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Microhabitat separation between the pest aphids Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae: food resource or microclimate selection?

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Abstract

Niche separation between competing species is a central issue in ecology. As two of the most important pests worldwide of cereal production, Rhopalosiphum padi primarily dominates stems and basal leaves of wheat plants, whereas Sitobion avenae is common on the upper leaves and ears. Here, we investigated this microniche separation by considering effects of food resources and microclimates on the behavior and performance of R. padi and S. avenae on tissues from individual wheat seedlings. Wheat leaves provided favorable food for both aphid species and this tissue had high free amino acid and low soluble sugar compared with wheat stems. Both species preferred microclimates in the lower area of the seedlings where humidity was relatively higher and temperatures were relatively lower. In terms of performance, R. padi was more sensitive to microclimate effects than S. avenae, while the latter species was relatively more sensitive to limiting food resources. These factors may help explain why R. padi is relatively more common on lower microhabitats of seedlings, in contrast to S. avenae, contributing to the microspatial distribution of these species more generally. This information contributes to a better understanding of the relationship between these aphids and their host plants, which may assist in control strategies targeting these aphids.

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Funding

This study was financially supported by grants from the National Key R and D Program (2017YFD0200600), Henan Province Postdoctoral Science Foundation and Key Scientific Research Projects Henan Province of China (20A180008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Crop Stress Adaptation and Improvement, School of Life Sciences, Henan University, Kaifeng, 475004, China

    Wandong Yin, Lei Su, Xiaopei Feng, Xinlei Feng & Yanghui Zheng

  2. Department of Plants and Crops, Faculty of Bioscience Engineering, Ghent University, 9000, Ghent, Belgium

    Qi Xue

  3. School of BioSciences, Bio21 Institute, The University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC, 3010, Australia

    Ary A. Hoffmann

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  1. Wandong Yin
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  2. Qi Xue
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  3. Lei Su
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  4. Xiaopei Feng
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  5. Xinlei Feng
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  6. Yanghui Zheng
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Correspondence to Wandong Yin.

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Yin, W., Xue, Q., Su, L. et al. Microhabitat separation between the pest aphids Rhopalosiphum padi and Sitobion avenae: food resource or microclimate selection?. J Pest Sci 94, 795–804 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10340-020-01298-4

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