Life Sciences Commons^™

Nitrogen Budgets Of Phloem-Feeding Bark Beetles With And Without Symbiotic Fungi, Matthew P. Ayres, Richard T. Wilkens, Jonathan J. Ruel, María J. Lombardero, Erich Vallery

Dartmouth Scholarship

The nitrogen content of plant tissue is low relative to that of herbivores; as a consequence, dietary N can limit the growth and reproduction of herbivores and select for attributes that increase N acquisition. Bark beetles face a particularly severe challenge because the phloem that they consume is very low in nitrogen and phosphorus relative to their requirements. We quantified variation in the phloem concentrations of N and P in the host tree, Pinus taeda, and evaluated the following hypotheses regarding the role of symbiotic fungi in nutrient budgets of the herbivore Dendroctonus frontalis: D. frontalis experience variation …