Influence of plant resistance traits in selectiveness and species strength in a tropical plant-herbivore network
Por:
Lopez-Carretero, Antonio, Boege, Karina, Diaz-Castelazo, Cecilia, Dominguez, Zaira, Rico-Gray, Victor
Publicada:
1 ago 2016
Resumen:
PREMISE OF THE STUDY: Plant-herbivore networks are highly specialized in
their interactions, yet they are highly variable with regard to the
relative importance of specific host species for herbivores. How host
species traits determine specialization and species strength in this
antagonistic network is still an unanswered question that we addressed
in this study.
METHODS: We assessed plant cover and antiherbivore resistance traits to
assess the extent to which they accounted for the variation in
specialization and strength of interactions among species in a
plant-herbivore network. We studied a tropical antagonistic network
including a diverse herbivore-host plant assemblages in different
habitat types and climatic seasons, including host plants with different
life histories.
KEY RESULTS: Particular combinations of leaf toughness, trichome
density, and phenolic compounds influenced herbivore specialization and
host species strength, but with a significant spatiotemporal variation
among plant life histories. Conversely, plant-herbivore network
parameters were not influenced by plant cover.
CONCLUSIONS: Our study highlights the importance of species-specific
resistance traits of plants to understand the ecological and
evolutionary consequences of plant-herbivore interaction networks. The
novelty of our research lies in the use of a trait-based approach to
understand the variation observed in diverse plant-herbivore networks.
Filiaciones:
Lopez-Carretero, Antonio:
Inst Ecol AC, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Univ Buenos Aires, Fac Agron, Catedra Bot, Av San Martin 4453,C1417DSE, Buenos Aires, DF, Argentina
Boege, Karina:
Univ Nacl Autonoma Mexico, Inst Ecol, Mexico City, DF, Mexico
Diaz-Castelazo, Cecilia:
Inst Ecol AC, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Dominguez, Zaira:
Univ Veracruzana, Unidad Serv Apoyo Resoluc Analit, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
Rico-Gray, Victor:
Univ Veracruzana, Inst Neuroetol, Xalapa, Veracruz, Mexico
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