Differences in predatory behavior among three bird species when attacking chemically defended and undefended prey

Journal of Ethology - Birds are important predators of insects and insects often incorporate chemical defenses that may make themselves distasteful or toxic to the predators. Predators can respond...     

Preference and performance of generalist and specialist herbivores on chemically defended host plants

1. Both the physiological efficiency (PE) hypothesis and the preference–performance (PP) hypothesis address the complex interactions between herbivores and host plants, albeit from different perspectives. The PE hypothesis contends that specialists are better physiologically adapted to their host plants than generalists. The PP hypothesis predicts that larvae perform best on the host plant preferred by ovipositing females. 2. This study tests components of both hypotheses using the specialist checkerspot, Euphydryas anicia, the generalist salt marsh caterpillar, Estigmene acrea, and host plants in the genus Penstemon, which are defended by iridoid glycosides. 3. In laboratory experiments, the generalist preferred and performed significantly better on the less well defended host plant species. This is consistent with results from a common garden experiment where the less well defended Penstemon species received more damage from the local community of generalists. Larvae of the specialist checkerspot preferred the more chemically defended species in the laboratory, but performed equally well on both hosts. However, field experiments demonstrated that adult checkerspot females preferred to oviposit on the less well defended host plant. 4. Components of the physiological efficiency hypothesis were supported in this system, as the specialist outperformed the generalist on the more iridoid glycoside‐rich host plant species. There was no support for the PP hypothesis, however, as there was no clear relationship between female preference in the field and offspring performance in the laboratory.     

Climate change and disease: bleaching of a chemically defended seaweed

Disease is emerging as an important impact of global climate change, due to the effects of environmental change on host organisms and their pathogens. Climate‐mediated disease can have severe consequences in natural systems, particularly when ecosystem engineers, such as habitat‐formers or top predators are affected, as any impacts can cascade throughout entire food webs. In temperate marine ecosystems, seaweeds are the dominant habitat‐formers on rocky reefs. We investigated a putative bleaching disease affecting Delisea pulchra, a chemically defended seaweed that occurs within a global warming ‘hot‐spot’ and assessed how patterns of this phenomenon were influenced by ocean temperature, solar radiation, algal chemical defences and microbial pathogens. Warmer waters were consistently and positively correlated with higher frequencies of bleaching in seaweed populations, but patterns of bleaching were not consistently influenced by light levels. Bleached thalli had low levels of antibacterial chemical defences relative to healthy conspecifics and this was observed across entire thalli of partially bleached algae. Microbial communities associated with bleached algae were distinct from those on the surfaces of healthy seaweeds. Direct testing of the importance of algal chemical defences, done here for the first time in the field, demonstrated that they protected the seaweed from bleaching. Treatment of algal thalli with antibiotics reduced the severity of bleaching in experimental algae, especially at high water temperatures. These results indicate that bleaching in D. pulchra is the result of temperature‐mediated bacterial infections and highlight the potential for warming to influence disease dynamics by stressing hosts. Understanding the complex ways in which global change may affect important organisms such as habitat‐forming seaweeds, is essential for the management and conservation of natural resources.     

寄生蜂取食寄主特性及其在害虫生物防治中的作用

许多寄生性天敌昆虫的雌虫不仅寄生寄主, 而且还能取食寄主。在卵育型（synovigenic）寄生蜂类群中, 取食寄主行为是较为普遍的现象。本文综合近20年相关研究进展, 从寄生蜂类群、取食类型、生态学意义及影响因子等方面对寄生蜂的取食寄主行为进行了归纳总结。寄生蜂通过取食不仅可以杀死寄主, 直接起到控制害虫种群数量的作用, 还能通过取食策略为卵的成熟和再生提供营养来源, 对延长雌虫的寿命也有一定的帮助。对取食寄主行为的了解可为筛选优势寄生性天敌种类、评估寄生蜂在害虫生物防治中的作用提供重要信息。     

Geographic and genetic variation in feeding preference for chemically defended seaweeds

