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Predation, functional response and demographic parameters of Orius albidipennis (Hemiptera:Anthocoridae) on Schizaphis graminum (Hemiptera:Aphididae): effect of host plant morphological attributes

Plant attributes like leaf hairiness and trichome compactness diversely affect the biocontrol agents of phytophagous insect pests. In the current study, effect of physical plant features on life table characteristics and functional response of Orius albidipennis (Rueter) females feeding on Schizaphis graminum (Rondani) was investigated on two common wheat cultivars (Falat and Pishtaz) differing in leaf morphological features. The trichome density of wheat cultivars considerably influenced a broad spectrum of attributes related to the performance of O. albidipennis. The intrinsic rate of increase (rm) was significantly greater on Falat (0.09±0.006) than on Pishtaz (0.06±0.008) cultivar. Similarly, the net reproductive rate and finite rate of increase were greater on Falat (16.72±3.38 and 1.083±7.54) than on Pishtaz (8.08±2.04 and 1.067±9.49). Although Orius predators exhibited type III of functional response on both wheat cultivars, they had lesser searching efficiencies and higher handling times on Pishtaz than those on Falat cultivar. Moreover, the maximum attack rate (T/Th) was greater on Falat than on Pishtaz. Lesser maximum predation and greater handling time of the Orius predators on Pishtaz cultivar might be imputed to the significantly more condensed surface trichomes of its leaves than that of Falat leaves, which physically prevented movement of the Orius bugs and decreased prey encounter rate. Moreover, increase of trichome density negatively influenced on foraging behavior of the predatory bug. Females were also found to prefer wheat leaves with fewer trichomes as oviposition hosts. It seems that trichomes provided hinderance to the orius bug. To recapitulate, it could be stated that the efficiency of O. albidipennis in controlling S. graminum on wheat may be more beneficial in cultivars with lower trichome density.

Image 5 in Distribution of six little known plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Image 5. Plectocomia himalayana Griff.

Image 1 in Distribution of six little known plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Image 1. Begonia silhetensis (A. DC.) C.B. Clarke

Image 3. Larsenianthus arunachalensis M in Distribution of six little known plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Image 3. Larsenianthus arunachalensis M.Sabu, Sanoj & T. Rajesh Kumar

Image 4. Larsenianthus assamensis S in Distribution of six little known plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Image 4. Larsenianthus assamensis S.Dey, Mood & S. Choudhury

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2011View details →

Image 2 in Notes on the distribution of Maesa velutina Mez Myrsinaceae - a rare and endemic plant from India

Image 2. Distribution of Maesa velutina Mez in Peninsular India

opencc-by-4.0Apr 2011View details →

Image 1 in Notes on the distribution of Maesa velutina Mez Myrsinaceae - a rare and endemic plant from India

Image 1. Herbarium of Maesa velutina

Image 2 in Distribution of six little known plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Image 2. Dalbergia thomsonii Benth.

Image 6 in Distribution of six little known plant species from Arunachal Pradesh, India

Image 6. Tricarpelema glanduliferum (J. Joseph & R.S. Rao) R.S. Rao

Dataset for: Using plant traits to understand the contribution of biodiversity effects to annual crop community productivity

Dataset for: Using plant traits to understand the contribution of biodiversity effects to annual crop community productivity

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Plant-phenotypic changes induced by parasitoid ichnoviruses enhance the performance of both unparasitized and parasitized caterpillars

There is increasing awareness that interactions between plants and insects can be mediated by microbial symbionts. Nonetheless, evidence showing that symbionts associated with organisms beyond the second trophic level affect plant-insect interactions are restricted to a few cases belonging to parasitoid-associated bracoviruses. Insect parasitoids harbor a wide array of symbionts which, like bracoviruses, can be injected into their herbivorous hosts to manipulate their physiology and behavior. Yet, the function of these symbionts in plant-based trophic webs remains largely overlooked. Here we provide the first evidence of a parasitoid-associated symbiont belonging to the group of ichnoviruses which affects the strength of plant-insect interactions. A comparative proteomic analysis shows that, upon parasitoid injection of calyx fluid containing ichnovirus particles, the composition of salivary glands of caterpillars changes both qualitatively (presence of two viral-encoded proteins) and quantitatively (abundance of several caterpillar-resident enzymes, including elicitors such as glucose oxidase). In turn, plant phenotypic changes triggered by the altered composition of caterpillar oral secretions affect the performance of herbivores. Ichnovirus manipulation of plant responses to herbivory leads to benefits for their parasitoid partners in terms of reduced developmental time within the parasitized caterpillar. Interestingly, plant-mediated ichnoviruses-induced effects also enhance the performances of unparasitized herbivores which in natural conditions may feed alongside parasitized ones. We discuss these findings in the context of ecological costs imposed to the plant by the viral symbiont of the parasitoid. Our results provide intriguing novel findings about the role played by carnivore-associated symbionts on plant-insect-parasitoid systems and underline the importance of placing mutualistic associations in an ecological perspective.

