree species. Oecologia 2012; 169:811-20. [PMID: 22271200 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-012-2249-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2010] [Accepted: 01/04/2012] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA.
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Estes JA, Terborgh J, Brashares JS, Power ME, Berger J, Bond WJ, Carpenter SR, Essington TE, Holt RD, Jackson JBC, Marquis RJ, Oksanen L, Oksanen T, Paine RT, Pikitch EK, Ripple WJ, Sandin SA, Scheffer M, Schoener TW, Shurin JB, Sinclair ARE, Soulé ME, Virtanen R, Wardle DA. Trophic downgrading of planet Earth. Science 2011; 333:301-6. [PMID: 21764740 DOI: 10.1126/science.1205106] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1832] [Impact Index Per Article: 140.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Until recently, large apex consumers were ubiquitous across the globe and had been for millions of years. The loss of these animals may be humankind's most pervasive influence on nature. Although such losses are widely viewed as an ethical and aesthetic problem, recent research reveals extensive cascading effects of their disappearance in marine, terrestrial, and freshwater ecosystems worldwide. This empirical work supports long-standing theory about the role of top-down forcing in ecosystems but also highlights the unanticipated impacts of trophic cascades on processes as diverse as the dynamics of disease, wildfire, carbon sequestration, invasive species, and biogeochemical cycles. These findings emphasize the urgent need for interdisciplinary research to forecast the effects of trophic downgrading on process, function, and resilience in global ecosystems.
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Affiliation(s)
- James A Estes
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA.
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Abstract
Ecological communities are structured by both deterministic, niche-based processes and stochastic processes such as dispersal. A pressing issue in ecology is to determine when and for which organisms each of these types of processes is important in community assembly. The roles of deterministic and stochastic processes have been studied for a variety of communities, but very few researchers have addressed their contribution to insect herbivore community structure. Insect herbivore niches are often described as largely shaped by the antagonistic pressures of predation and host plant defenses. However host plants are frequently discrete patches of habitat, and their spatial arrangement can affect herbivore dispersal patterns. We studied the roles of predation, host plant quality, and host spatial proximity for the assembly of a diverse insect herbivore community on Quercus alba (white oak) across two growing seasons. We examined abundances of feeding guilds to determine if ecologically similar species responded similarly to variation in niches. Most guilds responded similarly to leaf quality, preferring high-nitrogen, low-tannin host plants, particularly late in the growing season, while bird predation had little impact on herbivore abundance. The communities on the high-quality plants tended to be larger and, in some cases, have greater species richness. We analyzed community composition by correlating indices of community similarity with predator presence, leaf quality similarity, and host plant proximity. Birds did not affect community composition. Community similarity was significantly associated with distance between host plants and uncorrelated with leaf quality similarity. Thus although leaf quality significantly affected the total abundance of herbivores on a host plant, in some cases leading to increased species richness, dispersal limitation may weaken this relationship. The species composition of these communities may be driven by stochastic processes rather than variation in host plant characteristics or differential predation by insectivorous birds.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nicholas A Barber
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, R223 Research Building, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63121-4400, USA.
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Dutra HP, Barnett K, Reinhardt JR, Marquis RJ, Orrock JL. Invasive plant species alters consumer behavior by providing refuge from predation. Oecologia 2011; 166:649-57. [PMID: 21221650 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-010-1895-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2010] [Accepted: 12/21/2010] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Understanding the effects of invasive plants on native consumers is important because consumer-mediated indirect effects have the potential to alter the dynamics of coexistence in native communities. Invasive plants may promote changes in consumer pressure due to changes in protective cover (i.e., the architectural complexity of the invaded habitat) and in food availability (i.e., subsidies of fruits and seeds). No experimental studies have evaluated the relative interplay of these two effects. In a factorial experiment, we manipulated cover and food provided by the invasive shrub Amur honeysuckle (Lonicera maackii) to evaluate whether this plant alters the foraging activity of native mammals. Using tracking plates to quantify mammalian foraging activity, we found that removal of honeysuckle cover, rather than changes in the fruit resources it provides, reduced the activity of important seed consumers, mice in the genus Peromyscus. Two mesopredators, Procyon lotor and Didelphis virginiana, were also affected. Moreover, we found rodents used L. maackii for cover only on cloudless nights, indicating that the effect of honeysuckle was weather-dependent. Our work provides experimental evidence that this invasive plant species changes habitat characteristics, and in so doing alters the behavior of small- and medium-sized mammals. Changes in seed predator behavior may lead to cascading effects on the seeds that mice consume.
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Affiliation(s)
- Humberto P Dutra
- Department of Natural Sciences, Life University, 1269 Barclay Circle, Marietta, GA 30060, USA.