Genetic variation in tolerance for seaweed chemical defenses among populations of marine herbivores is poorly described, either because few marine studies have addressed the issue or because the feeding preferences of populations of marine herbivores rarely differentiate. We address this using the polyphagous amphipod Ampithoe longimana (Crustacea), which commonly consumes, and lives on, terpene-rich brown seaweeds in the tropical genus Dictyota. Previous work demonstrated that in areas where the amphipod and seaweeds overlap geographically, these chemically deterrent seaweeds provide the amphipod with spatial refuges from predation by omnivorous fishes that avoid consuming Dictyota. However, the amphipod's distribution extends northward of the seaweed's distribution, making this benefit of association unavailable to more northerly populations of amphipods. On average, populations sympatric with Dictyota have stronger feeding preference for Dictyota species and greater fitness when raised on Dictyota than do populations that are outside Dictyota's geographic endpoint. These results are consistent with the hypothesis that in areas where the amphipods co-exist with Dictyota, selection favors amphipods that tolerate Dictyota's chemical defenses and thereby access its enemy-free space. Amphipods allopatric with Dictyota are unable to tolerate Dictyota's chemical defenses, either because of selection, drift, or some mix of both forces. A trade-off between preference for Dictyota and for the chemically distinct seaweed Hypnea musciformis is suggested by the finding that populations with high preference for Dictyota tended to have lower preference for Hypnea. However, this population-level pattern appears to be the result of independent evolution and not a genetic trade-off: an analysis of full-sib families within a single population detected heritable variation in preferences for Dictyota and suggested this for Hypnea (although the latter was not statistically significant), yet no family-level covariation was detected. Phylogeographic analysis of mitocondrial DNA and nuclear sequences indicates a strong historical break between populations sympatric with Dictyota and populations more than 500 km beyond Dictyota's geographic endpoint. The historical separation of these most northerly populations could have allowed a random accumulation of alleles to effectively degrade tolerance for Dictyota, although selection may also be responsible for the degradation.     

New prostaglandins from the chemically defended soft coral Plexaura nina

Three new prostaglandins were isolated as minor constituents of the organic extract from the Caribbean soft coral Plexaura nina. The structures of the new natural products were established by means of spectral data analysis, including 2D NMR experiments. The unpalatability of the lipid extract of the coral and the defensive role of the major prostaglandin metabolites were determined by laboratory and field fish-feeding assays.     

Larval feeding experience influences adult predator acceptance of chemically defended prey

Generalist predatory paper wasps, Polistes dominulus, experience plant secondary defensive compounds as developing larvae through their herbivorous lepidopteran caterpillar prey and as adults through attacking caterpillars while foraging. We evaluated the role that larval and early adult experience with unpalatable prey plays in subsequent foraging choices by adult wasps. For periods of two or four weeks, caged wasps were raised exclusively on caterpillars of either unpalatable Buckeye, Junonia coenia, that sequester substantial levels of iridoid glycosides (IG) or on Painted Lady, Vanessa cardui, that contain very low levels of IG. Wasps were then allowed to forage on both caterpillar species simultaneously. Patterns of prey capture differed significantly based on previous prey experience. Regardless of previous feeding experience, adult wasps overwhelmingly preferred to take Vanessa. Yet Junonia-experienced wasps continued to attack and take back to the nest over 50% more Junonia than did Vanessa-experienced wasps. The longer the wasps' larval experience with Junonia, the more likely they were to capture Junonia caterpillars. However, the life stage at which the wasps experienced Junonia was also influential as young adult experience with the unpalatable prey was more of a deterrent than was experience strictly as larvae for Junonia-experienced wasps. The results demonstrate that, in these predators, previous experience with deterrent chemicals during their larval development alters patterns of prey acceptability to the adult insects.     

Herbivory on a chemically defended plant as a predation deterrent in Hyalella azteca

SUMMARY 1. We investigated whether a population of the freshwater amphipod, Hyalella azteca , which consumed plants with defensive secondary compounds, reduced predation as reported for terrestrial and marine systems.
2. Field observations in Montezuma Well, U.S.A., indicated a strong association between the emergent macrophyte, Berula erecta and H . azteca . We hypothesised that this geographically isolated population of sedentary amphipods was able to consume roots of the chemically defended B . erecta as a deterrent against predation. Berula erecta is in the family Apiaceae, which commonly produce coumarins that deter herbivory in terrestrial systems.
3.  Hyalella azteca consumed roots of B . erecta at a significantly greater rate than alternative macrophyte substrata in Montezuma Well. Additionally, H . azteca moulted at a significantly higher rate when consuming B . erecta compared with a diet of periphyton.
4. Two insect predators ( Telebasis salva and Belostoma bakeri ) with different feeding strategies were used to assess the effects of a B . erecta diet on predation rates in the laboratory and in Montezuma Well. Hyalella azteca was preyed on at a significantly lower rate by both predators when given a strict diet of B . erecta roots compared with a diet of periphyton.
5. This is the first experimental evidence that predation on a freshwater herbivore, H . azteca , was reduced when it consumed a chemically defended plant.     

