Phytophagy on phylogenetically isolated trees: why hosts should escape their relatives.

Hosts belonging to the same species suffer dramatically different impacts from their natural enemies. This has been explained by host neighbourhood, that is, by surrounding host-species diversity or spatial separation between hosts. However, even spatially neighbouring hosts may be separated by many million years of evolutionary history, potentially reducing the establishment of natural enemies and their impact. We tested whether phylogenetic isolation of oak hosts from neighbouring trees within a forest canopy reduces phytophagy. We found that an increase in phylogenetic isolation by 100 million years corresponded to a 10-fold decline in phytophagy. This was not due to poorer living conditions for phytophages on phylogenetically isolated oaks. Neither species diversity of neighbouring trees nor spatial distance to the closest oak affected phytophagy. We suggest that reduced pressure by natural enemies is a major advantage for individuals within a host species that leave their ancestral niche and grow among distantly related species.

[1]  A. Agrawal,et al.  Evolution of Specialization: A Phylogenetic Study of Host Range in the Red Milkweed Beetle (Tetraopes tetraophthalmus) , 2011, The American Naturalist.

[2]  A. Knight,et al.  Landscape Analysis of Adult Codling Moth (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae) Distribution and Dispersal within Typical Agroecosystems Dominated by Apple Production in Central Chile , 2010, Environmental entomology.

[3]  O. Ovaskainen,et al.  Spatial location dominates over host plant genotype in structuring an herbivore community. , 2010, Ecology.

[4]  A. Ernoult,et al.  Phylogenetic isolation of host trees affects assembly of local Heteroptera communities , 2010, Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences.

[5]  H. Jactel,et al.  Novel insect-tree associations resulting from accidental and intentional biological 'invasions': a meta-analysis of effects on insect fitness. , 2010, Ecology letters.

[6]  E. Chaneton,et al.  Nutrient supply and bird predation additively control insect herbivory and tree growth in two contrasting forest habitats , 2010 .

[7]  J. Boomsma,et al.  LARGE‐SCALE EVOLUTIONARY PATTERNS OF HOST PLANT ASSOCIATIONS IN THE LEPIDOPTERA , 2009, Evolution; international journal of organic evolution.

[8]  R. Finkeldey,et al.  Genetic and genomic approaches to assess adaptive genetic variation in plants: forest trees as a model. , 2009, Physiologia plantarum.

[9]  Joaquín A. Pacheco,et al.  A variable selection method based on Tabu search for logistic regression models , 2009, Eur. J. Oper. Res..

[10]  L. Warnich,et al.  Population genetic structure of economically important Tortricidae (Lepidoptera) in South Africa: a comparative analysis , 2009, Bulletin of Entomological Research.

[11]  A. Hipp,et al.  Phylogenetic and trait similarity to a native species predict herbivory on non-native oaks , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[12]  P. Coley,et al.  The evolution of antiherbivore defenses and their contribution to species coexistence in the tropical tree genus Inga , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[13]  D. Futuyma,et al.  Macroevolution and the biological diversity of plants and herbivores , 2009, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[14]  P. Merle,et al.  Piégeage sexuel de Tortrix viridana L. (Lep., Tortricidae) en montagne méditerranéenne. I. Epoque de vol et dispersion des adultes , 2009 .

[15]  P. Kotanen,et al.  Evidence that phylogenetically novel non-indigenous plants experience less herbivory , 2009, Oecologia.

[16]  A. Chao,et al.  Native Fauna on Exotic Trees: Phylogenetic Conservatism and Geographic Contingency in Two Lineages of Phytophages on Two Lineages of Trees , 2009, The American Naturalist.

[17]  D. Burslem,et al.  Herbivory is related to taxonomic isolation, but not to invasiveness of tropical alien plants , 2009 .

[18]  J. Salminen,et al.  Specialization pays off: contrasting effects of two types of tannins on oak specialist and generalist moth species , 2008 .

[19]  T. Wesol̸owski,et al.  Late leaf development in pedunculate oak (Quercus robur): An antiherbivore defence? , 2008 .

[20]  J. Schaminée,et al.  Less lineages - more trait variation: phylogenetically clustered plant communities are functionally more diverse. , 2008, Ecology letters.

[21]  A. P. Schaffers,et al.  Arthropod assemblages are best predicted by plant species composition. , 2008, Ecology.

