Are dominant plant species more susceptible to leaf‐mining insects? A case study at Saihanwula Nature Reserve, China

Abstract

Dominant species significantly affect interspecific relationships, community structure, and ecosystem function. In the field, dominant species are often identified by their high importance values. Selective foraging on dominant species is a common phenomenon in ecology. Our hypothesis is that dominant plant groups with high importance values are more susceptible to leaf‐mining insects at the regional level. Here, we used the Saihanwula National Nature Reserve as a case study to examine the presence–absence patterns of leaf‐mining insects on different plants in a forest‐grassland ecotone in Northeast China. We identified the following patterns: (1) After phylogenetic correction, plants with high importance values are more likely to host leafminers at the species, genus, or family level. (2) Other factors including phylogenetic isolation, life form, water ecotype, and phytogeographical type of plants have different influences on the relationship between plant dominance and leafminer presence. In summary, the importance value is a valid predictor of the presence of consumers, even when we consider the effects of plant phylogeny and other plant attributes. Dominant plant groups are large and susceptible targets of leaf‐mining insects. The consistent leaf‐mining distribution pattern across different countries, vegetation types, and plant taxa can be explained by the “species‐area relationship” or the “plant apparency hypothesis.”

The Cassidinae beetles of Longnan County (Jiangxi, China): overview and community composition

“…The higher the number of individual plants, the more is the opportunity for the tribes to occur (i.e. plant apparency hypothesis) (Dai et al 2017, Dai et al 2018). Dominant and apparent plants are likely to host leaf-miners as a whole (Dai et al 2018) or leaf-mining chrysomelids as a special case (Dai et al 2017).…”

“…Host plants were confirmed by either larval or adult feeding damage. In the laboratory, the plants and damaged leaves were individually scanned using an Epson 10000XL scanner, as in Dai et al (2018). Plant species were identified by Prof. Renlin Liu (Gannan Normal University) and Mr. Chao Fu (Gannan Normal University).…”

Green roofs in the tropics: design considerations and vegetation dynamics

“…Also, an Importance Value (IV) was calculated for each species, by summing relative density (%) and relative frequency (%) to obtain a 0–200 value. IV is a commonly used index because it comprises both presence and abundance ( Curtis and McIntosh, 1951 ; Dai et al., 2018 ). Relationship between variables was evaluated and graphed through R Statistical Software ( R Core Team, 2016 ).…”

A preliminary world checklist of fern-mining insects

“…Leaf/stem miners are endophagous insects whose larvae feed on parenchyma or epidermal cells and form visually distinctive feeding tunnels, i.e. ‘mines’ on the leaves or stems ( Dai et al 2018 , Eiseman 2020b , Liu et al 2015 , Sinclair and Hughes 2010 ). The mines can provide useful hints on insect species identities, insect life histories, insect behaviour and insect-plant interactions ( Dai et al 2018 ).…”

“…Fewer miner groups (e.g. gracillariid moths, agromyzid flies and leaf-mining chrysomelids) can utilise over 100 plant families ( Dai et al 2017 , De Prins and De Prins 2020 , Santiago-Blay 2004 , Spencer 1990 ), which are mainly angiosperm families, such as Fagaceae and Myrtaceae ( Dai et al 2018 ).…”