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Sci Rep

Title:		Warming impact on herbivore population composition affects top-down control by predators
Author(s):		Wang YJ; Nakazawa T; Ho CK;
Address:		"Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. Department of Life Sciences, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan. Institute of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. ckho@ntu.edu.tw. Department of Life Science, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. ckho@ntu.edu.tw"
Journal Title:		Sci Rep
Year:		2017
Volume:		20170419
Issue:		1
Page Number:		941 -
DOI:		10.1038/s41598-017-01155-y
ISSN/ISBN:		2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking)
Abstract:		"Understanding warming impact on herbivores facilitates predicting plant/crop dynamics in natural/agricultural systems. However, it remains unclear how warming will affect herbivore population size and population composition, consequently altering herbivore colonization in a tri-trophic system (plant-herbivore-predator or crop-pest-biocontrol agent). We studied a soybean-aphid-lady beetle system, by conducting (1) a laboratory warming experiment to examine warming impact (+2 degrees C or +4 degrees C) on the aphid population size and composition (alate proportion), and (2) a field colonization experiment to examine whether the warming-induced effect subsequently interacts with predators (lady beetles) in affecting aphid colonization. The results showed that warming affected the initial aphid population composition (reduced alate proportion) but not population size; this warming-induced effect strengthened the top-down control by lady beetles and slowing aphid colonization. In other words, biocontrol on crop pests by predators could improve under 2-4 degrees C warming. Furthermore, aphid colonization was affected by an interaction between the alate proportion and predator (lady beetle) presence. This study suggests that warming affects herbivore population composition and likely mediates top-down control on herbivore colonization by predators. This mechanism may be crucial but underappreciated in climate change ecology because population composition (wing form, sex ratio, age/body size structure) shifts in many species under environmental change"
Keywords:		Animals Climate Change Coleoptera/growth & development/*physiology Herbivory Population Density Population Dynamics *Predatory Behavior Soybeans/*parasitology;
Notes:		"MedlineWang, Ying-Jie Nakazawa, Takefumi Ho, Chuan-Kai eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2017/04/21 Sci Rep. 2017 Apr 19; 7(1):941. doi: 10.1038/s41598-017-01155-y"