Chemical profile of adults and buds of the chemically defended marine sponge Tethya maza

Several adults and the corresponding larvae of marine sponges are known as rich sources of secondary metabolites. In this paper we will show the chemical profile of adults and buds of the sponge Tethya maza. Cholesterol, ergost-5,22-dienol-3, stigmast-5,24-dienol-3, cholest-5,22-dienol-3, cholest-5-enol-3-one-7, and stigmast-5,24(28)-dien-3-ol were the major compounds detected, two of them being detected only in crude extracts of the adults while one was present only in the buds. Due to this high similarity it is supposed that buds could be chemically protected with regards to predation as well as the adult individuals of T. maza. This is the first report of chemicals present in the structures (buds) of sponges produced by asexual reproduction.     

Effects of neem-treated aphids as food/hosts on their predators and parasitoids

Abstract:  Experiments were conducted in the laboratory and in greenhouses. Of three neem preparations sprayed upon eggs, only neem oil (NO) exerted a negative impact on the hatching rate of Coccinella septempunctata and Chrysoperla carnea . First instar larvae of Episyrphus balteatus proved to be highly susceptible, when feeding 24 h on aphids sprayed with neem kernel water extract (NKWE). First instar larvae of C. septempunctata showed a very high mortality when feeding on aphids sprayed with different neem preparations. Aphid feeding and live span was reduced. When NKWE had been applied to the soil, the mortality of larvae of E. balteatus and C. septempunctata were lower, when feeding on aphids. Second instar larvae of C. septempunctata were far less susceptible when feeding 48 h on neem-sprayed aphids than first instars; the time of their development was prolonged, and aphid consumption reduced. Larvae of C. carnea proved to be less susceptible, when feeding on neem-sprayed aphids, than E. balteatus and C. septempunctata . In C. carnea , however, significant influences were also observed in aphid consumption, time of development, mortality, longevity, and rate of deformity. NO, containing a very low concentration of azadirachtin A, had stronger negative effects than NeemAzal-T/S^®, in all observations. In the parasitoid Diaeretiella rapae , NKWE application to the soil induced negative reactions, when aphids on these plants were parasitized: low percentage parasitization, lowered mummy weight, low emergence rate of adults of F1 and even of F2. Foliar sprays of NKWE had less severe effects in this parasitoid species. The results are discussed with regard to their theoretical and practical significance.     

Energy reserves of parasitoids depend on honeydew from non‐hosts

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Temperature induced bacterial virulence and bleaching disease in a chemically defended marine macroalga

Host-pathogen interactions have been widely studied in humans and terrestrial plants, but are much less well explored in marine systems. Here we show that a marine macroalga, Delisea pulchra, utilizes a chemical defence - furanones - to inhibit colonization and infection by a novel bacterial pathogen, Ruegeria sp. R11, and that infection by R11 is temperature dependent. Ruegeria sp. R11 formed biofilms, invaded and bleached furanone-free, but not furanone-producing D. pulchra thalli, at high (24°C) but not low (19°C) temperatures. Bleaching is commonly observed in natural populations of D. pulchra near Sydney, Australia, during the austral summer when ocean temperatures are at their peak and the chemical defences of the alga are reduced. Furanones, produced by D. pulchra as a chemical defence, inhibit quorum sensing (QS) in bacteria, and this may play a role in furanone inhibition of R11 infection of furanone-free thalli as R11 produces QS signals. This interplay between temperature, an algal chemical defence mechanism and bacterial virulence demonstrates the complex impact environmental change can have on an ecosystem.     

Importance of host feeding for parasitoids that attack honeydew-producing hosts

Insect parasitoids lay their eggs in arthropods. Some parasitoid species not only use their arthropod host for oviposition but also for feeding. Host feeding provides nutrients to the adult female parasitoid. However, in many species, host feeding destroys an opportunity to oviposit. For parasitoids that attack Homoptera, honeydew is a nutrient‐rich alternative that can be directly imbibed from the host anus without injuring the host. A recent study showed that feeding on host‐derived honeydew can be an advantageous alternative in terms of egg quantity and longevity. Here we explore the conditions under which destructive host feeding can provide an advantage over feeding on honeydew. For 5 days, Encarsia formosa Gahan (Hymenoptera: Aphelinidae) parasitoids were allowed daily up to 3 h to oviposit until host feeding was attempted. Host feedings were either prevented or allowed and parasitoids had ad libitum access to honeydew between foraging bouts. Even in the presence of honeydew, parasitoids allowed to host feed laid more eggs per hour of foraging per host‐feeding attempt than parasitoids that were prevented from host feeding. The higher egg‐laying rate was not compromised by survival or by change in egg volume over time. In conclusion, host feeding can provide an advantage over feeding on honeydew. This applies most likely under conditions of high host density or low extrinsic mortality of adult parasitoids, when alternative food sources cannot supply enough nutrients to prevent egg limitation. We discuss how to integrate ecological and physiological studies on host‐feeding behavior     

