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1,187 results for “herbivores”
Data from: Spatiotemporal variation in local adaptation of a specialist insect herbivore to its long-lived host plant
Local adaptation of interacting species to one another indicates geographically variable reciprocal selection. This process of adaptation is central in the organization and maintenance of genetic variation across populations. Given that the strength of selection and responses to it often vary in time and space, the strength of local adaptation should in theory vary between generations and among populations. However, such spatiotemporal variation has rarely been explicitly demonstrated in nature and local adaptation is commonly considered to be relatively static. We report persistent local adaptation of the short-lived herbivore Abrostola asclepiadis to its long-lived host plant Vincetoxicum hirundinaria over three successive generations in two studied populations and considerable temporal variation in local adaptation in six populations supporting the geographic mosaic theory. The observed variation in local adaptation among populations was best explained by geographic distance and population isolation, suggesting that gene flow reduces local adaptation. Changes in herbivore population size did not conclusively explain temporal variation in local adaptation. Our results also imply that short-term studies are likely to capture only a part of the existing variation in local adaptation.
Data from: Molecular characterisation of trophic ecology within an island radiation of insect herbivores (Curculionidae: Entiminae: Cratopus).
The phytophagous beetle family Curculionidae is the most species-rich insect family known, with much of this diversity having been attributed to both co-evolution with food plants and host-shifts at key points within the early evolutionary history of the group. Less well understood is the extent to which patterns of host use vary within or among related species, largely because of the technical difficulties associated with quantifying this. Here we develop a recently characterised molecular approach to quantify diet within and between two closely related species of weevil occurring primarily within dry forests on the island of Mauritius. Our aim is to quantify dietary variation across populations and assess adaptive and non-adaptive explanations for this, and to characterise the nature of a trophic shift within an ecologically distinct population within one of the species. We find that our study species are polyphagous, consuming a much wider range of plants than would be suggested by the literature. Our data suggest that local diet variation is largely explained by food availability, and locally specialist populations consume food plants that are not phylogenetically novel, but do appear to represent a novel preference. Our results demonstrate the power of molecular methods to unambiguously quantify dietary variation across populations of insect herbivores, providing a valuable approach to understanding trophic interactions within and among local plant and insect herbivore communities.
Data from: Insects on plants: explaining the paradox of low diversity within specialist herbivore guilds
Classical niche theory explains the coexistence of species through their exploitation of different resources. Assemblages of herbivores coexisting on a particular plant species are thus expected to be dominated by species from host-specific guilds with narrow, coexistence-facilitating niches, rather than by species from generalist guilds. Exactly the opposite pattern is observed for folivores feeding on trees in New Guinea. The least specialized mobile chewers were most species-rich, followed by the moderately specialized semi-concealed and exposed chewers. The highly specialized miners and mesophyll suckers were the least species-rich guilds. The Poisson distribution of herbivore species richness among plant species in specialized guilds and the absence of a negative correlation between species richness in different guilds on the same plant species suggest that these guilds are not saturated with species. We show that herbivore assemblages are enriched with generalists because they are more completely sampled from regional species pools. The herbivore diversity increases as a power function of plant diversity, and the rate of increase is inversely related to their host-specificity. The relative species diversity among guilds is thus scale-dependent, as the importance of specialized guilds increases with plant diversity. Specialized insect guilds may therefore comprise a larger component of overall diversity in the tropics (where they are also poorly known taxonomically) than in the temperate zone, which has lower plant diversity.
Data from: Competition drives the response of soil microbial diversity to increased grazing by vertebrate herbivores
Scientists have largely neglected the effects of grazing on soil microbial communities despite their importance as drivers of ecosystem functions and services. We hypothesised that changes in soil properties resulting from grazing regulate the diversity of soil microbes by releasing/suppressing subordinate microbial taxa via competition. To test this, we examined intensity of vertebrate herbivores influences the diversity and composition of soil bacteria and fungi at 216 soil samples from 54 sites and four microsites. Increasing grazing intensity reduced soil carbon, suppressing the dominant bacterial phylum Actinobacteria (indirectly promoting bacterial diversity) and increasing the dominant fungal phylum Ascomycetes (indirectly reducing fungal diversity). Our data provide novel evidence that grazing modulates the diversity and composition of soil microbes via increases or reductions in competition by dominant taxa. Our results suggest that grazing can potentially alter soil function by altering microbial community composition, providing a clear link between grazing management, carbon availability and ecosystem functions.