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Díaz-Castelazo C, Guimarāes PR, Jordano P, Thompson JN, Marquis RJ, Rico-Gray V. Changes of a mutualistic network over time: reanalysis over a 10-year period. Ecology 2010; 91:793-801. [PMID: 20426337 DOI: 10.1890/08-1883.1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 88] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
We analyzed the structure of a multispecific network of interacting ants and plants bearing extrafloral nectaries recorded in 1990 and again in 2000 in La Mancha, Veracruz, Mexico. We assessed the replicability of the number of interactions found among species and also whether there had been changes in the network structure associated with appearance of new ant and plant species during that 10-year period. Our results show that the nested topology of the network was similar between sampling dates, group dissimilarity increased, mean number of interactions for ant species increased, the frequency distribution of standardized degrees reached higher values for plant species, more ant species and fewer plant species constituted the core of the more recent network, and the presence of new ant and plant species increased while their contribution to nestedness remained the same. Generalist species (i.e., those with the most links or interactions) appeared to maintain the stability of the network because the new species incorporated into the communities were linked to this core of generalists. Camponotus planatus was the most extreme generalist ant species (the one with the most links) in both networks, followed by four other ant species; but other species changed either their position along the continuum of generalists relative to specialists or their presence or absence within the network. Even though new species moved into the area during the decade between the surveys, the overall network structure remained unmodified.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Díaz-Castelazo
- Departamento de Ecología Aplicada, Instituto de Ecología, A.C. Apdo. 63, Xalapa, Veracruz 91070, México
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Marquis RJ, Lill JT. Impact of plant architecture versus leaf quality on attack by leaf-tying caterpillars on five oak species. Oecologia 2009; 163:203-13. [PMID: 19960353 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-009-1519-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2009] [Accepted: 11/11/2009] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Because shelter-building herbivorous insect species often consider structural features of their host plants in selecting construction sites, their probability of attack is likely to be a function of some combination of plant architectural traits and leaf quality factors. We tested the hypothesis that plant architecture, in the form of the number of touching leaves, influences interspecific variation in attack by leaf-tying caterpillars in five species of sympatric Missouri oaks (Quercus). We compared colonization on control branches, in which both architecture and leaf quality were potentially important, with colonization on experimental branches for which we controlled for the effects of architecture by creating equal numbers of artificial ties. Colonization of artificial ties was highly correlated with natural colonization on neighboring control branches, suggesting that leaf quality factors and not architecture influenced interspecific variation in attack by leaf-tying caterpillars. Of the leaf quality factors measured (water, protein-binding capacity, nitrogen, specific leaf area, pubescence, and toughness), nitrogen was the most explanatory. With the exception of white oak, natural leaf tie colonization was positively correlated with nitrogen availability (ratio of nitrogen to protein-binding capacity), and negatively correlated with protein-binding capacity of leaf extracts. Both host plant species and subgenus oak influenced the community composition of leaf-tying caterpillars and the non-tying symbionts colonizing the ties. Host plant differences in leaf nitrogen content were positively correlated with pupal weight of one of two caterpillar species reared on all five host plant species. Thus, interspecific differences in nitrogen, nitrogen availability, and protein-binding capacity of leaf extracts are the best predictors at this time of interspecific differences in attack by leaf-tying caterpillars, in turn affecting their success on individual host plants in the laboratory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St Louis, One University Boulevard, St Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA.
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Barber NA, Marquis RJ. Spatial Variation in Top-down Direct and Indirect Effects on White Oak (Quercus alba L.). The American Midland Naturalist 2009. [DOI: 10.1674/0003-0031-162.1.169] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
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Dyer LA, Singer MS, Lill JT, Stireman JO, Gentry GL, Marquis RJ, Ricklefs RE, Greeney HF, Wagner DL, Morais HC, Diniz IR, Kursar TA, Coley PD. Host specificity of Lepidoptera in tropical and temperate forests. Nature 2007; 448:696-9. [PMID: 17687325 DOI: 10.1038/nature05884] [Citation(s) in RCA: 260] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/14/2007] [Accepted: 04/27/2007] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
For numerous taxa, species richness is much higher in tropical than in temperate zone habitats. A major challenge in community ecology and evolutionary biogeography is to reveal the mechanisms underlying these differences. For herbivorous insects, one such mechanism leading to an increased number of species in a given locale could be increased ecological specialization, resulting in a greater proportion of insect species occupying narrow niches within a community. We tested this hypothesis by comparing host specialization in larval Lepidoptera (moths and butterflies) at eight different New World forest sites ranging in latitude from 15 degrees S to 55 degrees N. Here we show that larval diets of tropical Lepidoptera are more specialized than those of their temperate forest counterparts: tropical species on average feed on fewer plant species, genera and families than do temperate caterpillars. This result holds true whether calculated per lepidopteran family or for a caterpillar assemblage as a whole. As a result, there is greater turnover in caterpillar species composition (greater beta diversity) between tree species in tropical faunas than in temperate faunas. We suggest that greater specialization in tropical faunas is the result of differences in trophic interactions; for example, there are more distinct plant secondary chemical profiles from one tree species to the next in tropical forests than in temperate forests as well as more diverse and chronic pressures from natural enemy communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- L A Dyer
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana 70118, USA.
