Effects of Elevated Atmospheric Carbon Dioxide on Insect‐Plant Interactions

Abstract

In the enriched carbon dioxide atmosphere expected in the next century, many species of herbivorous insects will confront less nutritious host plants that will induce both lengthened larval developmental times and greater mortality. The limited data currently available suggest that the effect of increased atmospheric CO2 on herbivory will be not only highly species‐specific but also specific to each insect‐plant system. Several scenarios can be predicted, however: (1) local extinctions will occur; (2) the endangered species status as well as the pest status of some insect species will change; (3) geographic distributions for some insect species will shift with host‐plant ranges; and (4) changes in the population dynamics of affected insect species will influence their interactions with other insects and plants. For insect conservation purposes, it is critical to begin long‐term studies on the effects of enhanced CO2 levels on insect populations. An analysis of the available literature indicates that many orders containing insect species important for ecosystem conservation, and even those important as agricultural or medical pests, have not been examined. Without a major increase in research on this topic, we will be unprepared for the species changes that will occur, we will lose the opportunity to document just how some insects adapt to elevated CO2 levels, and we will lack the information necessary for effective conservation efforts.

Temporal allocation of metabolic tolerance to transgenic Bt cotton in beet armyworm, Spodoptera exigua (Hübner)

“…In particular, the continuous expression of the insecticidal protein in most tissues of the plant throughout the growing season has raised concerns regarding the development of resistance or tolerance in the target pest, and the possible impacts of this new pest control technology on various groups of non-target organisms of ecological and economic values [20,31,32]. Most herbivores are affected by the physiological and nutritional states of their host plants [33], such as cotton plants expressing Cry1Ac toxin. Some pest species have also developed resistance or tolerance to Bt toxin under the continuous selection pressure of the toxic protein [2,34].…”

Projected change in climate thresholds in the Northeastern U.S.: implications for crops, pests, livestock, and farmers

“…The frequently observed higher carbon:nitrogen ratio of leaves of plants grown at high CO 2 (Wolfe 1994) can require increased insect feeding to meet nitrogen (protein) requirements (Coviella and Trumble 1999). However, slowed insect development on high CO 2 -grown plants can lengthen the insect life stages vulnerable to attack by parasitoids (Coviella and Trumble 1999).…”

“…However, slowed insect development on high CO 2 -grown plants can lengthen the insect life stages vulnerable to attack by parasitoids (Coviella and Trumble 1999). Recently, Hamilton et al (2005), in a field free-air CO 2 enrichment study, Fig.…”

Will climate change be beneficial or detrimental to the invasive swede midge in North America? Contrasting predictions using climate projections from different general circulation models

“…Such changes have been convincingly documented for butterflies in Britain, Australia, and North America (Dennis & Hardy, 1999;Hill et al, 1999;Beaumont & Hughes, 2002;Oberhauser & Peterson, 2003;Crozier & Dwyer, 2006), ground beetles (Eyre et al, 2004), cicadas species (Robertson et al, 2004), tsetse flies (Terblanche et al, 2006), and ticks (Wilkinson, 1967;Lindgren et al, 2000;Estrada-Pena, 2002). Analyses of how agricultural pest insects will respond to climate change are surprisingly rare (but see Coviella & Trumble, 1999;McKenney et al, 2003;Gevrey & Worner, 2006).…”