scholarly journals Herbarium specimens reveal herbivory patterns across the genus Cucurbita

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura A. Jenny ◽  
Lori R. Shapiro ◽  
Charles C. Davis ◽  
T. Jonathan Davies ◽  
Naomi E. Pierce ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Ecological Interactions ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Geographic Ranges ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
New Methods ◽  
Related Plant ◽  
Insect Interactions

PREMISE: Quantifying how closely related plant species differ in susceptibility to insect herbivory is important for our understanding of variation in plant-insect ecological interactions and evolutionary pressures on plant functional traits. However, empirically measuring in situ variation in herbivory over the entire geographic range where a plant-insect complex occurs is logistically difficult. Recently, new methods have been developed to use herbarium specimens to investigate patterns in plant-insect interactions across geographic areas, and during periods of accelerating anthropogenic change. Such investigations can provide insights into changes in herbivory intensity and phenology in plants that are of ecological and agricultural importance. METHODS: Here, we analyze 274 pressed herbarium samples from all 14 species in the economically important plant genus Cucurbita (Cucurbitaceae) to investigate variation in herbivory damage. This collection is comprised of specimens of wild, undomesticated Cucurbita that were collected from across their native range in the Neotropics and subtropics, and Cucurbita cultivars that were collected from both within their native range and from locations where they have been introduced for agriculture in temperate Eastern North America. RESULTS: We find that herbivory is common on individuals of all Cucurbita species collected from throughout their geographic ranges; however, estimates of herbivory varied considerably among individuals, with greater damage observed in specimens collected from unmanaged habitat. We also find evidence that mesophytic species accrue more insect damage than xerophytic species. CONCLUSIONS: Our study demonstrates that herbarium specimens are a useful resource for understanding ecological interactions between domesticated crop plants and co-evolved insect herbivores.

scholarly journals Applying Machine Learning to Investigate Long Term Insect-Plant Interactions Preserved on Digitized Herbarium Specimens

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
E.K. Meineke ◽  
C. Tomasi ◽  
S. Yuan ◽  
K.M. Pryer
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Insect Damage ◽  
Similar Data ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Related Plant ◽  
Insect Interactions ◽  
Damage Type

AbstractPremise of the studyDespite the economic importance of insect damage to plants, long-term data documenting changes in insect damage (‘herbivory’) and diversity are limited. Millions of pressed plant specimens are now available online for collecting big data on plant-insect interactions during the Anthropocene.MethodsWe initiated development of machine learning methods to automate extraction of herbivory data from herbarium specimens. We trained an insect damage detector and a damage type classifier on two distantly related plant species. We experimented with 1) classifying six types of herbivory and two control categories of undamaged leaf, and 2) detecting two of these damage categories for which several hundred annotations were available.ResultsClassification models identified the correct type of herbivory 81.5% of the time. The damage classifier was accurate for categories with at least one hundred test samples. We show anecdotally that the detector works well when asked to detect two types of damage.DiscussionThe classifier and detector together are a promising first step for the automation of herbivory data collection. We describe ongoing efforts to increase the accuracy of these models to allow other researchers to extract similar data and apply them to address a variety of biological hypotheses.

scholarly journals Understanding the ecology of host plant–insect herbivore interactions in the fossil record through bipartite networks

Paleobiology ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-22
Author(s):  
Anshuman Swain ◽  
S. Augusta Maccracken ◽  
William F. Fagan ◽  
Conrad C. Labandeira
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Local Community ◽  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Leaf Damage ◽  
Fossil Flora ◽  
Bipartite Network ◽  
Bipartite Networks ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Central Texas ◽  
Insect Interactions

Abstract Plant–insect associations have been a significant component of terrestrial ecology for more than 400 Myr. Exploring these interactions in the fossil record through novel perspectives provides a window into understanding evolutionary and ecological forces that shaped these interactions. For the past several decades, researchers have documented, described, and categorized fossil evidence of these interactions. Drawing on powerful tools from network science, we propose here a bipartite network representation of fossilized plants and their herbivore-induced leaf damage to understand late Paleozoic plant–insect interactions at the local community level. We focus on four assemblages from north-central Texas, but the methods used in this work are general and can be applied to any well-preserved fossil flora. Network analysis can address key questions in the evolution of insect herbivory that often would be difficult to summarize using standard herbivory metrics.

Resilience of plant-insect interactions in an oak lineage through Quaternary climate change

Paleobiology ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 41 (1) ◽  
pp. 174-186 ◽  
Author(s):  
Tao Su ◽  
Jonathan M. Adams ◽  
Torsten Wappler ◽  
Yong-Jiang Huang ◽  
Frédéric M. B. Jacques ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Terrestrial Ecosystems ◽  
Fossil Flora ◽  
Geological Time ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Quaternary Climate ◽  
Insect Interactions ◽  
Damage Types ◽  
Modern Sample