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Abdala-Roberts L, Marquis RJ. Test of local adaptation to biotic interactions and soil abiotic conditions in the ant-tended Chamaecrista fasciculata (Fabaceae). Oecologia 2007; 154:315-26. [PMID: 17704951 DOI: 10.1007/s00442-007-0831-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/26/2006] [Accepted: 07/19/2007] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Few previous studies have assessed the role of herbivores and the third trophic level in the evolution of local adaptation in plants. The overall objectives of this study were to determine (1) whether local adaptation is present in the ant-defended plant, Chamaecrista fasciculata, and (2) the contribution of ant-plant-herbivore interactions and soil source to such adaptation. We used three C. fasciculata populations and performed both a field and a greenhouse experiment. The first involved reciprocally transplanting C. fasciculata seedlings from each population-source to each site, and subsequently applying one of three treatments to one-third of the seedlings of each population-source at each site: control, reduced ant density and reduced folivory. The greenhouse experiment involved reciprocal transplants of population-sources with soil sources to test for a soil-source effect on flower production and local adaptation to soil conditions. Field results showed that ant and herbivore treatments reduced ant density (increasing folivory) and herbivore damage relative to controls, respectively; however, these manipulations did not impact C. fasciculata reproduction or the likelihood of survival. In contrast, greenhouse results showed that soil source significantly affected flower production. Overall, plants in both experiments, regardless of population-source, always had higher reproductive output at one specific site. Native populations did not outperform nonnative ones, causing us to reject the hypothesis of local adaptation. The absence of treatment effects on plant reproduction and the likelihood of survival suggest a limited effect of ants and folivores on C. fasciculata fitness and local adaptation during the study year. Temporally inconsistent effects of biotic forces across years, coupled with the young age of populations, relative proximity of populations and possible counter effects of seed predators may reduce the likelihood of local adaptation in the populations studied.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Abdala-Roberts
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri, St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA.
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Boege K, Marquis RJ. Facing herbivory as you grow up: the ontogeny of resistance in plants. Trends Ecol Evol 2007; 20:441-8. [PMID: 16701415 DOI: 10.1016/j.tree.2005.05.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 408] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2004] [Revised: 04/12/2005] [Accepted: 05/03/2005] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
As plants develop from seeds to seedlings, juveniles and mature stages, their ontogeny can constrain the expression of resistance to herbivore damage. Nevertheless, ecological and evolutionary theories regarding interactions between plants, herbivores and their natural enemies are largely based on observations and experiments conducted at a single ontogenetic stage. Owing to resource allocation and architectural constraints in plants, and the influence of herbivore foraging behavior, resistance to herbivores is likely to change during plant development. We propose that such changes are likely to occur in a non-linear fashion and suggest that the role of ontogeny should be incorporated as an important factor in new syntheses of plant defense theory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karina Boege
- University of Missouri-St Louis Department of Biology, One University Drive, St Louis, MO 63121, USA.
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Abstract
Plant succession is one of many factors that may affect the composition and structure of herbivorous insect communities. However, few studies have examined the effect of forest age on the diversity and abundance of insect communities. If forest age influences insect diversity, then the schedule of timber harvest rotation may have consequent effects on biodiversity. The insect herbivore community on Quercus alba (white oak) in the Missouri Ozarks was sampled in a chronoseries, from recently harvested (2 yr) to old-growth (approximately 313 yr) forests. A total of nine sites and 39 stands within those sites were sampled in May and August 2003. Unique communities of plants and insects were found in the oldest forests (122-313 yr). Density and species richness of herbivores were positively correlated with increasing forest age in August but not in May. August insect density was negatively correlated with heat load index; in addition, insect density and richness increased over the chronoseries, but not on the sunniest slopes. Forest structural diversity (number of size classes) was positively correlated with forest age, but woody plant species richness was not. In sum, richness, density, and community structure of white oak insect herbivores are influenced by variation in forest age, forest structure, relative abundance of plant species, and abiotic conditions. These results suggest that time between harvests of large, long-lived, tree species such as white oak should be longer than current practice in order to maintain insect community diversity.
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Affiliation(s)
- June M Jeffries
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, One University Boulevard, St. Louis, Missouri 63121, USA.
