Dataset Information

Stem CO₂ efflux of Cycas micronesica is reduced by chronic non-native insect herbivory.

ABSTRACT: Carbon dioxide efflux (E_s) from the base of Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill stems was quantified in four locations containing healthy populations and in one location with populations threatened by non-native insect herbivores in order to determine the influence of reduced plant health on E_s. Minimal variation of E_s occurred among the four locations with healthy plants, and E_s ranged from 1.68 to 1.79 µmol·m^-2·s^-1. The threatened in situ populations were on the island of Guam, where recent invasions of non-native insects have caused epidemic plant mortality, and the E_s was 0.59 µmol·m^-2·s^-1. This is the first known report of E_s for any cycad species, and the values for the unique pachycaulous stem form fit in the lower half of the range of published E_s for woody trees. The results illuminate the potential for using E_s to screen in situ C. micronesica populations to identify the individual trees with the greatest likelihood of surviving conservation measures.

SUBMITTER: Marler TE

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7053932 | biostudies-literature | 2020

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Stem CO2 efflux of Cycas micronesica is reduced by chronic non-native insect herbivory.

Marler Thomas E TE

Plant signaling & behavior 20200127 2

Carbon dioxide efflux (Es) from the base of Cycas micronesica K.D. Hill stems was quantified in four locations containing healthy populations and in one location with populations threatened by non-native insect herbivores in order to determine the influence of reduced plant health on Es. Minimal variation of Es occurred among the four locations with healthy plants, and Es ranged from 1.68 to 1.79 µmol·m-2·s ...[more]

PMID: 31985317

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Project description:Insect herbivores can shift the composition of a plant community, but the mechanism underlying such shifts remains largely unexplored. A possibility is that insects alter the competitive symmetry between plant species. The effect of herbivory on competition likely depends on whether the plants are subjected to aboveground or belowground herbivory or both, and also depends on soil nitrogen levels. It is unclear how these biotic and abiotic factors interactively affect competition. In a greenhouse experiment, we measured competition between two coexisting grass species that respond differently to nitrogen deposition: Dactylis glomerata L., which is competitively favoured by nitrogen addition, and Festuca rubra L., which is competitively favoured on nitrogen-poor soils. We predicted: (1) that aboveground herbivory would reduce competitive asymmetry at high soil nitrogen by reducing the competitive advantage of D. glomerata; and (2), that belowground herbivory would relax competition at low soil nitrogen, by reducing the competitive advantage of F. rubra. Aboveground herbivory caused a 46% decrease in the competitive ability of F. rubra, and a 23% increase in that of D. glomerata, thus increasing competitive asymmetry, independently of soil nitrogen level. Belowground herbivory did not affect competitive symmetry, but the combined influence of above- and belowground herbivory was weaker than predicted from their individual effects. Belowground herbivory thus mitigated the increased competitive asymmetry caused by aboveground herbivory. D. glomerata remained competitively dominant after the cessation of aboveground herbivory, showing that the influence of herbivory continued beyond the feeding period. We showed that insect herbivory can strongly influence plant competitive interactions. In our experimental plant community, aboveground insect herbivory increased the risk of competitive exclusion of F. rubra. Belowground herbivory appeared to mitigate the influence of aboveground herbivory, and this mechanism may play a role for plant species coexistence.

Dataset Information

Stem CO₂ efflux of Cycas micronesica is reduced by chronic non-native insect herbivory.

Publications

Stem CO<sub>2</sub> efflux of <i>Cycas micronesica</i> is reduced by chronic non-native insect herbivory.

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