Plant species as the bear cuscus diet based on information from local guides

The table contains information about the plant species as the bear cuscus diet in Bantimurung Bulusaraung National Park (BBNP) and Hasanuddin University Educational Forest (HUEF), South Sulawesi based on information from the local guides, as well as the part(s) of plants eaten.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Hydraulic prediction of drought-induced plant dieback and top-kill depends on leaf habit and growth form

Hydraulic failure caused by severe drought contributes to aboveground dieback and whole-plant death. The extent to which dieback or whole-plant death can be predicted by plant hydraulic traits has rarely been tested among species with different leaf habits and/or growth forms. We investigated 19 hydraulic traits in 40 woody species in a tropical savanna and their potential correlations with drought response during an extreme drought event during the El Niño–Southern Oscillation in 2015. Plant hydraulic trait variation was partitioned substantially by leaf habit but not growth form along a trade-off axis between traits that support drought tolerance versus avoidance. Semi-deciduous species and shrubs had the highest branch dieback and top-kill (complete aboveground death) among the leaf habits or growth forms. Dieback and top-kill were well explained by combining hydraulic traits with leaf habit and growth form, suggesting integrating life history traits with hydraulic traits will yield better predictions.

opencc-zeroDec 2020View details →

Intra-specific variation in plant associated herbivore communities is phylogenetically structured in Brassicaceae

As a result of co-evolution between plants and herbivores, related plants often interact with similar herbivore communities. Variation in plant-herbivore interactions is determined by variation in underlying functional traits and by ecological and stochastic processes. Hence, typically only a subset of possible interactions is realized on individual plants. We show that insect herbivore communities assembling on individual plants are structured by plant phylogeny among twelve species in two phylogenetic lineages of Brassicaceae. This community sorting to plant phylogeny was retained when splitting the community according to herbivore feeding guilds. Relative abundance of herbivores as well as the size of the community structured community dissimilarity among plant species. Importantly, the amount of intra-specific variation in realized plant-herbivore interactions is also phylogenetically structured. We argue that variability in realized interactions that is not directly structured by plant traits is ecologically relevant and must be considered in the evolution of plant defences.

Resources do not limit compensatory response of a tallgrass prairie plant community to the loss of a dominant species

The effect of species loss on ecosystem productivity is determined by both the functional contribution of the species lost, and the response of the remaining species in the community. According to the mass-ratio hypothesis, the loss of a dominant plant species, which has a larger proportionate contribution to productivity, is expected to exert an overwhelming effect on this important ecosystem function. However, via competitive release, loss of a dominant species can provide the opportunity for other plant species to establish, thrive and become abundant in the community, potentially compensating for the function lost. Furthermore, if resource limitation is removed, then compensatory response of function to the loss of a dominant species should be greater and more rapid than if resources are more limiting. To evaluate how resources may limit compensation of aboveground productivity to the loss of a dominant plant species, we experimentally removed the C4 perennial tallgrass, Andropogon gerardii, from intact plant communities. We added water for four years, as well as nitrogen in the fourth year, to test the effect of resource limitation on the compensatory response. Overall, aboveground biomass production increased in the remaining community with both water and nitrogen addition. However, this increase in biomass production was not sufficient to fully compensate for the loss of A. gerardii, indicating water and nitrogen were not limiting short-term compensation in this community. Following the removal of the dominant species, there was a reordering of species abundances in the community, rather than changes in species richness. The C4 grass Bouteloua curtipendula was the most responsive species, increasing by 57.9% in abundance with water addition and 91.0% with both water and nitrogen addition. Despite this dramatic increase in abundance, its short stature and lower per capita biomass production prevented this species from compensating for the loss of A. gerardii. Our results suggest that short-term compensation after the loss of a dominant plant species can be hastened by increased resource availability, but ultimately full compensation appears to be limited by the presence and abundance of species in the remaining community that possess traits that allow them compensate for the species lost.