Data from: Herbivore-mediated interaction promotes the maintenance of trichome dimorphism through negative frequency-dependent selection
Natural plant populations exhibit genetic variation in defense traits against herbivores. Despite a growing body of evidence for herbivore-mediated selection on plant defenses, we still know little about how genetic variation persists in antiherbivore defense traits. Here we present field and experimental evidence for herbivore-mediated frequency-dependent selection that promotes the maintenance of trichome-producing (hairy) and trichomeless (glabrous) plants of Arabidopsis halleri subsp. gemmifera. First, in a natural population where the specialist leaf beetle Phaedon brassicae was prevalent, hairy plants were damaged less when the frequency of neighboring glabrous plants increased. Furthermore, temporal variation in the frequency of the two plant morphs showed that rarer morphs increased in frequency at the scale of 1-m-diameter patches between survey years. Using a mesocosm experiment, we demonstrated a rare-morph advantage for defense (leaf damage and herbivore abundance) and reproduction (flower and clone production) between hairy and glabrous plants in the presence of P. brassicae. However, this rare-morph advantage was not detected when beetles were absent, with glabrous plants having higher reproduction than hairy plants under these conditions regardless of frequency conditions. These findings highlight the overlooked but potentially critical role of herbivore-mediated apparent interaction in maintaining plant defense polymorphism.
Data from: Testing for reproductive interference in the population dynamics of two congeneric species of herbivorous mites
When phylogenetically close, two competing species may reproductively interfere, and thereby affect their population dynamics. We tested for reproductive interference (RI) between two congeneric haplo-diploid spider mites, Tetranychus evansi and Tetranychus urticae, by investigating their interspecific mating and their population dynamics when they competed on the same plants. They are both pests of tomato, but differ in the host plant defences that they suppress or induce. To reduce the effect of plant-mediated interaction, we used a mutant tomato plant lacking jasmonate-mediated anti-herbivore defences in the competition experiment. In addition, to manipulate the effect of RI, we introduced founder females already mated with conspecific males in mild RI treatments or founder, virgin females in strong RI treatments (in either case together with heterospecific and conspecific males). As females show first-male sperm precedence, RI should occur especially in the founder generation under strong RI treatments. We found that T. urticae outcompeted T. evansi in mild, but not in strong RI treatments. Thus, T. evansi interfered reproductively with T. urticae. This result was supported by crossing experiments showing frequent interspecific copulations, strong postmating reproductive isolation and a preference of T. evansi males to mate with T. urticae (instead of conspecific) females, whereas T. urticae males preferred conspecific females. We conclude that interspecific mating comes at a cost due to asymmetric mate preferences of males. Because RI by T. evansi can improve its competitiveness to T. urticae, we propose that RI partly explains why T. evansi became invasive in Europe where T. urticae is endemic.
Data from: Impacts of grazing by different large herbivores in grassland depend on plant species diversity
1. It is well documented that large herbivores have pronounced effects on plant communities in grassland ecosystems, and the extent and course of their effects can largely depend on both plant and herbivore characteristics. Previous studies highlighted the importance of plant productivity in predicting the impact of herbivores on grasslands. Yet, there has been little consideration of how different herbivores affect plant communities that, in turn, differ in plant diversity. 2. In a 2-year grazing experiment, we tested the effects of large herbivores (cattle or sheep, or both together) on plant communities under high and low plant diversity levels in eastern Eurasian steppe. 3. We found that, for high plant diversity grassland, mixed grazing by cattle and sheep significantly increases plant diversity, but we found no effect of grazing by cattle or sheep alone. Grazing by cattle or sheep alone or mixed grazing by cattle and sheep did not significantly affect plant biomass in the high diversity grassland. However, for low plant diversity grassland, grazing by cattle alone and mixed grazing by cattle and sheep significantly increased plant diversity, but significantly decreased plant biomass. There was no significant impact on both plant diversity and biomass from sheep grazing. 4. Synthesis and applications. We conclude that the effects of grazing in grassland strongly depend on herbivore assemblages and pre-grazing plant diversity. Herbivore grazing might contribute more to the maintenance of grassland structure and ecosystem functioning under high plant diversity compared with low plant diversity. Furthermore, our data suggest that multiple-species mixed grazing regimes in grassland systems with high plant diversity could represent the optimal protocol for grazing management. This study emphasizes the importance of maintaining both plant and herbivore diversity to optimize ecosystem functioning.
