Plant palatability and trait responses to experimental warming

0533866 - BÚ 2021 RIV GB eng J - Journal Article
Dostálek, Tomáš - Rokaya, Maan Bahadur - Münzbergová, Zuzana
Plant palatability and trait responses to experimental warming.
Scientific Reports. Roč. 10, č. 1 (2020), s. 1-12, č. článku 10526. ISSN 2045-2322. E-ISSN 2045-2322
R&D Projects: GA ČR(CZ) GA17-10280S
Institutional support: RVO:67985939 ; RVO:86652079
Keywords : plant-herbivore interactions * Impatiens * leaf traits
OECD category: Ecology; Ecology (UEK-B)
Impact factor: 4.380, year: 2020
Method of publishing: Open access
https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-67437-0

Climate warming is expected to significantly affect plant-herbivore interactions. Even though direct effects of temperature on herbivores were extensively studied, indirect effects of temperature (acting via changes in host plant quality) on herbivore performance have rarely been addressed. We conducted multiple-choice feeding experiments with generalist herbivore Schistocerca gregaria feeding on six species of genus Impatiens cultivated at three different temperatures in growth chambers and a common garden. We also studied changes in leaf morphology and chemistry. We tested effects of temperature on plant palatability and assessed whether the effects could be explained by changes in the leaf traits. The leaves of most Impatiens species experienced the highest herbivory when cultivated at the warmest temperature. Traits related to leaf morphology (specific leaf area, leaf dry matter content and leaf area), but not to leaf chemistry, partly mediated the effects of temperature on plant palatability. Herbivores preferred smaller leaves with lower specific leaf area and higher leaf dry matter content. Our study suggests that elevated temperature will lead to changes in leaf traits and increase their palatability. This might further enhance the levels of herbivory under the increased herbivore pressure, which is forecasted as a consequence of climate warming.
Permanent Link: http://hdl.handle.net/11104/0314090