Entomology

Permanent URI for this communityhttp://hdl.handle.net/1903/11813

Browse

Subject: search.filters.subject.novel associations

Search Results

Now showing 1 - 2 of 2
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Should I Eat or Should I Go? Acridid Grasshoppers and Their Novel Host Plants: Potential for Biotic Resistance
    (MDPI, 2018-10-07) Avaneysan, Alina
    Novel, non-coevolved associations between introduced plants and native insect herbivores may lead to changes in trophic interactions in native communities, as well as to substantial economic problems. Although some studies in invasion ecology demonstrated that native herbivores can preferentially feed on introduced plants and therefore contribute to the biotic resistance of native communities to plant invasions, the role of acridid grasshoppers as native generalist insect herbivores is largely overlooked. This systematic review aimed to identify patterns of grasshopper feeding preferences for native versus introduced plants and, consequently, a potential of grasshoppers to provide biotic resistance of native communities. The analysis of 63 records of feeding preference trials for 28 North-American grasshopper species (retrieved from 2146 studies published during 1967–2017) has demonstrated a preference of grasshoppers for introduced host plants, and identified 12 preferred introduced plants with high or middle invasive ranks. A significant effect of the life stage (p < 0.001), but not the experimental environment, plant material, and measurements, on grasshopper preferences for introduced plants was also detected. Overall, results suggest a potential of acridid grasshoppers to contribute to the biotic resistance of native communities. The review also provides methodological recommendations for future experimental studies on grasshopper-host plant interactions.
  • Thumbnail Image
    Item
    Analysis of Plant Trait Data of Host Plants of Lycorma delicatula in the US Suggests Evidence for Ecological Fitting
    (MDPI, 2022-11-29) Avanesyan, Alina; McPherson, Cameron; Lamp, William O.
    Plant traits, used by the invasive insect herbivores to find and select suitable hosts, can play an important role in insect host range expansion. With regard to invasive Lycorma delicatula, it is not well explored, however, how the plant origin affects insect host selection, and whether native and introduced host plants differ in their morphology, lifespan, as well as environmental requirements for growth. We addressed this issue in our study through the comprehensive assessment of 25 relevant plant traits (a total of 27,601 records retrieved from the TRY database), as well as the origin and phylogenetic relationships of 37 host plants of L. delicatula in the U.S. Our results showed that only leaf area, leaf chlorophyll content, and canopy size were significantly greater in the introduced hosts than that in native plants. We did not detect a significant effect of the plant origin on other characteristics. Additionally, no significant differences between native and introduced hosts of L. delicatula in genetic distances from introduced Ailanthus altissima (the most preferred host) were detected. These results, for the first time, suggest strong evidence for ecological fitting which might drive the host plant selection of L. delicatula and its rapid spread in the U.S.