Digesta and Plasma Metabolomics of Rainbow Trout Strains with Varied Tolerance of Plant-Based Diets Highlights Potential for Non-Lethal Assessments of Enteritis Development

The replacement of fishmeal in aquafeeds is essential to the sustainability of aquaculture. Besides the procurement of alternative protein sources, fish can also be selected for better performance on plant-based alternative diets. Rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) is one such species in which the strain ARS-Selhas been selected for higher growth and enhanced utilization when fed soy-based diets. The aim of this study was to compare fish growth, and plasma and digesta metabolomes between the ARS-Seland two commercial strains (CS-1 and CS-2), when fed a plant-protein diet (PM) and a fishmeal-based diet (FM) and correlate them with the onset of enteritis. An NMR-metabolomics approach was taken to assess plasma and digesta metabolite profiles. Diet and strain showed significant effects on fish growth, with the ARS-Selfish receiving the PM diet reaching the highest final weight at sampling. Multivariate analysis revealed differences between plasma metabolite profiles of ARS-Seland CS (CS-1 considered together with CS-2) PM-fed groups in the early stages of the enteritis development, which was confirmed by a histological approach. In digesta, no differences were observed between groups. As reported in previous studies the ARS-Selstrain performed better than the commercial strains when fed the PM diet.

Capturing single-copy nuclear genes, organellar genomes, and nuclear ribosomal DNA from deep genome skimming data for plant phylogenetics: A case study in Vitaceae

With the decreasing cost and availability of many newly developed bioinformatics pipelines, next-generation sequencing (NGS) has revolutionized plant systematics in recent years. Genome skimming has been widely used to obtain high-copy fractions of the genomes, including plastomes, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA), and nuclear ribosomal DNA (nrDNA). In this study, through simulations, we evaluated the optimal (minimum) sequencing depth and performance for recovering single-copy nuclear genes (SCNs) from genome skimming data, by subsampling genome resequencing data and generating 10 datasets with different sequencing coverage in silico. We tested the performance of four datasets (plastome, nrDNA, mtDNA, and SCNs) obtained from genome skimming based on phylogenetic analyses of the Vitis clade at the genus level and Vitaceae at the family level, respectively. Our results showed that optimal minimum sequencing depth for high-quality SCNs assembly via genome skimming was about 10× coverage. Without the steps of synthesizing baits and enrichment experiments, coupled with incredibly low sequencing costs, we showcase that deep genome skimming (DGS) is as effective for capturing large datasets of SCNs as the widely used Hyb-Seq approach, in addition to capturing plastomes, mtDNA, and entire nrDNA repeats. DGS may serve as an efficient and economical alternative and may be superior to the popular target enrichment/Hyb-Seq approach.

Interspecific interactions regulate plant reproductive allometry in cereal-legume intercropping systems

1. Calls for the application of ecological principles in agriculture have gained momentum. Intercropping systems are designed by growing two, or more, annual crop species in the same field, aiming for a better resource use efficiency. However, assembly rules for their design are lacking. Notably, it is unknown whether species performances are maximized during both the vegetative and reproductive phases given the sensitivity of reproductive allocation rules to resource limitation. Interestingly, ecological theory provides expectations regarding putative invariance of plant reproductive allometry (PRA) under non-limiting conditions for plant growth. Here we examined whether and how PRA changes in response to plant-plant interactions in intercropping systems, which can inform both ecological theory and the understanding of the functioning of intercropping systems. 2. We analyzed a dataset of 28 field cereal-legume intercropping trials from various climatic and management conditions across Western Europe. PRA was quantified in both mixing and single-species situations. 3. PRA was positively impacted in specific management conditions, leading to a greater increase in yield for a given increase in plant size. Variations in PRA were more beneficial for legumes grown in unfertilized mixtures, which explains their use as a key component in actual intercropping systems. The response for cereals was similar but less pronounced in magnitude, and was greater under resource limiting conditions. Focusing on intercropping conditions, hierarchical competition (indicated by biomass difference between intercropped species) appears as a strong driver of the reproductive output of a given species. 4. Synthesis and applications. PRA behaves in crop species in the same way as it does in wild species. However, contrary to theoretical expectations about an overall invariance of PRA, we highlighted taxon-specific and context-dependent effects of plant-plant interactions on PRA. This systematic deviation to PRA expectations could be leveraged to cultivate each species up to its reproductive optimum while accounting for the performance of the other, whether farmer's objective is to favor one species or to reach an equilibrium in seed production. Sowing density and cultivar choice could regulate the biomass of each component, with specific targets derived from allometric relationships, aiming for an optimal reproductive allocation in mixtures.21-Jul-2021