Physiological and biochemical aspects of interactions between insect parasitoids and their hosts

In the present review, available literary data on physiological and biochemical interactions between parasitoids and their hosts are analyzed. In order to achieve successful development inside or on their hosts, parasitoids widely use various strategies aimed at suppressing host immunity. Suppression agents used by parasitoids include venom and ovarian fluid components as well as symbiotic microorganisms. The influence of parasitoids on the host organism is complicated, covering many physiological functions and inducing changes of the host metabolism and behavior. The influence of ecto- and endoparasitoids on the host organism is analyzed separately.     

Superparasitism in Cotesia glomerata: response of hosts and consequences for parasitoids

Abstract.  1. Superparasitism occurs in Cotesia glomerata (Hymenoptera: Braconidae), a gregarious endoparasitoid of Pieris spp. (Lepidoptera: Pieridae). The response of P. brassicae larvae to superparasitism and the consequences for the parasitoid were examined in order to elucidate the ecological significance of this behaviour.
2. Field surveys of a Swiss population revealed that C. glomerata brood sizes from P. brassicae larvae ranged from three to 158, and both the female ratio and the body weight of emergent wasps correlated negatively with brood size. In the laboratory, single oviposition on P. brassicae larvae did not produce any brood size larger than 62, but brood size increased with superparasitism.
3. Laboratory experiments demonstrated that both naive and experienced female wasps were willing to attack hosts that had been newly parasitised by themselves or conspecifics. Superparasitism reduced survivorship but increased food consumption and weight growth in P. brassicae larvae. Superparasitism lengthened parasitoid development and prolonged the feeding period of host larvae.
4. Despite a trade-off between maximising brood size and optimising the fitness of individual offspring, two or three ovipositions on P. brassicae larvae resulted in a greater dry female mass than did a single oviposition on the host. Thus, superparasitism might be of adaptive significance under certain circumstances, especially when host density is low and unparasitised hosts are rare in a habitat.     

Slow movement increases the survivorship of a chemically defended grasshopper in predatory encounters

Studies on insect defenses have investigated the benefits of noxious chemicals, aposematic coloration, and even gregariousness, but little information exists on the role of slow movement (as opposed to rapid escape movement and the absence of movement). Using the chemically defended, slow-moving lubber grasshopper (Romalea guttata) and the northern leopard frog (Rana pipiens), we investigated the role of slow movement in insect defense. In a five-day experiment, frogs did not learn an aversion to lettuce-fed lubbers; we infer that endogenous deterrent chemicals are not important in lubber defense from frogs. In experiment 2, lubbers moved significantly more slowly than crickets in the presence of frogs held under beakers. In experiment 3, control (i.e., slow-moving) lubbers suffered significantly less predation than motion-induced lubbers, and frogs attacked control lubbers significantly later than they attacked motion-induced lubbers. Hence, slow movement appears to be an important component in enhancing lubber survivorship in frog encounters. This is the first demonstration that the slow movement of an␣aposematic insect increases its survival by failing to release the attack response of certain motion-oriented predators. Received: 14 November 1997 / Accepted: 12 December 1997     

Interactions between searching strategies ofDrosophila parasitoids and the polymorphic behavior of their hosts

Two strains of Drosophila melanogaster, rover and sitter, differing in locomotion while foraging were simultaneously exposed to females of either Leptopilina boulardi or Ganaspis xanthopoda (parasitic Hymenoptera). These two parasitoids show different modes of host-searching behavior, ovipositor searching, or vibrotaxis, respectively. L. boulardi parasitized the sitter host strain significantly more than the rover. In contrast, G. xanthopoda parasitized the rover strain more than the sitter. In one case, L. boulardi selected far more sitters than rovers in population cage experiments. We also describe the frequencies of rovers and sitters in three natural populations where the local parasitoid community may have partially contributed to the differences in rover and sitter frequencies.