Aphids as models for ecological and evolutionary studies

Huang, Xiaolei; Qiao, Ge‐Xia

doi:10.1111/1744-7917.12130

Cited by 14 publications

(9 citation statements)

References 27 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The drepanosiphine aphids are the second largest and most diverse group in the family Aphididae (Lee et al, 2017), comprised of 13 subfamilies (Remaudière & Remaudière, 1997;Qiao, Zhang, & Zhong, 2005). Many drepanosiphine species are agricultural, horticultural and forest pests (Blackman & Eastop, 2000;Huang & Qiao, 2014). This group has therefore attracted much interest from numerous entomologists and offers a good taxonomic background.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High correlation of species diversity patterns between specialist herbivorous insects and their specific hosts

Chen

Jiang

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Aim:The relative importance of biotic and abiotic factors in shaping the species diversity of temperate organisms has been debated for a long time. Here, we used drepanosiphine aphids as a model group to validate the 'resource-dependent hypothesis' based on the biotic interactions for specialist herbivorous insects, a hypothesis stating that their intricate relationship with host plants for resources might constrain their species diversity from being positively correlated with the species diversity of their hosts, and to assess the role of biotic and abiotic factors in shaping the global species diversity pattern of temperate organisms.Location: Global and regional. Time period: Current.Taxon: Drepanosiphine aphids (Insecta: Hemiptera: Aphidoidea). Methods:We first investigated the global species diversity pattern of drepanosiphine aphids. Then we used ordinary least squares (OLS) and spatial simultaneous autoregressive (SAR) models to conduct regression analyses to test for the relationships of global and regional species richness between drepanosiphine aphids and their host plants, and other predictor variables describing entire woody plants, environmental energy, water availability, climate seasonality, topographical heterogeneity and land cover. Finally, structural equation models (SEMs) were further used to test for direct and indirect effects of key ecological variables. Results:The distribution hotspots of species richness and endemism were both located in temperate zones, supporting the notion that drepanosiphine aphids were representative of temperate organisms. The specific host plant was the most important ecological variable in explaining global and regional drepanosiphine species richness, showing a strong positive relationship. The climatic variables mainly showed an indirect effect on global and regional drepanosiphine species richness via specific hosts. Main Conclusions:The global and regional drepanosiphine species richness was primarily shaped by specific host plants as opposed to all woody trees, with indirect effects of climatic factors via host plants, which supported the 'resource-dependent hypothesis' based on the biotic interactions for specialist herbivorous insects. This | 1233 DU et al.

show abstract

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

High correlation of species diversity patterns between specialist herbivorous insects and their specific hosts

Chen

Jiang

et al. 2020

Journal of Biogeography

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Aphids are attacked by different taxa including: aphid parasitoids with high hostspecificity (Hymenoptera, mainly Braconidae and Aphelinidae; Boivin et al 2012), generalist aphidophagous predators (e.g., Coccinellidae and Syrphidae larvae), generalist predators that frequently attack aphids as well as other prey species (e.g., ground beetles and spiders) (Symondson et al 2002) and entomophagous fungi that cause diseases to aphids (e.g., Erynia neoaphidis and Entomophthora planchoniana; Milner 1997). The importance of aphids as agricultural pests, their rapid population growth rates, and their diverse suite of NEs all render aphids a suitable model for investigating the roles of natural enemies' biodiversity in pest control and other fundamental questions in ecology and evolution (Huang and Qiao 2014).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Natural enemy composition rather than richness determines pest suppression

2018

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Natural enemy (NE) biodiversity is thought to play an important role in agricultural pest suppression. However, the relative importance of the number of NE species (species richness), versus the particular combinations of species (species composition), in determining aphid suppression and ultimately crop yields, remains poorly understood. We tested the effects of NE richness and composition on pea aphids Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris) and broad bean plants Vicia faba (Linn.). We used the larvae of two predator species, the ladybird Adalia bipunctata (Linn.) and the green lacewing Chrysopa carnea (Stephens), and the parasitic wasp Aphidius ervi (Haliday) as enemies. NEs generally reduced aphid density but did not increase final plant biomass, despite a significant negative correlation between aphid density and plant biomass. Among NE treatments, species richness had an inconsistent effect on aphid density. The composition of NEs within richness levels also affected final aphid density: the ladybird was a key species among the treatments in controlling aphid density and was especially effective in combination with the parasitoid. This ladybird/parasitoid combination also appeared to drive the higher level of suppression observed at the two, relative to three, species richness levels. Although these three species of aphid NEs are commonly used in aphid control, this is the first study, to our knowledge, that simultaneously examined these three species and highlighted the composition effect between the A. bipunctata and A. ervi. In conclusion, increasing NE species richness had an inconsistent effect on aphid density. Meanwhile, the presence of a key species (the ladybird) and its combination with a parasitoid was an important determinant of aphid biological control.

