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Herbivorous mites as ecological engineers: indirect effects on arthropods inhabiting papaya foliage

  • Community Ecology
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Abstract

We examined the potential of a leaf roller to indirectly influence a community of arthropods. Two mite species are the key herbivores on papaya leaves in Hawaii: a spider mite, Tetranychus cinnabarinus Boisduval, and an eriophyid mite, Calacarus flagelliseta, which induces upward curling of the leaf margin at the end of the summer when populations reach high densities. A survey and three manipulative field experiments demonstrated that (1) leaf rolls induce a consistent shift in the spatial distribution of spider mites and their predators, the coccinellid Stethorus siphonulus Kapur, the predatory mites Phytoseiulus spp., and the tangle-web building spider Nesticodes rufipes Lucas; (2) the overall abundance of spiders increases on leaves with rolls; (3) the specialist predators Stethorus and Phytoseiulus inhabit the rolls in response to their spider mite prey; and (4) the spider inhabits the rolls in response to the architecture of the roll itself. This study shows the importance of indirect effects in structuring a terrestrial community of herbivores.

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Acknowledgements

We thank Jo Diez, Cerruti Hooks, and the staff at the Poamoho Research Station of the University of Hawaii for their technical assistance. The manuscript was improved by comments from Cerruti Hooks, Sarina Jepsen, Gail Langellotto, Teresa Leonardo, Chris Matthews, Ken Spence, and Andy Zink. Eriophyid specimens were identified by James Amrine. This work was supported by a USDA-ARS grant for Minor Crops Research (Agreement no. 59-5320-9-226) and scholarships from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research of Canada (NSERC) and the Fonds de Recherche sur la Nature et les Technologies du Québec to V.F.

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Author notes

  1. Marshall W. Johnson

    Present address: Department of Entomology, University of California, Riverside, CA 92521, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Entomology, University of California, CA 95616, Davis, USA

    Valérie Fournier & Jay A. Rosenheim

  2. Department of Plant and Environmental Sciences, University of Hawaii at Manoa, HI 96822, Honolulu, USA

    Valérie Fournier, Lee O. Laney & Marshall W. Johnson

  3. Département de Phytologie, Université Laval, Ste-Foy, Québec, G1 K 7P4, Canada

    Jacques Brodeur

Authors
  1. Valérie Fournier
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  2. Jay A. Rosenheim
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  3. Jacques Brodeur
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  4. Lee O. Laney
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  5. Marshall W. Johnson
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Correspondence to Valérie Fournier.

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Fournier, V., Rosenheim, J.A., Brodeur, J. et al. Herbivorous mites as ecological engineers: indirect effects on arthropods inhabiting papaya foliage. Oecologia 135, 442–450 (2003). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1212-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-003-1212-9

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