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Shelter-Building Insects and Their Role as Ecosystem Engineers

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Abstract

Amelioration of harsh conditions, manipulation of host plant quality, and protection from natural enemies have all been suggested as potential forces in the evolution and maintenance of concealed feeding in insects. The construction of shelters—either in the form of mines, galls, and leaf rolls—are expected to increase larval survivorship and might influence other organisms of the community through non-trophic direct and indirect effects when shelters are co-occupied or occupied after abandonment, placing leaf and stem shelter-builders within the context of ecosystem engineering. In this review, we evaluate the potential of shelter built by insects to reduce pressure exerted by natural enemies, increase tissue quality, and provide shelter against abiotic conditions experienced during insect development. Through a quantitative analysis, we also examined the effects of insect shelters on patterns of richness and abundance of local communities, reviewing the data published in the last 15 years. We demonstrate strong effects of shelters on several arthropods, with increased richness and abundance when shelters are present in the host plants. These results reinforce the importance of the physical structures created by insects that although subtle, might have important roles in facilitative interactions.

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Acknowledgments

The authors would like to thank CNPq, FAPEMIG, UFU, UFSJ, and ECMVS for financial and logistic support. This manuscript is part of the fulfillments for the Master’s degree in Ecology of F. Cintra. Scientific Ink© made the illustrations of the shelter insects depicted in Fig 1.

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  1. Depto de Ciências Naturais, Univ Federal de São João Del-Rei, Praça Dom Helvécio 74, Fábricas, 36301-160, São João Del Rei, MG, Brasil

    T Cornelissen

  2. PPG em Ecologia, Conservação & Manejo de Vida Silvestre, Univ Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brasil

    F Cintra

  3. Instituto de Biologia, Univ Federal de Uberlândia, Uberlândia, MG, Brasil

    J C Santos

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  1. T Cornelissen
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  2. F Cintra
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  3. J C Santos
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Correspondence to T Cornelissen.

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Cornelissen, T., Cintra, F. & Santos, J.C. Shelter-Building Insects and Their Role as Ecosystem Engineers. Neotrop Entomol 45, 1–12 (2016). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13744-015-0348-8

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