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A gall-inducing arthropod drives declines in canopy tree photosynthesis

  • Plant-Animal interactions - Original Paper
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Abstract

Mature forest canopies sustain an enormous diversity of herbivorous arthropods; however, with the exception of species that exhibit large-scale outbreaks, canopy arthropods are thought to have relatively little influence on overall forest productivity. Diminutive gall-inducing mites (Acari; Eriophyoidae) are ubiquitous in forest canopies and are almost always highly host specific, but despite their pervasive occurrence, the impacts of these obligate parasites on canopy physiology have not been examined. We have documented large declines in photosynthetic capacity (approx. 60%) and stomatal conductance (approx. 50%) in canopy leaves of mature sugar maple (Acer saccharum) trees frequently galled by the maple spindle gall mite Vasates aceriscrumena. Remarkably, such large impacts occurred at very low levels of galling, with the presence of only a few galls (occupying approx. 1% of leaf area) compromising gas-exchange across the entire leaf. In contrast to these extreme impacts on the leaves of adult trees, galls had no detectible effect on the gas-exchange of maple saplings, implying large ontogenetic differences in host tolerance to mite galling. We also found a significant negative correlation between canopy tree radial increment growth and levels of mite galling. Increased galling levels and higher physiological susceptibility in older canopy trees thus suggest that gall-inducing mites may be major drivers of “age-dependent” reductions in the physiological performance and growth of older trees.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Haliburton Forest & Wildlife Reserve for their support with funding and field logistics, and Y. S. Hossain, J. Colgan, M. Luksenberg, S. Shujah, I. Nikoloska, and A. Karve for their technical assistance. F. Beaulieu confirmed the identification of V. aceriscrumena. Voucher specimens have been placed in the Canadian National Collection of Insects, Arachnids, and Nematodes (Ottawa, Canada).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3B2

    Rajit Patankar, Sean C. Thomas & Sandy M. Smith

  2. Faculty of Forestry, University of Toronto, 33 Willcocks Street, Toronto, ON, Canada, M5S 3B3

    Sean C. Thomas & Sandy M. Smith

Authors
  1. Rajit Patankar
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  2. Sean C. Thomas
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  3. Sandy M. Smith
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Correspondence to Rajit Patankar.

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Communicated by Gerardo Avalos.

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Patankar, R., Thomas, S.C. & Smith, S.M. A gall-inducing arthropod drives declines in canopy tree photosynthesis. Oecologia 167, 701–709 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2019-8

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