Patterns of Attack by Insect Herbivores and a Fungus on Saplings in a Tropical Tree Plantation

Folgarait, Patricia J.; Marquis, Robert J.; Ingvarsson, Pär K.; Braker, Elizabeth; Arguedas, Marcela

doi:10.1093/ee/24.6.1487

Cited by 26 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 0 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Additionally, all four clones accrued more galls when placed in natural shade regardless of site, compared to those placed in full sunlight. While our results are consistent with increased herbivory in shaded habitats by phytophagous insects (Collinge and Louda 1988;Folgarait et al 1995), they are contrary to the ®ndings of MacGarvin et al (1986). We believe that the Asphondylia ± Borrichia system, which occurs in the semi-tropical climate of Florida, may be more sensitive to microhabitat dierences than systems found in more temperate regions.…”

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

“…For example, Collinge and Louda (1988) found increased herbivory of bittercress, Cardamine cordifolia, by a leafmining saw¯y, Scaptomyza nigrita, when plants were arti®cially shaded. More recently, Folgarait et al (1995) reported that saplings of Stryphnodendron microstachyum supported more herbivores and pathogens when shaded than they did when placed in open, sunny habitats. However, shading is not always correlated with increased levels of N-containing compounds such as proteins, or with increased herbivory (Osisanya 1970;MacGarvin et al 1986;Bultman and Faeth 1988).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

The interactions of plant clone and abiotic factors on a gall-making midge

Rossi

Stiling

1998

Oecologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Within and around Tampa Bay, Florida, monoclonal populations of the sea daisy, Borrichia frutescens, can be found on small, isolated islands growing within the intertidal zone. Stem tips of Borrichia are attacked by the gall-making cecidomyiid, Asphondyliaborrichiae. We used reciprocal transplants of Borrichia clones between islands to assess the importance of plant genotype and local environmental conditions (shade and host-plant nitrogen) on gall abundance. In another experiment, we controlled for host genotype effects by inducing differences in local environmental conditions through the addition of NHNO fertilizer and/or shade to field plots at the only monoclonal site with a large enough population of Borrichia to facilitate the experiment. We also examined the effect of these variables on attack levels of Asphondylia by parasitoids. In the reciprocal transplant, while some Borrichia clones always supported more galls than others, regardless of environmental conditions, all four clones developed more galls when they were placed in the shade, compared to those in the sun, at all four sites. In addition, some islands always supported more galls than others and we found a significant clone × site interaction. In the single-clone experiment, Borrichia in fertilized- and shaded-only plots developed more Asphondylia galls than those from nonmanipulated control plots, and plants that received both shading and fertilizer developed the most galls. Although shade and fertilization produced an additive increase in plant nitrogen content, their effects resulted in a synergistic decrease in C:N ratio. Neither shading nor host plant nitrogen content had a significant effect on levels of parasitism between experimental and control plants. Our results suggest that genetic differences in Borrichia's susceptibility to Asphondylia attack are important in shaping the distribution of galls, but environmental factors such as soil nitrogen and degree of shading are at least as important as genetic differences between host plants.

show abstract

Section: Discussioncontrasting

confidence: 51%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The interactions of plant clone and abiotic factors on a gall-making midge

Rossi

Stiling

1998

Oecologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The fungus Pestalotia sp. appeared on leaves as round, bright-orange spots that acquired a brownish tinge as the spot aged (Folgarait et al 1995). Leaves were classi®ed into three age classes: expanding young, young but completely expanded, and mature.…”

Section: Damage Measurementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The role of ant-tended extrafloral nectaries in the protection and benefit of a Neotropical rainforest tree