Data from: Plant and insect microbial symbionts alter the outcome of plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions: implications for invaded, agricultural and natural systems
1. Understanding how soil microbial communities influence plant interactions with other organisms, and how this varies with characteristics of the interacting organisms, is important for multiple systems. Solanum spp. are a suitable model for trophic interactions in studies of agricultural and natural systems and can also provide useful corollaries in invaded systems. This study examined the influence of soil mutualist arbuscular mycorrhizal (AM) fungi on growth of different Solanum types fed on by the potato aphid, Macrosiphum euphorbiae, in relation to presence of the aphid facultative endosymbiont Hamiltonella defensa. 2. Four Solanum types comprising two wild species, S. berthaultii and S. polyadenum, and two accessions of S. tuberosum, were grown with or without AM fungi and infested with one of four clonal lines of a single M. euphorbiae genotype (two with and two without H. defensa). Two experiments were conducted to i) characterise plant responses to AM fungi and aphids and ii) assess whether soil AM fungi could influence the success of the parasitoid wasp Aphidus ervi when attacking aphids reared on each Solanum type. 3. In both experiments, similar patterns of plant biomass were observed in relation to AM fungal and aphid treatments. Solanum biomass depended on plant type and aphid infection with H. defensa. Plants exposed to aphids harbouring H. defensa had smaller root biomass, and therefore total plant biomass, compared to plants infested with H. defensa-free aphids. M. euphorbiae performance varied with aphid clonal line, Solanum type and presence of AM fungi. 4. Parasitoid success, measured as the proportion of aphids from which a wasp emerged, was highest from aphids that had fed on plants colonised by AM fungi, although this result also varied with Solanum type and aphid clonal line. 5. Synthesis: The presence of soil AM fungi, combined with within-species plant and insect variation in key traits, can have subtle - but significant - effects on plant fitness and insect success. This study highlights the importance of exploring genotypic variation in plant and pest responses to soil microbiota to identify suitable biocontrol options.
Figure 1 in Basking behaviour in two sympatric herbivorous lizards (Liolaemidae: Phymaturus) from the Payunia volcanic region of Argentina
Figure 1. Mosaic plot showing frequency of records of Phymaturus payuniae (Pp) and Phymaturus roigorum (Pr) for each category of basking periods (short, middle, long and very long), at different rock temperature thresholds. In the graph, the area of tiles is proportional to the cell frequency, and values of Pearson's standardized residuals are printed in the plot to assess differences among categories (see text for a more detailed procedure). Dark grey indicates categories that show significantly higher or lower than expected frequencies according to the adjusted rejection level.
Figure 2 in Basking behaviour in two sympatric herbivorous lizards (Liolaemidae: Phymaturus) from the Payunia volcanic region of Argentina
Figure 2. Frequency of postures exhibited by Phymaturus payuniae (A) and Phymaturus roigorum (B) during different light exposures. Black bars represent head-up postures and grey bars represent prostrate postures.
Endemic island plant-herbivore interactions: Kamehameha butterfly (Nymphalidae) and Hawaiian Urticaceae
<p>Insect-plant interactions are less well studied than other types of herbivory on islands, precluding a comprehensive understanding of the evolutionary ecology of these interactions. Declines in native island plants and insects call for urgent attention to characterize these species' interactions for their conservation and to better understand evolution in these unique, insular ecosystems. In Hawai'i, the Kamehameha butterfly (<em>Vanessa tameamea</em>) is one of only two native butterflies, and larvae are specialists on native urticaceous plants. Using a no-choice bioassay, we investigated performance of <em>V. tameamea</em> reared from egg hatching through eclosion on four native urticaceous host plants, <em>Boehmeria grandis</em>, <em>Pipturus albidus</em>, <em>Touchardia latifolia</em>, and <em>Touchardia oahuensis</em>, and one exotic urticaceous species, <em>Cecropia obtusifolia</em>. Performance varied significantly among the plant diets, with <em>V. tameamea</em> performing best on <em>P. albidus</em> and <em>T. oahuensis</em> among the performance metrics of survival, pupal and adult body mass, and development time. Larval responses to the exotic host plant <em>C. obtusifolia </em>varied among populations, with O'ahu caterpillars successfully completing development on it, but Hawai'i Island caterpillars rejecting it completely, suggesting a geographic mosaic for this novel species interaction. Characterization of a suite of nutritive and defensive plant traits revealed significant variability among plant species, but patterns did not align well with <em>V. tameamea </em>performance rankings, making it difficult to identify key drivers of host plant quality. Future work examining additional plant traits under natural conditions would provide new insights, contributing critical ecological information to conserve this charismatic island species.</p>
