Abstract
According to available evidence, leaf gallers have only minor impacts on their plant hosts. We hypothesised that the relatively large leaf gallers formed by Eupontania sawflies on small, creeping arctic-alpine willows have a strong influence on their host plants. In this study, we specifically tested the effects of leaf galler (Eupontania aquilonis) on the survival and growth of dwarf willow (Salix herbacea) in a mountain snow-bed in northern Finland. We marked galled, leaves-removed and untreated ramets in experimental blocks. In the following year, we measured the growth and survival of the ramets. The mortality of galled shoots was approx. 40% higher, and the mortality of galled ramets approx. 25% higher than in the control ramets and in the leaf-removal treatment. The leaf biomass of galled ramets and the number of leaves were significantly less in galled ramets than in untreated or leaves-removed ramets. It is possible that galling causes fatal resource depletion of shoots in its host plant. The results show that leaf gallers are ecologically more influential than previously thought.
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Acknowledgements
Kilpisjärvi Biological Station provided facilities and accommodation for fieldwork. We thank Jani Honkanen for field assistance and comments on the manuscript, Jyrki Pusenius for statistical consultation, and Peter Price for critical comments on the manuscript. The study was funded by the Finnish Cultural Foundation.
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Hakkarainen, H., Roininen, H. & Virtanen, R. Negative impact of leaf gallers on arctic-alpine dwarf willow, Salix herbacea. Polar Biol 28, 647–651 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0714-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00300-005-0714-9