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Full-Text Articles in Life Sciences
Taxonomy And Phylogeny Of The Asphondylia Species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Of North American Goldenrods: Challenging Morphology, Complex Host Associations, And Cryptic Speciation, Netta Dorchin, Jeffrey Joy, Lukas Hilke, Michael Wise, Warren Abrahamson
Taxonomy And Phylogeny Of The Asphondylia Species (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) Of North American Goldenrods: Challenging Morphology, Complex Host Associations, And Cryptic Speciation, Netta Dorchin, Jeffrey Joy, Lukas Hilke, Michael Wise, Warren Abrahamson
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
Reproductive isolation and speciation in herbivorous insects may be accomplished via shifts between host-plant resources: either plant species or plant organs. The intimate association between gall-inducing insects and their host plants makes them particularly useful models in the study of speciation. North American goldenrods (Asteraceae: Solidago and Euthamia) support a rich fauna of gall-inducing insects. Although several of these insects have been the subject of studies focusing on speciation and tritrophic interactions, others remain unstudied and undescribed. Among the latter are at least seven species of the large, cosmopolitan gall midge genus Asphondylia Loew (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae), the taxonomy and biology …
Modeling Simultaneous Selection For Resistance And Tolerance In Goldenrod (Solidago Altissima) Across A Range Of Spittlebug Population Densities, Michael J. Wise, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii
Modeling Simultaneous Selection For Resistance And Tolerance In Goldenrod (Solidago Altissima) Across A Range Of Spittlebug Population Densities, Michael J. Wise, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
Plant defenses against herbivory include two main strategies: resistance (to minimize the amount of damage) and tolerance (to minimize the fitness impact of that damage). Recent studies have emphasized the need to consider both strategies simultaneously for a fuller understanding of the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of plant defense against herbivores. We used a combination of a garden study, a greenhouse experiment, and mathematical modeling to investigate resistance to and tolerance of spittlebug damage in the goldenrod Solidago altissima. In contrast to traditional expectations, the genetic correlation between resistance and tolerance was highly positive. Selection gradients indicated that directional selection …
The Effect Of Resource Stress On Goldenrod's Tolerance Of Folivory Depends More On The Identity Of The Stress Than On The Severity Of The Stress, Peter J. March, Michael J. Wise, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii
The Effect Of Resource Stress On Goldenrod's Tolerance Of Folivory Depends More On The Identity Of The Stress Than On The Severity Of The Stress, Peter J. March, Michael J. Wise, Warren G. Abrahamson Ii
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
It is widely accepted that the levels of resources in a plant’s environment can influence the plant’s ability to compensate for (i.e., tolerate) damage by herbivores. However, predicting the direction of the influence has proven difficult. Here, we report on a greenhouse study in which individuals of Solidago altissima were exposed to factorial combinations of light and fertilization levels to investigate how different types of stresses affect plants’ ability to tolerate leaf damage by larvae of the beetle Trirhabda virgata. Shade stress reduced the plants’ tolerance of herbivory, while nutrient stress had no effect on tolerance. These results did not …
The Role Of Olfactory Cues In The Sequential Radiation Of A Gall-Boring Beetle, Mordellistena Convicta, Bradley Rhodes, Catherine Blair, Mizuki Takahashi, Warren Abrahamson
The Role Of Olfactory Cues In The Sequential Radiation Of A Gall-Boring Beetle, Mordellistena Convicta, Bradley Rhodes, Catherine Blair, Mizuki Takahashi, Warren Abrahamson
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
1. Herbivorous insects often have close associations with specific host plants, and their preferences for mating and ovipositing on a specific host-plant species can reproductively isolate populations, facilitating ecological speciation. Volatile emissions from host plants can play a major role in assisting herbivores to locate their natal host plants and thus facilitate assortative mating and host-specific oviposition. 2. The present study investigated the role of host-plant volatiles in host fidelity and oviposition preference of the gall-boring, inquiline beetle, Mordellistena convicta, using Y-tube olfactometers. Previous studies suggest that the gall-boring beetle is undergoing sequential host-associated divergence by utilizing the resources that …
Genetic Variation For Susceptibility To Storm-Induced Stem Breakage In Solidago Altissima: The Role Of Stem Height And Morphology, M. Wise, W. Abrahamson
Genetic Variation For Susceptibility To Storm-Induced Stem Breakage In Solidago Altissima: The Role Of Stem Height And Morphology, M. Wise, W. Abrahamson
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
While storms can have obvious ecological impacts on plants, plants’ potential to respond evolutionarily to selection for increased resistance to storm damage has received little study. We took advantage of a thunderstorm with strong wind and hail to examine genetic variation for resistance to stem breakage in the herbaceous perennial Solidago altissima. The storm broke the apex of nearly 10% of 1883 marked ramets in a common-garden plot containing 26 genets of S. altissima. Plant genets varied 20-fold in resistance to breakage. Stem height was strongly correlated with resistance to breakage, with taller stems being significantly more susceptible. A stem’s …
Ducking As The Means Of Resistance In "Candy-Cane" Stems Of Goldenrod: Straightened Stems Lose Their Edge, M. J. Wise, W. G. Abrahamson, J. A. Cole
Ducking As The Means Of Resistance In "Candy-Cane" Stems Of Goldenrod: Straightened Stems Lose Their Edge, M. J. Wise, W. G. Abrahamson, J. A. Cole
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
Herbivores are among the most pervasive selective forces acting on plants, and the number of plant chemicals that presumably evolved for defense against herbivory is immense. In contrast, biologists are only beginning to appreciate the important roles that architectural traits can play in antiherbivore defense. One putative architectural-resistance trait is the nodding stem apex of some goldenrods (Solidago ; Asteraceae). Individuals of S. altissima genets that undergo temporary nodding in the late spring (i.e., “candy-cane ramets) have been shown to be more resistant than individuals of erect-stemmed genets to certain apex-attacking” herbivores. We tested the hypothesis that the greater resistance …
Nutrition As A Facilitator Of Host-Race Formation: The Role Of Food Quality In The Shift Of A Stem-Boring Beetle To A Gall Host, C. P. Blair, R. V. Schlanger, S. E. Diamond, W. G. Abrahamson
Nutrition As A Facilitator Of Host-Race Formation: The Role Of Food Quality In The Shift Of A Stem-Boring Beetle To A Gall Host, C. P. Blair, R. V. Schlanger, S. E. Diamond, W. G. Abrahamson
Warren G. Abrahamson, II
1. The importance of host-race formation to herbivorous insect diversity depends on the likelihood that successful populations can be established on a new plant host. A previously unexplored ecological aid to success on a novel host is better nutritional quality. The role of nutrition was examined in the shift of the stem-boring beetle Mordellistena convicta to fly-induced galls on goldenrod and the establishment there of a genetically distinct gall host race. 2. First, larvae of the host race inhabiting stems of Solidago gigantea were transplanted into stems and galls of greenhouse-grown S. gigantea plants. At the end of larval development, …