Plant-herbivorous-insect-incidence-matrix Mediterranean Mixed Forest
<p>Datasets for the presence/absence of sucking and chewing insects associated to dominant woody species from the Medirranean mixed forest.</p>
Data from: Elevated evolutionary rates of biting biomechanics reveal patterns of extraordinary cranio-dental adaptations in some herbivorous dinosaurs
<p>Adaptation to specialist ecologies is a key innovation that has contributed to the evolutionary success of many vertebrate clades, underpinning the acquisition of diverse skull morphologies. Dinosaurs, which dominated Mesozoic terrestrial faunas, acquired herbivory multiple times, including in clades historically regarded as predominantly carnivorous. The evolution of herbivory in theropod dinosaurs is linked to drastic changes in dental and craniomandibular functional morphology, yet whether such changes occurred more rapidly in herbivorous lineages compared to in carnivorous lineages remains untested in a phylogenetic framework. Here, we infer rates of phenotypic evolution in relative biting edge lengths to test the hypothesis that the acquisition of herbivory is associated with rapid changes in jaw biomechanics. We find elevated rates of biomechanical evolution in theropods with foreshortened and beaked skulls (Oviraptorosauria, <em>Limusaurus</em>), as well as in ceratopsians and <em>Diplodocus</em>. A reduced biting edge length and increased jaw efficiency unites these high-rate lineages, indicating selection for greater efficiency in biting biomechanics. Additionally, we hypothesise that extreme ontogenetic changes within species' lifetimes may be behind some instances of branch-wise elevated rates. Thus, we show how exceptional rates of biomechanical evolution can reveal signatures of adaptations within dinosaur lineages and potentially along ontogenetic sequences.</p>
Fig. 2 in Characterized constituents of insect herbivore oral secretions and their influence on the regulation of plant defenses
Fig. 2. Representative plant defensive metabolites (potential markers) induced upon insect feeding and application of insect OS on wounded plants. Specific group of metabolites are induced in plants belonging to particular families. (a) Solanaceae; terpenoids, phenolics, alkaloids (b) Bracecaceae; glucosinolates, cyanogenic glycosides, saponins and (c) Poaceae; benzoxazinoids.
Fig. 1 in Characterized constituents of insect herbivore oral secretions and their influence on the regulation of plant defenses
Fig. 1. Schematic presentation of identified bioactive molecules from the oral secretion/mouthpart of insects. Active molecules were characterized as inducer or suppressor of plant defense. Fatty acid amino acid conjugates (FACs) elicit volatile emission and isoflavonid synthesis. Proteinaceous elicitors induces Jasmonic acid (JA) and Salicylic acid (SA) biosynthesis and signaling leading to induce plant defense by protease inhibitors synthesis and release of volatiles. The Glucose Oxidase (GOX) induces reactive oxygen species (ROS) through hydrogen peroxide H2O2. Proteinaceous effectors either suppress the hydrogen peroxide H2O2, JA/SA biosynthesis and signaling or the interaction of transcription factors (WRKY) with kinases.
Data from: Novel associations among insect herbivores and trees: drivers of occurrence and damage on pines and eucalypts
<p><span>List of novel associations beteween insects and pine and eucalypt trees recorded in these study (each row represents a single novel association). We detail characteristics of the insect species involved in each novel association, indicating their order, family, subfamily species, native biogeographic region (Afr: Afrotropic, AP: Austro-Pacific, IM: Indo-Malaya, Nea: Nearctic, Neo: Neotropic, Pal: Palearctic), non-native biogeographic region where it has established, feeding guild (W&PF: wood and phloem feeder, FF: foliage feeder, F&SF: fruit and seed feeders , SF: sap feeder, ShF: shoot feeder), specificity in host use (VP: very polyphagous, P: polyphagous, O: oligophagous, M: monophagous), impact (N: negligible, L-M: low-medium, H: high, LD: lack of data), and the tree condition (L: living, DD: dying or dead, D: exclusively dead). Information not available is indicated as N/A). We also detail the biogeographic region where the novel association was reported, the novel association type (NIET: native insect on exotic trees, EINT: exotic insect on native trees, EIET: exotic insect on exotic trees), the pine and eucalypt novel host involved in the association, and the phylogenetic relatedness between ancient and novel hostts both for pines and eucalypts (SG: same genus, SF: different genera of the same family, DF: different family). Colors were assigned for the<span> </span>insect species involved in: two new association (orange), three new association (yellow), four new association (pink), five new association (green).</span></p>
Light pollution affects invasive and native plant traits important to plant competition and herbivorous insects
<p>Dataset that goes with our accepted publication in Biological Invasions entitled "Light pollution affects invasive and native plant traits important to plant competition and herbivorous insects"</p>
