Abstract
The effect of aphid population size on host-plant chemicalDefense expression and the effect of plantDefense on aphid population dynamics were investigated in a milkweed-specialist herbivore system. Density effects of the aposematic oleander aphid, Aphis nerii, on cardenolide expression were measured in two milkweed species, Asclepias curassavica and A. incarnata. These plants vary in constitutive chemical investment with high mean cardenolide concentration in A. curassavica and low to zero in A. incarnata. The second objective was toDetermine whether cardenolide expression in these two host plants impacts mean A. nerii colony biomass (mg) andDensity. Cardenolide concentration (μg/g) of A. curassavica in both aphid-treated leaves and opposite, herbivore-free leavesDecreased initially in comparison with aphid-free controls, and then increased significantly with A. neriiDensity. Thus, A. curassavica responds to aphid herbivory initially withDensity-dependent phytochemical reduction, followed by induction of cardenolides to concentrations above aphid-free controls. In addition, mean cardenolide concentration of aphid-treated leaves was significantly higher than that of opposite, herbivore-free leaves. Therefore, A. curassavica induction is strongest in herbivore-damaged tissue. Conversely, A. incarnata exhibited no such chemical response to aphid herbivory. Furthermore, neither host plant responded chemically to herbivore feeding duration time (days) or to the interaction between herbivore initialDensity and feeding duration time. There were also no significant differences in mean colony biomass or populationDensity of A. nerii reared on high cardenolide (A. curassavica) and low cardenolide (A. incarnata) hosts.
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Martel, J.W., Malcolm, S.B. Density-Dependent Reduction and Induction of Milkweed Cardenolides by a Sucking Insect Herbivore. J Chem Ecol 30, 545–561 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEC.0000018628.48604.79
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/B:JOEC.0000018628.48604.79