Size, age and composition: characteristics of plant taxa as diversity predictors of gall-midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Araújo, Walter Santos de

doi:10.15517/rbt.v59i4.3423

Cited by 15 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 20 publications

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“…This pattern was strongly influenced by Fabaceae, which showed the greatest species richness, in terms of host plants of galls in the cerrado (Mendonça et al 1988). These results support the plant family size hypothesis, which states that the diversity of galling insects should be greater among the host plant families with the highest numbers of species (Fernandes 1992;Araújo 2011;Araújo et al 2012). A high number of species within a family creates a greater availability of niches available for galling (Mendonça 2007).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

“…Certain characteristics of those families might increase the species richness of the population of galling insects. For example, the size of the plant family (Fernandes 1992;Mendonça 2007;Araújo 2011) and the geological age of the family (Fernandes 1992), as well as the presence of species or genera that present "superhost" phenotypes (Vedtman & McGeoch 2003;Araújo et al 2013), can be determinants of galling insect species richness. The systematic investigation of the composition of the host plant communities is fundamental to demonstrating the importance of each of these factors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Host plants of insect-induced galls in areas of cerrado in the state of Goiás, Brazil

et al. 2013

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Most studies of the interactions between plants and gall-inducing (galling) insects have focused on the entomological aspects, few having addressed the diversity of galls in relation to the characteristics of the host plants. The objective of this study was to analyze the richness and composition of the community of host plants of galls in areas of cerrado (savanna) in the state of Goiás, Brazil. To that end, we inventoried the galls in different regions of the state and within various types of vegetation formations, between 2005 and 2007. We registered 80 gall morphotypes in 58 species of host plants (30 families and 47 genera). The host family with highest diversity of galls was Fabaceae, with 17 morphotypes, followed by Styracaceae, with seven. In the cerrado, Fabaceae is the plant family with the highest number of species. Our results show that the composition of a plant community is a determinant of the distribution of galling insects. At the family or genus level, the presence of certain taxa increases the species richness of the population of galling insects.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 78%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Host plants of insect-induced galls in areas of cerrado in the state of Goiás, Brazil

et al. 2013

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“…Most galls (76%) occurred in leaves, followed by stems (22%), apical buds (1%) and petioles (1%). The plant families that were richest in galling insects were Vochysiaceae (19 species), Fabaceae (13) and Malpighiaceae (12). In most sites, gall sampling was relatively good in view of the large diversity of galling insects and host plants studied (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Can Host Plant Richness be Used as a Surrogate for Galling Insect Diversity?

Araújo

2011

Tropical Conservation Science

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Galling insects are the only insects capable of manipulating plant tissues to form complex structures. The number of known species of galling insect is small compared to the large diversity that statistical estimates suggest for this group. The study of galling insect diversity can be a difficult task in mega-diverse environments such as in tropical regions, thus justifying the use of surrogates. This study investigated whether or not host plant richness and super-host taxa can be used as surrogates for galling insect diversity. Surveys were conducted in 15 areas of cerrado sensu stricto in different localities of the Brazilian Cerrado. The results showed that host plant richness was the main predictor of galling insect diversity. The plant genus Qualea (Vochysiaceae), with 18 galling species, was the super-host taxon used in the analyses. Despite the influence of genus on galling insect richness, the abundance of Qualea was not related to galling insect diversity. Surrogates can be a useful tool for estimating galling insect richness and diversity patterns, both of which are relevant for conservation assessments.Key words: galls, indicator groups, Cerrado, plant richness, super-host taxa ResumoInsetos galhadores são os únicos insetos capazes de manipular os tecidos das plantas para formar estruturas complexas. O número de espécies de galhadores conhecidas é pequeno comparado à grande diversidade que estimativas estatísticas sugerem para o grupo. O estudo da diversidade de galhadores pode ser uma difícil tarefa em ambientes mega-diversos com as regiões tropicais, justificando o uso de substitutos. Esse estudo investiga se a riqueza de plantas e os táxons super-hospedeiros podem ser usados como substitutos para a diversidade de insetos galhadores. Levantamentos foram feitos em 15 áreas de cerrado sensu stricto em diferentes localidades do Cerrado brasileiro. Os resultados mostram que riqueza de plantas foi o principal preditor da riqueza de galhas. O gênero de planta Qualea (Vochysiaceae), com 18 espécies de galhadores, foi o táxon super-hospedeiro utilizado nas análises. Apesar da influencia do gênero sobre a riqueza de insetos galhadores, a abundância de Qualea não esteve relacionada à diversidade de insetos galhadores. Substitutos de diversidade podem ser usados para estimar a riqueza e padrões de diversidade de galhadores, ambos os aspectos são importantes para desenvolver estratégias conservacionistas.

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“…Other concepts, namely associational resistance and susceptibility, account for the plant community to predict herbivore pressure of a focal plant species (Barbosa et al, 2009;Wein et al, 2016). These patterns are determined by the degree of specialisation of the dominant herbivores (Root, 1973;Araújo, 2011). However, the underlying mechanisms are still only partly understood (Jablonski et al, 2017;van der Putten, 2017), especially for less charismatic organisms such as gall-inducing arthropods (sensu Quicke, 2012).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Plant composition, not richness, drives occurrence of specialist herbivores

Knuff¹,

Staab²,

Frey

et al. 2019

Ecological Entomology

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1. How herbivore plant diversity relationships are shaped by the interplay of biotic and abiotic environmental variables is only partly understood. For instance, plant diversity is commonly assumed to determine abundance and richness of associated specialist herbivores. However, this relationship can be altered when environmental variables such as temperature covary with plant diversity. 2. Using gall‐inducing arthropods as focal organisms, biotic and abiotic environmental variables were tested for their relevance to specialist herbivores and their relationship to host plants. In particular, the hypothesis that abundance and richness of gall‐inducing arthropods increase with plant richness was addressed. Additionally, the study asked whether communities of gall‐inducing arthropods match the communities of their host plants. 3. Neither abundance nor species richness of gall‐inducing arthropods was correlated with plant richness or any other of the tested environmental variables. Instead, the number of gall species found per plant decreased with plant richness. This indicates that processes of associational resistance may explain the specialised plant herbivore relationship in our study. 4. Community composition of gall‐inducing arthropods matched host plant communities. In specialised plant herbivore relationships, the presence of obligate host plant species is a prerequisite for the occurrence of its herbivores. 5. It is concluded that the abiotic environment may only play an indirect role in shaping specialist herbivore communities. Instead, the occurrence of specialist herbivore communities might be best explained by plant species composition. Thus, plant species identity should be considered when aiming to understand the processes that shape diversity patterns of specialist herbivores.

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Size, age and composition: characteristics of plant taxa as diversity predictors of gall-midges (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae)

Cited by 15 publications

References 20 publications

Host plants of insect-induced galls in areas of cerrado in the state of Goiás, Brazil

Host plants of insect-induced galls in areas of cerrado in the state of Goiás, Brazil

Can Host Plant Richness be Used as a Surrogate for Galling Insect Diversity?

Plant composition, not richness, drives occurrence of specialist herbivores

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