AbstractPlant-insect interactions are vital for structuring terrestrial ecosystems. It is still unclear how climate change in geological time might have shaped plant-insect interactions leading to modern ecosystems. We investigated the effect of Quaternary climate change on plant-insect interactions by observing insect herbivory on leaves of an evergreen sclerophyllous oak lineage (QuercussectionHeterobalanus, HET) from a late Pliocene flora and eight living forests in southwestern China. Among the modern HET populations investigated, the damage diversity tends to be higher in warmer and wetter climates. Even though the climate of the fossil flora was warmer and wetter than modern sample sites, the damage diversity is lower in the fossil flora than in modern HET populations. Eleven out of 18 damage types in modern HET populations are observed in the fossil flora. All damage types in the fossil flora, except for one distinctive gall type, are found in modern HET populations. These results indicate that Quaternary climate change did not cause extensive extinction of insect herbivores in HET forests. The accumulation of a more diverse herbivore fauna over time supports the view of plant species as evolutionary “islands” for colonization and turnover of insect species.

scholarly journals Bookkeeping of insect herbivory trends in herbarium specimens of purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria )

2018 ◽  
Vol 374 (1763) ◽  
pp. 20170398 ◽  
Author(s):  
Caroline Beaulieu ◽  
Claude Lavoie ◽  
Raphaël Proulx
Keyword(s):  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Insect Herbivory ◽  
Lythrum Salicaria ◽  
Leaf Damage ◽  
Purple Loosestrife ◽  
Herbarium Specimens ◽  
Feeding Damage ◽  
Voucher Specimens ◽  
Insect Interactions ◽  
Biodiversity Changes

The potential use of herbarium specimens to detect herbivory trends is enormous but largely untapped. The objective of this study was to reconstruct the long-term herbivory pressure on the Eurasian invasive plant, purple loosestrife ( Lythrum salicaria ), by evaluating leaf damage over 1323 specimens from southern Québec (Canada). The hypothesis tested is that that the prevalence of herbivory damage on purple loosestrife is low during the invasion phase and increases throughout the saturation phase. Historical trends suggest a gradual increase in hole feeding and margin feeding damage from 1883 to around 1940, followed by a period of relative stability. The percentage of specimens with window feeding damage did not begin to increase until the end of the twentieth century, from 3% (2–6%) in 1990 to 45% (14–81%) in 2015. Temporal changes in the frequency of window feeding damage support the hypothesis of an increasing herbivory pressure by recently introduced insects. This study shows that leaf damage made by insects introduced for the biocontrol of purple loosestrife, such as coleopterans of the Neogalerucella genus, can be assessed from voucher specimens. Herbaria are a rich source in information that can be used to answer questions related to plant-insect interactions in the context of biological invasions and biodiversity changes. This article is part of the theme issue ‘Biological collections for understanding biodiversity in the Anthropocene’.

Averting robo-bees: why free-flying robotic bees are a bad idea

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (6) ◽  
pp. 723-729
Author(s):  
Roslyn Gleadow ◽  
Jim Hanan ◽  
Alan Dorin
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Computer Simulation ◽  
Food Security ◽  
European Countries ◽  
Plant Interactions ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Native Habitat ◽  
Insect Pollinators ◽  
Insect Interactions

Food security and the sustainability of native ecosystems depends on plant-insect interactions in countless ways. Recently reported rapid and immense declines in insect numbers due to climate change, the use of pesticides and herbicides, the introduction of agricultural monocultures, and the destruction of insect native habitat, are all potential contributors to this grave situation. Some researchers are working towards a future where natural insect pollinators might be replaced with free-flying robotic bees, an ecologically problematic proposal. We argue instead that creating environments that are friendly to bees and exploring the use of other species for pollination and bio-control, particularly in non-European countries, are more ecologically sound approaches. The computer simulation of insect-plant interactions is a far more measured application of technology that may assist in managing, or averting, ‘Insect Armageddon' from both practical and ethical viewpoints.

scholarly journals Plant Metabolites Involved in the Differential Development of a Heliantheae-Specialist Insect

Metabolites ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 134
Author(s):  
Marília Elias Gallon ◽  
Leonardo Gobbo-Neto
Keyword(s):  
Larval Development ◽  
Sesquiterpene Lactones ◽  
Nutritional Ecology ◽  
Plant Metabolites ◽  
Plant Insect Interactions ◽  
Tridax Procumbens ◽  
Integrative Studies ◽  
Specialist Insect ◽  
Insect Interactions ◽  
New Research

Balanced nutritional intake is essential to ensure that insects undergo adequate larval development and metamorphosis. Integrative multidisciplinary approaches have contributed valuable insights regarding the ecological and evolutionary outcomes of plant–insect interactions. To address the plant metabolites involved in the larval development of a specialist insect, we investigated the development of Chlosyne lacinia caterpillars fed on Heliantheae species (Tithonia diversifolia, Tridax procumbens and Aldama robusta) leaves and determined the chemical profile of plants and insects using a metabolomic approach. By means of LC-MS and GC-MS combined analyses, 51 metabolites were putatively identified in Heliantheae species and C. lacinia caterpillars and frass; these metabolites included flavonoids, sesquiterpene lactones, monoterpenoids, sesquiterpenoids, diterpenes, triterpenes, oxygenated terpene derivatives, steroids and lipid derivatives. The leading discriminant metabolites were diterpenes, which were detected only in A. robusta leaves and insects that were fed on this plant-based diet. Additionally, caterpillars fed on A. robusta leaves took longer to complete their development to the adult phase and exhibited a greater diapause rate. Hence, we hypothesized that diterpenes may be involved in the differential larval development. Our findings shed light on the plant metabolites that play roles in insect development and metabolism, opening new research avenues for integrative studies of insect nutritional ecology.

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