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Abstract
Studies of the effects of logging on Lepidoptera rarely address landscape-level effects or effects on larval, leaf-feeding stages. We examined the impacts of uneven-aged and even-aged logging on the abundance, richness, and community structure of leaf-chewing insects of white (Quercus alba L.) and black (Q. velutina L.) oak trees remaining in unharvested areas by sampling 3 years before and 7 years after harvest. After harvest, white oaks in uneven-aged sites had 32% fewer species of leaf-chewing insects than control sites. This reduction in species richness may have resulted from changes in microclimate (reducing plant quality and/or changing leaf phenology) that affected a much larger total area of each site than did even-aged cuts. For black oak after harvest, species richness in uneven- and even-aged sites increased relative to levels before harvest. Harvesting did not alter total insect density or community structure in the unlogged habitat for either oak species with one exception: insect density on black oak increased in the oldest forest block. Community structure of herbivores of black and white oaks in clearcut gaps differed from that of oaks in intact areas of even-aged sites. Furthermore, both richness and total insect density of black oaks were reduced in clearcut gaps. We suggest that low-level harvests alter herbivore species richness at the landscape level. Treatment effects were subtle because we sampled untreated areas of logged landscapes, only one harvest had occurred, and large temporal and spatial variation in abundance and richness existed. Although the effects of logging were greater in uneven-aged sites, the effects of even-aged management are likely to increase as harvesting continues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca E Forkner
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121-4499, USA.
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Stireman JO, Dyer LA, Janzen DH, Singer MS, Lill JT, Marquis RJ, Ricklefs RE, Gentry GL, Hallwachs W, Coley PD, Barone JA, Greeney HF, Connahs H, Barbosa P, Morais HC, Diniz IR. Climatic unpredictability and parasitism of caterpillars: implications of global warming. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2005; 102:17384-7. [PMID: 16293686 PMCID: PMC1283988 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.0508839102] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Insect outbreaks are expected to increase in frequency and intensity with projected changes in global climate through direct effects of climate change on insect populations and through disruption of community interactions. Although there is much concern about mean changes in global climate, the impact of climatic variability itself on species interactions has been little explored. Here, we compare caterpillar-parasitoid interactions across a broad gradient of climatic variability and find that the combined data in 15 geographically dispersed databases show a decrease in levels of parasitism as climatic variability increases. The dominant contribution to this pattern by relatively specialized parasitoid wasps suggests that climatic variability impairs the ability of parasitoids to track host populations. Given the important role of parasitoids in regulating insect herbivore populations in natural and managed systems, we predict an increase in the frequency and intensity of herbivore outbreaks through a disruption of enemy-herbivore dynamics as climates become more variable.
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Affiliation(s)
- J O Stireman
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Tulane University, New Orleans, LA 70118, USA
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Marquis
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63121, USA.
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Abstract
Patterns of association between herbivores and host plants have been thought to reflect the quality of plants as food resources as influenced by plant nutrient composition, defences, and phenology. Host-plant-specific enemies, that is, the third trophic level, might also influence the distribution of herbivores across plant species. However, studies of the evolution of herbivore host range have generally not examined the third trophic level, leaving unclear the importance of this factor in the evolution of plant-insect herbivore interactions. Analysis of parasitoid rearings by the Canadian Forest Insect Survey shows that parasitism of particular Lepidoptera species is strongly host-plant-dependent, that the pattern of host-plant dependence varies among species of caterpillars, and that some parasitoid species are themselves specialized with respect to tree species. Host-plant-dependent parasitism suggests the possibility of top-down influence on host plant use. Differences in parasitism among particular caterpillar-host plant combinations could select for specialization of host plant ranges within caterpillar communities. Such specialization would ultimately promote the species diversification of Lepidoptera in temperate forests with respect to escape from enemies.
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Affiliation(s)
- J T Lill
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri-St. Louis, 63121, USA.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kirk A. Stowe
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3140; California e-mail
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri—St. Louis, St. Louis, 63121-4499 Missouri
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, 12604 New York
| | - Robert J. Marquis
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3140; California e-mail
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri—St. Louis, St. Louis, 63121-4499 Missouri
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, 12604 New York
| | - Cris G. Hochwender
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3140; California e-mail
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri—St. Louis, St. Louis, 63121-4499 Missouri
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, 12604 New York
| | - Ellen L. Simms
- Department of Integrative Biology, University of California, Berkeley, 94720-3140; California e-mail
- Department of Biology, University of Missouri—St. Louis, St. Louis, 63121-4499 Missouri
- Department of Biology, Vassar College, Poughkeepsie, 12604 New York
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Marquis RJ. Announcing a New Article Category: Review and Viewpoint. Biotropica 2000. [DOI: 10.1646/0006-3606(2000)032[0568:aanacr]2.0.co;2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
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