Insects as Stem Engineers: Interactions Mediated by the Twig-Girdler Oncideres albomarginata chamela Enhance Arthropod Diversity

Abstract

BackgroundEcosystem engineering may influence community structure and biodiversity by controlling the availability of resources and/or habitats used by other organisms. Insect herbivores may act as ecosystem engineers but there is still poor understanding of the role of these insects structuring arthropod communities.Methodology/Principal FindingsWe evaluated the effect of ecosystem engineering by the stem-borer Oncideres albomarginata chamela on the arthropod community of a tropical dry forest for three consecutive years. The results showed that ecosystem engineering by O. albomarginata chamela had strong positive effects on the colonization, abundance, species richness and composition of the associated arthropod community, and it occurred mainly through the creation of a habitat with high availability of oviposition sites for secondary colonizers. These effects cascade upward to higher trophic levels. Overall, ecosystem engineering by O. albomarginata chamela was responsible for nearly 95% of the abundance of secondary colonizers and 82% of the species richness.Conclusions/SignificanceOur results suggest that ecosystem engineering by O. albomarginata chamela is a keystone process structuring an arthropod community composed by xylovores, predators and parasitoids. This study is the first to empirically demonstrate the effect of the ecosystem engineering by stem-boring insects on important attributes of arthropod communities. The results of this study have important implications for conservation.

Hypoxia and hypercarbia in endophagous insects: Larval position in the plant gas exchange network is key

“…Other animal constructions are much smaller, are home to a single occupant or tens occupants at the most, and influence community structures and biodiversity. This is the case of arthropod species that develop inside plant tissues by creating a mine or a closed gall (Calderón-Cortés et al, 2011;Quesada et al, this issue)-thereafter called endophagous herbivore species. Boring insects do not construct a new structure like miners and gallers do, but they induce a new habitat as they cause considerable damages to plant tissues.…”

Ecosystem engineers on plants: indirect facilitation of arthropod communities by leaf‐rollers at different scales

“…Shelters are constructed by herbivores (e.g., galling, leaf-tiers, and miners [Crawford et al 2007]; stem borers [Caldero´n-Corte´s et al 2011]) and other arthropod guilds (e.g., predators, parasites [Martinsen et al 2000, Fukui 2001, Lill and Marquis 2003, Nakamura and Ohgushi 2003). Shelters are constructed by herbivores (e.g., galling, leaf-tiers, and miners [Crawford et al 2007]; stem borers [Caldero´n-Corte´s et al 2011]) and other arthropod guilds (e.g., predators, parasites [Martinsen et al 2000, Fukui 2001, Lill and Marquis 2003, Nakamura and Ohgushi 2003).…”

Local and latitudinal variation in abundance: the mechanisms shaping the distribution of an ecosystem engineer

“…This is particularly the case for ecosystem engineers, as these species have cascading effects on the abundance of other members in a community by providing shelter from the physical environment, protection from enemies, or increased availability of food resources (Jones et al, 1994; Wright & Jones, 2006). For example, ecosystem-engineering insects, such as leaf tiers or leaf rollers, stem borers, and gall makers can create shelters for a suite of colonizing species that secondarily use these microhabitats (Lill & Marquis, 2003; Marquis & Lill, 2007; Calderón-Cortés et al, 2011; Crawford et al, 2007; Crutsinger et al, 2009; Vieira & Romero, in press). …”

“…In addition, recent evidence suggests the community-level impacts of engineering can also vary seasonally (Vieira & Romero, in press). While some studies have followed engineering insects over time (Marquis & Lill, 2007; Crawford et al, 2007; Crutsinger et al, 2009; Calderón-Cortés et al, 2011), the effect of time is rarely an explicit consideration in any study (but see Vieira & Romero, in press). …”