Effects of non-native plants on the native insect community of Delaware |
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Authors: | Marion E Zuefle William P Brown Douglas W Tallamy |
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Institution: | (1) Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, DE 19716-2160, USA;(2) Department of Biological Sciences, Kutztown University, Kutztown, PA 19530, USA |
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Abstract: | Due to the lack of a co-evolutionary history, the novel defenses presented by introduced plants may be insurmountable to many
native insects. Accordingly, non-native plants are expected to support less insect biomass than native plants. Further, native
insect specialists may be more affected by introduced plants than native generalist herbivores, resulting in decreased insect
diversity on non-native plants due to the loss of specialists. To test these hypotheses, we used a common garden experiment
to compare native insect biomass, species richness, and the proportion of native specialist to native generalist insects supported
by 45 species of woody plants. Plants were classified into three groupings, with 10 replicates of each species: 15 species
native to Delaware (Natives), 15 non-native species that were congeneric with a member of the Native group (Non-native Congeners),
and 15 non-native species that did not have a congener present in the United States (Aliens). Native herbivorous insects were
sampled in May, June, and July of 2004 and 2005. Overall, insect biomass was greater on Natives than Non-native Congeners
and Aliens, but insect biomass varied unpredictably between congeneric pair members. Counter to expectations, Aliens held
more insect biomass than did Non-native Congeners. There was no difference in species richness or the number of specialist
and generalist species collected among the three plant groupings in either year, although our protocol was biased against
sampling specialists. If these results generalize to other studies, loss of native insect biomass due to introduced plants
may negatively affect higher trophic levels of the ecosystem. |
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Keywords: | Insect communities Invasive plants Phytophagous insects |
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