Both host plant and ecosystem engineer identity influence leaf‐tie impacts on the arthropod community of Quercus

Abstract

Many insect herbivores build shelters on plants, which are then colonized by other arthropod species. To understand the impacts of such ecosystem engineering on associated species, the contributions of ecosystem engineer and host-plant identities must be understood. We investigated these contingencies at the patch scale using two species of leaf-tying caterpillars, which vary in size and tie construction mode, on eight species of oak (Quercus) trees, which vary in leaf size and leaf chemistry. We created three types of artificial leaf ties by clipping together pairs of adjacent leaves using metal hair clips. We left the first type of leaf tie empty while adding individuals of the leaf-tying caterpillars of either Pseudotelphusa quercinigracella or Psilocorsis cryptolechiella to the other two. We also created a control treatment of untied leaves by affixing clips to single leaves. Leaf ties increased occupancy in the early season and arthropod alpha diversity throughout the experiment, on average fourfold. Furthermore, the presence of leaf ties increased arthropod species density on average three times and abundance 10-35 times, depending on the plant species. The mean phenolic content of the leaves of each oak species was positively correlated with the leaf-tie effect on abundance and negatively correlated with the leaf-tie effect on species diversity. Species diversity, but not abundance, was affected by the identity of the tie-maker. Arthropod species composition differed between untied leaves and artificial leaf ties, and between ties made by the two leaf-tier species. Our results demonstrate that the presence of leaf ties adds to habitat diversity within the oak-herbivore system, not only by creating a new kind of microhabitat (the leaf tie) within trees, but also by exacerbating differences among the eight oak species in apparent habitat quality. The identity of the leaf-tying caterpillar adds to this heterogeneity by creating leaf ties of different size, thus influencing subsequent colonization by other leaf-tying caterpillars of different sizes.

Effect of a novel phosphorus‐containing compound on the flame retardancy and thermal degradation of intumescent flame retardant polypropylene

“…However, it disappeared completely in the spectrum of DOPNP, and the disappearance of the characteristic absorption band of OAH indicates that the final product was obtained successfully. 16,23 that is because the ACH 2 A protons (c) and (d) are at both sides of the six-membered heterocyclic (see in Fig. 2), and the different environment conditions lead to the two unequivalent protons (c) and (d).…”

Oak canopy arthropod communities: which factors shape its structure?

“…within a tree's canopy is an important organizing factor because the species richness of the associated insect herbivore community was determinate. Similarly, Wang et al (2012) using two species of leaf-tying caterpillars Pseudotelphusa quercinigracella and Psilocorsis cryptolechiella found that the presence of leaf ties increased species density and abundance of herbivores, predators, and scavengers, depending on the oak host species (Q. alba, Q. imbricaria, Q. macrocarpa, Q. marilandica, Q. muehlenbergii, Q. velutina, Q. rubra, and Q. stellata). Also, arthropod species composition differed between untied leaves and between ties made by the two leaf-tier species.…”

Mixed effects of ant–aphid mutualism on plants across different spatial scales

“…Larger scales often mean more heterogeneous environments for organisms, and varied environments can lead to the change of biotic interactions (Griffin, Byrnes, & Cardinale 2013). For example, the ecological effects of leaf-rollers can differ between leaf and plant scale (Vieira & Romero 2013;Wang, Marquis, & Baer 2012). On the host plant Solanum lycocarpum, the outcomes of ant-treehopper association are scale-dependent (Moreira & Del-Claro 2005).…”