On this side of the fence: Functional responses to linear landscape features shape the home range of large herbivores
<p>1. Understanding the consequences of global change for animal movement is a major issue for conservation and management. In particular, habitat fragmentation generates increased densities of linear landscape features that can impede movements.</p> <p>2. While the influence of these features on animal movements has been intensively investigated, they may also play a key role at broader spatial scales (e.g. the home range scale) as resources, cover from predators/humans, corridors/barriers, or landmarks. How space use respond to varying densities of linear features has been mostly overlooked in large herbivores, in contrast to studies done on predators. Focusing on large herbivores should provide additional insights to understand how animals solve the trade-off between energy acquisition and mortality risk.</p> <p>3. Here, we investigated the role of anthropogenic (roads and tracks) and natural (ridges, valley bottoms and forest edges) linear features on home range features in five large herbivores. We analysed an extensive GPS monitoring data base of 696 individuals across nine populations, ranging from mountain areas mostly divided by natural features to lowlands that were highly fragmented by anthropogenic features.</p> <p>4. Nearly all of the linear features studied were found at the home range periphery, suggesting that large herbivores primarily use them as landmarks to delimit their home range. In contrast, for mountain species, ridges often occurred in the core range, probably related to their functional role in terms of resources and refuge. When the density of linear features was high, they no longer occurred predominantly at the home range periphery, but instead were found across much of the home range. We suggest that, in highly fragmented landscapes, large herbivores are constrained by the costs of memorising the spatial location of key features, and by the requirement for a minimum area to satisfy their vital needs.</p> <p>5. These patterns were mostly consistent in both males and females and across species, suggesting that linear features have a preponderant influence on how large herbivores perceive and use the landscape.</p>
Supplementary material 1 from: Mally R, Ward SF, Trombik J, Buszko J, Medzihorský V, Liebhold AM (2021) Non-native plant drives the spatial dynamics of its herbivores: the case of black locust (Robinia pseudoacacia) in Europe. NeoBiota 69: 155-175. https://doi.org/10.3897/neobiota.69.71949
Table S1. First record locations of Parectopa robiniella, Macrosaccus robiniella and Obolodiplosis robiniae from Europe.
Beneficial worm allies warn plants of parasite attack belowground and reduce aboveground herbivore preference and performance
<p>We investigated responses of tomato (<i>Solanum lycopersicum</i>) to two functional guilds of nematodes - plant parasite (<i>Meloidogyne javanica</i>) and entomopathogens (<i>Heterorhabditis bacteriophora</i>, <i>Steinernema feltiae</i> belowground, and <i>S. carpocapsae</i>) - as well as a leaf mining insect (<i>Tuta absoluta</i>) aboveground. Our results indicate that entomopathogenic nematodes (EPNs): 1) induced plant defense responses, 2) reduced root knot nematode (RKN) infestation belowground and 3) reduced herbivore (<i>T. absoluta</i>) host preference and performance aboveground. Concurrently, we investigated the plant signaling mechanisms underlying these interactions using biochemical and transcriptome analyses. We found that both entomopathogen and parasite triggered immune responses in plant roots with shared gene expression. Tomato plants responded similarly to presence of RKN or EPN in the rootzone, by rapidly activating polyphenol oxidase (PPO) and guaiacol peroxidase (GP) activity in roots, but simultaneously suppressed this activity in aboveground tissues. We quantified changes in gene expression in tomato that may play essential roles in defense response to RKN, which were also coincidentally triggered by EPN. <span>For example, <i>PR-14</i> expression was greater in plants inoculated with EPN than in plants co-inoculated with </span>both nematode functional guilds<span>. Overall, EPN inoculation directly mediated enhanced plant defense and </span>reduced subsequent RKN infection. Likewise, we show that EPNs modulate plant defense against RKN invasion, in part, by suppressing active expression of antioxidant enzymes. Inoculation of tomato roots with EPNs belowground reduced both host preference and performance of the aboveground herbivore, <i>T. absoluta</i>. Inoculations of roots with EPN also triggered an immune response in tomato via up-regulated phenylpropanoid metabolism and synthesis of protease inhibitors (PIs) in plant tissues, which could explain an observed decrease in egg laying and developmental performance exhibited by herbivores on EPN-inoculated plants. Our results support the hypothesis that subterranean EPNs activate a battery of plant defenses associated with systemic acquired resistance (SAR) and/or induced systemic resistance (ISR) with concomitant antagonistic effects on temporally co-occurring subterranean plant pathogenic nematodes and terrestrial herbivores.</p>
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