1999

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

One possible function of extrafloral nectaries is to attract insects, particularly ants, which defend plants from herbivores. We determined whether ants visiting saplings of the tree Stryphnodendronmicrostachyum (Leguminosae) provide protection (decreased plant damage due to ant molestation or killing of herbivores) and benefit (increased plant growth and reproduction associated with ant presence) to the plant. We compared ant and herbivore abundance, herbivore damage and growth of ant-visited plants and ant-excluded plants grown in sun and shade microhabitats of a 6-ha plantation in Costa Rica over a 7-month period. Results show that ants provided protection to plants not by reducing herbivore numbers but by molesting herbivores. Ants also reduced the incidence of pathogen attack on leaves. Protection was greater in the shade than in the sun, probably due to lower herbivore attack in the sun. Protection was also variable within sun and shade habitats, and this variability appeared to be related to variable ant visitation. Results also indicate that ant presence benefits the plant: ant-visited plants grew significantly more in height than ant-excluded plants. The cultivation of ants may serve as an important natural biological control in tropical forestry and agroforestry systems, where increased plant density can otherwise lead to increased herbivore attack.

show abstract

“…Plants growing in adjacent habitats often experience different levels of herbivore damage (Huffaker and Kennett 1959, Harper 1969, Louda et al 1987, Louda and Rodman 1996. Depending on the plant species, natural enemies may be more abundant or damaging in high light (e.g., Lincoln and Mooney 1984, Harrison 1987, Louda and Rodman 1996 or low light habitats (Maiorana 1981, MacGarvin et al 1986, Denslow et al 1990, Folgarait et al 1995. Herbivores and pathogens may decrease individual growth rates and cause substantial mortality particularly in low light conditions where low carbon fixation rates can be further reduced by loss of leaf area and photosynthate.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural-Enemy Release Facilitates Habitat Expansion of the Invasive Tropical Shrub Clidemia Hirta

DeWalt

Denslow

Ickes

2004

Ecology

296

280

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Nonnative, invasive plant species often increase in growth, abundance, or habitat distribution in their introduced ranges. The enemy-release hypothesis, proposed to account for these changes, posits that herbivores and pathogens (natural enemies) limit growth or survival of plants in native areas, that natural enemies have less impact in the introduced than in the native range, and that the release from natural-enemy regulation in areas of introduction accounts in part for observed changes in plant abundance. We tested experimentally the enemy-release hypothesis with the invasive neotropical shrub Clidemia hirta (L.) D. Don (Melastomataceae). Clidemia hirta does not occur in forest in its native range but is a vigorous invader of tropical forest in its introduced range. Therefore, we tested the specific prediction that release from natural enemies has contributed to its expanded habitat distribution. We planted C. hirta into understory and open habitats where it is native (Costa Rica) and where it has been introduced (Hawaii) and applied pesticides to examine the effects of fungal pathogen and insect herbivore exclusion. In understory sites in Costa Rica, C. hirta survival increased by 12% if sprayed with insecticide, 19% with fungicide, and 41% with both insecticide and fungicide compared to control plants sprayed only with water. Exclusion of natural enemies had no effect on survival in open sites in Costa Rica or in either habitat in Hawaii. Fungicide application promoted relative growth rates of plants that survived to the end of the experiment in both habitats of Costa Rica but not in Hawaii, suggesting that fungal pathogens only limit growth of C. hirta where it is native. Galls, stem borers, weevils, and leaf rollers were prevalent in Costa Rica but absent in Hawaii. In addition, the standing percentage of leaf area missing on plants in the control (water only) treatment was five times greater on plants in Costa Rica than in Hawaii and did not differ between habitats. The results from this study suggest that significant effects of herbivores and fungal pathogens may be limited to particular habitats. For Clidemia hirta, its absence from forest understory in its native range likely results in part from the strong pressures of natural enemies. Its invasion into Hawaiian forests is apparently aided by a release from these herbivores and pathogens.

show abstract

Patterns of Attack by Insect Herbivores and a Fungus on Saplings in a Tropical Tree Plantation

Cited by 26 publications

References 0 publications

The interactions of plant clone and abiotic factors on a gall-making midge

The interactions of plant clone and abiotic factors on a gall-making midge

The role of ant-tended extrafloral nectaries in the protection and benefit of a Neotropical rainforest tree

Natural-Enemy Release Facilitates Habitat Expansion of the Invasive Tropical Shrub Clidemia Hirta

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About