| Title: | Plant defences limit herbivore population growth by changing predator-prey interactions |
| Author(s): | Kersch-Becker MF; Kessler A; Thaler JS; |
| Address: | "Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA monikersch@gmail.com. Department of Animal Biology, University of Campinas, Campinas, Sao Paulo 13083-970, Brazil. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA. Department of Entomology, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA" |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 1471-2954 (Electronic) 0962-8452 (Print) 0962-8452 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "Plant quality and predators are important factors affecting herbivore population growth, but how they interact to regulate herbivore populations is not well understood. We manipulated jasmonate-induced plant resistance, exposure to the natural predator community and herbivore density to test how these factors jointly and independently affect herbivore population growth. On low-resistance plants, the predator community was diverse and abundant, promoting high predator consumption rates. On high-resistance plants, the predator community was less diverse and abundant, resulting in low predator consumption rate. Plant resistance only directly regulated aphid population growth on predator-excluded plants. When predators were present, plant resistance indirectly regulated herbivore population growth by changing the impact of predators on the herbivorous prey. A possible mechanism for the interaction between plant resistance and predation is that methyl salicylate, a herbivore-induced plant volatile attractive to predators, was more strongly induced in low-resistance plants. Increased plant resistance reduced predator attractant lures, preventing predators from locating their prey. Low-resistance plants may regulate herbivore populations via predators by providing reliable information on prey availability and increasing the effectiveness of predators" |
| Keywords: | Animals *Aphids Cyclopentanes/chemistry *Herbivory Oxylipins/chemistry *Plant Physiological Phenomena Plants/chemistry Population Growth *Predatory Behavior Salicylates/chemistry aphids herbivory jasmonic acid methyl salicylate plant resistance volatile o; |
| Notes: | "MedlineKersch-Becker, Monica F Kessler, Andre Thaler, Jennifer S eng England 2017/09/08 Proc Biol Sci. 2017 Sep 13; 284(1862):20171120. doi: 10.1098/rspb.2017.1120" |
