Title: | Herbivorous mites as ecological engineers: indirect effects on arthropods inhabiting papaya foliage |
Author(s): | Fournier V; Rosenheim JA; Brodeur J; Laney LO; Johnson MW; |
Address: | "Department of Entomology, University of California, Davis, CA 95616, USA. valfourn@yahoo.ca" |
DOI: | 10.1007/s00442-003-1212-9 |
ISSN/ISBN: | 0029-8549 (Print) 0029-8549 (Linking) |
Abstract: | "We examined the potential of a leaf roller to indirectly influence a community of arthropods. Two mite species are the key herbivores on papaya leaves in Hawaii: a spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval, and an eriophyid mite, Calacarus flagelliseta, which induces upward curling of the leaf margin at the end of the summer when populations reach high densities. A survey and three manipulative field experiments demonstrated that (1) leaf rolls induce a consistent shift in the spatial distribution of spider mites and their predators, the coccinellid Stethorus siphonulus Kapur, the predatory mites Phytoseiulus spp., and the tangle-web building spider Nesticodes rufipes Lucas; (2) the overall abundance of spiders increases on leaves with rolls; (3) the specialist predators Stethorus and Phytoseiulus inhabit the rolls in response to their spider mite prey; and (4) the spider inhabits the rolls in response to the architecture of the roll itself. This study shows the importance of indirect effects in structuring a terrestrial community of herbivores" |
Keywords: | "Animals Carica/*anatomy & histology *Feeding Behavior *Food Chain Plant Leaves/*anatomy & histology *Plants, Edible Population Dynamics Spiders *Tetranychidae;" |
Notes: | "MedlineFournier, Valerie Rosenheim, Jay A Brodeur, Jacques Laney, Lee O Johnson, Marshall W eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S. Germany 2003/05/02 Oecologia. 2003 May; 135(3):442-50. doi: 10.1007/s00442-003-1212-9. Epub 2003 Mar 11" |