opencc-zeroDec 2019View details →

Data from: Life history variation in an invasive plant is associated with climate and recent colonization of a specialist herbivore

Premise: Spatial variation in selective pressures can lead to intraspecific variation in life history, favoring some life histories and constraining others depending on the vulnerability of life stages. We examined how spatial variation in herbivory and climate influences flowering size and the occurrence of semelparity (reproducing once) versus iteroparity (reproducing multiple times) in the introduced range of an invasive plant, houndstongue (Cynoglossum officinale). Houndstongue is a short-lived semelparous perennial in its native range. In its introduced range, we previously documented increased rates of iteroparity and a higher median threshold flowering size compared to the native range. We hypothesized that the recent introduction of a specialist biocontrol insect (a root-boring weevil, Mogulones crucifer) would decrease threshold flowering size, and reduce the proportion of iteroparous plants, because M. crucifer preferentially attacks large individuals and may reduce overwinter survival. Methods: We surveyed 24 sites across the northwestern United States to quantify the frequency of semelparity versus iteroparity and to estimate weevil abundance, and used demographic data collected from six sites to estimate median threshold flowering size. Key Results: We found that sites with greater winter precipitation and no weevils had a greater proportion of iteroparous plants. Sites with higher weevil attack had a lower median threshold flowering size. Conclusions: The variation in frequency of flowering and threshold flowering size that we documented in North American houndstongue populations and the relationships between this variation and herbivory and climate provide evidence for how selective pressures covary with the life histories of invasive plants.

Legacy effects of seed dispersal mechanisms shape the spatial interaction network of plant species in Mediterranean forests

1. Seed dispersal by frugivores plays a key role in structuring and maintaining tree diversity in forests. However, little is known about how the spatial legacy of seed dispersal and early recruitment shapes spatial patterns and the spatial interaction network of plant species in mature forest communities. 2. We analysed two fully mapped mixed Pine-Oak forest communities using spatial point pattern analysis to determine (i) the detailed structure of the intraspecific spatial patterns of saplings and adults, (ii) the intra- and interspecific spatial interaction of saplings, adults, and saplings relative to adults, (iii) the spatial patterns of species richness at the community level, and (iv) whether seed dispersal mechanisms affect the plant-plant interaction networks and the ratio of adult to sapling neighbourhood densities used as surrogate for spatial self-thinning. 3. The intraspecific spatial patterns of saplings and adults showed in general complex nested cluster structures that were similar for sapling and adult stages, despite of substantial self-thinning in some dry-fruited species. The spatial network of saplings was characterized by positive spatial interactions. Adults of several tree species facilitated saplings in their proximity; however, adults of dry-fruited species, but not those of fleshy-fruited ones, lost almost all positive interactions that occurred at the sapling stage. Besides, interaction strength between adults was positive and often significantly stronger if both species were fleshy-fruited. At the community level, the forests were structured into multispecies clumps across all life stages. 4. Synthesis. Our analyses highlight the importance of the spatial legacy of seed dispersal and early recruitment in the assembly of plant communities. Particularly, animal seed dispersal can lead to multispecies clusters and positive spatial associations across life stages in Mediterranean forests, with surprisingly little signatures of negative interactions. Our analysis suggests that changes of the spatial structure across plant life stages are driven by seed dispersal mechanisms and subsequent spatial self-thinning, generating a spatial footprint at the sapling stage that conditions the long-term interactions between adult plants. Combining spatial point pattern analysis with network analysis and species traits is a promising way to disentangle the processes underlying observed patterns of local diversity.