Spatio-temporal variation in seed traits affects the occurrence and body-size pattern of a seed-feeding beetle (Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) in Brazilian Cerrado

Sousa-Lopes, Bruno de; Santos, Aluska Tavares dos; Ribeiro-Costa, Cibele S.; Del‐Claro, Kleber

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2020.103579

Cited by 7 publications

(16 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This has directly reflected in a better understanding of the influence of abiotic and biotic factors on the morphological aspects of these individuals [ 16 , 19 , 23 , 25 – 28 ]. Nevertheless, most studies have analyzed isolated factors influencing the body size of organisms [ 23 , 27 – 33 ] and few considered multiple interactions affecting body size at the same time [ 34 , 35 ]. Recently, we observed that interactions in a multi-trophic network can drive to changes in the body size of seed-feeding insects differently, in which abundant species have their body size more affected than less abundant ones [ 35 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Moreover, because they spend much of their lives inside the seed, and their mobility is limited by their life history, these insects can experience high levels of competition and parasitism. Furthermore, their morphological characteristics are closely related to the features of their resource [ 27 , 28 , 33 , 41 , 42 ]. These biological aspects make this system an advantageous study model for understanding how interactions can affect insect morphometric patterns in a natural system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Can multitrophic interactions shape morphometry, allometry, and fluctuating asymmetry of seed-feeding insects?

2020

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Body size is commonly associated with biological features such as reproductive capacity, competition, and resource acquisition. Many studies have tried to understand how these isolated factors can affect the body pattern of individuals. However, little is known about how interactions among species in multitrophic communities determine the body shape of individuals exploiting the same resource. Here, we evaluate the effect of fruit infestation, parasitism rate, and seed biomass on size, allometric and asymmetric patterns of morphological structures of insects that exploit the same resource. To test it, we measured 750 individuals associated with the plant Senegalia tenuifolia (Fabaceae), previously collected over three consecutive years. Negative allometry was maintained for all species, suggesting that with increasing body size the body structure did not grow proportionally. Despite this, some variations in allometric slopes suggest that interactions in a multitrophic food web can shape the development of these species. Also, we observed a higher confidence interval at higher categories of infestation and parasitism rate, suggesting a great variability in the allometric scaling. We did not observe fluctuating asymmetry for any category or species, but we found some changes in morphological structures, depending on the variables tested. These findings show that both allometry and morphological trait measurements are the most indicated in studies focused on interactions and morphometry. Finally, we show that, except for the fluctuating asymmetry, each species and morphological structure respond differently to interactions, even if the individuals play the same functional role within the food web.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can multitrophic interactions shape morphometry, allometry, and fluctuating asymmetry of seed-feeding insects?

2020

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“…the action of natural enemies) and bottom-up (e.g. the effects of resource quality and quantity) forces can significantly affect the abundance of seed-feeding beetles (Menezes et al 2010;Tuller et al 2015;Nieminen & van Nouhuys 2017;Wood et al 2017;Sousa-Lopes et al 2020). Although top-down and bottom-up processes are of paramount importance, we still do not know how intraspecific competition can affect the persistence of bruchinae populations.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Intraspecific competition and persistence inAcanthoscelides macrophthalmus(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): an experimental analysis in a stage‐structured population

2021

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Intraspecific competition is an ecological process that can affect the structure of populations with important consequences for population persistence. In this study, we investigated (in the larval stage) the effect of intraspecific competition in the seed-feeding beetle Acanthoscelides macrophthalmus on its population structure and persistence. By using Leslie matrices, which are useful to project future population sizes of structured populations, we conducted demographic analysis when competition was (more than one larva per seed) and was not (one larva per seed) present. The hypothesis that competition reduces the finite rate of population growth, the survival of the immatures and the fecundity of females, influencing population persistence, was tested. To understand whether intraspecific competition is a common process in this system, the oviposition pattern was also studied. We found that in the presence of competition, the larvae from the third instar were smaller than those in the absence of competition and, in the presence of competition, fewer larvae reached the adult stage. Larval survival was lower in the presence of competition, particularly from the third larval stage until the pupal stage, and the fecundity of females was also reduced in the presence of competition, which affected the population structure. Although we showed that populations may either grow geometrically or go extinct in absence and presence of competition, respectively, the finite rates of population increase did not differ from 1.0 when compared to the estimated confidence intervals. Therefore, although larval competition may affect the structure of this seed-feeding beetle, there is no clear evidence that this ecological process can negatively affect its persistence. Furthermore, most seeds with eggs had just one egg per seed, which suggests that competition should occur with low frequency under natural conditions.

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“…Moreover, because they spend much of their lives inside the seed, and their mobility is limited by their life history, these insects can experience high levels of competition and parasitism. Furthermore, their morphological characteristics are closely related to the features of their resource [27,28,33,41,42]. These biological aspects make this system an advantageous study model for understanding how interactions can affect insect morphometric patterns in a natural system.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Spatio-temporal variation in seed traits affects the occurrence and body-size pattern of a seed-feeding beetle (Chrysomelidae: Bruchinae) in Brazilian Cerrado

Cited by 7 publications

References 39 publications

Can multitrophic interactions shape morphometry, allometry, and fluctuating asymmetry of seed-feeding insects?

Can multitrophic interactions shape morphometry, allometry, and fluctuating asymmetry of seed-feeding insects?

Intraspecific competition and persistence inAcanthoscelides macrophthalmus(Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae): an experimental analysis in a stage‐structured population

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