show abstract

“…This work explores how different levels of N input (no input, optimum input, excessive input) impact host‐plant quality (biomass and C:N ratio) and subsequently may alter tritrophic interactions. As aphids have proven to be useful and interesting models for studying important questions in ecology and evolution (Huang & Qiao, ), two aphid species ( Myzus persicae and Brevicoryne brassicae ) differing in their dietary specialization and being both used as hosts by the aphid parasitoid wasp Diaeretiella rapae Mc'Intosh (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) were studied on the host plant Camelina sativa (Brassicales: Brassicaceae). Increasing attention has been paid to camelina, both because of its phyletic proximity to Arabidopsis thaliana (Beilstein, Al‐Shehbaz, Mathews, & Kellogg, ) and its agronomic characteristics (Bansal & Durrett, ).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…This work explores how different levels of N input (no input, optimum input, excessive input) impact host-plant quality (biomass and C:N ratio) and subsequently may alter tritrophic interactions. As aphids have proven to be useful and interesting models for studying important questions in ecology and evolution (Huang & Qiao, 2014) Increasing attention has been paid to camelina, both because of its phyletic proximity to Arabidopsis thaliana (Beilstein, Al-Shehbaz, Mathews, & Kellogg, 2008) and its agronomic characteristics (Bansal & Durrett, 2016). In terms of yield, camelina responded positively to nitrogen input up to 80-120 kgN/ha and negatively to higher N input (Solis, Vidal, Paulino, Johnson, & Berti, 2013).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Cascading effects of N input on tritrophic (plant–aphid–parasitoid) interactions

Chesnais

Couty

Catterou

et al. 2016

Ecology and Evolution

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Because N is frequently the most limiting mineral macronutrient for plants in terrestrial ecosystems, modulating N input may have ecological consequences through trophic levels. Thus, in agro‐ecosystems, the success of natural enemies may depend not only from their herbivorous hosts but also from the host plant whose qualities may be modulated by N input. We manipulated foliar N concentrations by providing to Camelina sativa plants three different nitrogen rates (control, optimal, and excessive). We examined how the altered host‐plant nutritional quality influenced the performances of two aphid species, the generalist green peach aphid, Myzus persicae, and the specialist cabbage aphid, Brevicoryne brassicae, and their common parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae. Both N inputs led to increased N concentrations in the plants but induced contrasted concentrations within aphid bodies depending on the species. Compared to the control, plant biomass increased when receiving the optimal N treatment but decreased under the excessive treatment. Performances of M. persicae improved under the optimal treatment compared to the control and excessive treatments whereas B. brassicae parameters declined following the excessive N treatment. In no‐choice trials, emergence rates of D. rapae developing in M. persicae were higher on both optimum and excessive N treatments, whereas they remained stable whatever the treatment when developing in B. brassicae. Size of emerging D. rapae females was positively affected by the treatment only when it developed in M. persicae on the excessive N treatment. This work showed that contrary to an optimal N treatment, when N was delivered in excess, plant suitability was reduced and consequently affected negatively aphid parameters. Surprisingly, these negative effects resulted in no or positive consequences on parasitoid parameters, suggesting a buffered effect at the third trophic level. Host N content, host suitability, and dietary specialization appear to be major factors explaining the functioning of our studied system.

show abstract

Aphids as models for ecological and evolutionary studies

Cited by 14 publications

References 27 publications

High correlation of species diversity patterns between specialist herbivorous insects and their specific hosts

High correlation of species diversity patterns between specialist herbivorous insects and their specific hosts

Natural enemy composition rather than richness determines pest suppression

Cascading effects of N input on tritrophic (plant–aphid–parasitoid) interactions

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About