[22]  Joaquín A. Pacheco,et al.  Heuristic Solutions for Locating Health Resources , 2008, IEEE Intelligent Systems.

[23]  H. Jactel,et al.  Tree diversity reduces herbivory by forest insects. , 2007, Ecology letters.

[24]  T. O. Crist,et al.  Habitat specialization, body size, and family identity explain lepidopteran density–area relationships in a cross-continental comparison , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[25]  J. X. Becerra.  The impact of herbivore–plant coevolution on plant community structure , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[26]  Campbell O. Webb,et al.  Phylogenetic signal in plant pathogen–host range , 2007, Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

[27]  Julia Koricheva,et al.  Tree species diversity influences herbivore abundance and damage: meta-analysis of long-term forest experiments , 2007, Oecologia.

[28]  A. Agrawal,et al.  Community heterogeneity and the evolution of interactions between plants and insect herbivores , 2006, The Quarterly Review of Biology.

[29]  M. Brändle,et al.  Is the composition of phytophagous insects and parasitic fungi among trees predictable , 2006 .

[30]  T. Cornelissen,et al.  Does low nutritional quality act as a plant defence? An experimental test of the slow‐growth, high‐mortality hypothesis , 2006 .

[31]  A. Roques,et al.  A lack of native congeners may limit colonization of introduced conifers by indigenous insects in Europe. , 2006 .

[32]  O. Diserud,et al.  The importance of plant relatedness for host utilization among phytophagous insects , 2005 .

[33]  Jessica Gurevitch,et al.  EFFECTS OF SPATIAL STRUCTURES ON THE RESULTS OF FIELD EXPERIMENTS , 2004 .

[34]  T. Southwood,et al.  Seasonality, abundance, species richness and specificity of the phytophagous guild of insects on oak (Quercus) canopies , 2004 .

[35]  Jerald B. Johnson,et al.  Model selection in ecology and evolution. , 2004, Trends in ecology & evolution.

[36]  Qing-He Zhang,et al.  Olfactory Responses of Ips duplicatus from Inner Mongolia, China to Nonhost Leaf and Bark Volatiles , 2001, Journal of Chemical Ecology.

[37]  J. Borden,et al.  Angiosperm Bark Volatiles Disrupt Response of Douglas-Fir Beetle, Dendroctonus pseudotsugae, to Attractant-Baited Traps , 2001, Journal of Chemical Ecology.

[38]  C. Nichols-orians.  The effects of light on foliar chemistry, growth and susceptibility of seedlings of a canopy tree to an attine ant , 1991, Oecologia.

[39]  A. Evans.  Initial Results in Measuring Hemlock Woolly Adelgid Populations in Trees and Forests , 2004 .

[40]  T. Tscharntke,et al.  Plant-insect interactions in fragmented landscapes. , 2004, Annual review of entomology.

[41]  M. Lowman,et al.  CHAPTER 18 – Insect Herbivory in Tropical Forests , 2004 .

[42]  D. Ackerly.  Community Assembly, Niche Conservatism, and Adaptive Evolution in Changing Environments , 2003, International Journal of Plant Sciences.

[43]  K. Yamamura.  Biodiversity and stability of herbivore populations: influences of the spatial sparseness of food plants , 2002, Population Ecology.

[44]  M. Shimada,et al.  Flight Characteristics and Dispersal Patterns of Fall Webworm (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) Males , 2001 .

[45]  A. Prinzing.  The niche of higher plants: evidence for phylogenetic conservatism , 2001, Proceedings of the Royal Society of London. Series B: Biological Sciences.

[46]  C. Ozanne,et al.  Isolated trees and forest patches: patterns in canopy arthropod abundance and diversity in Pinus sylvestris (Scots pine). , 2000 .

[47]  Hugh A. Smith,et al.  Intercropping and pest management: a review of major concepts , 2000 .

[48]  T. Whitham,et al.  ASSOCIATIONAL SUSCEPTIBILITY OF COTTONWOOD TO A BOX ELDER HERBIVORE , 2000 .

[49]  Michael L. Rosenzweig,et al.  Species Diversity in Space and Time , 1997 .

[50]  Miguel A. Altieri,et al.  Biodiversity And Pest Management In Agroecosystems , 1994 .

[51]  P. Merle,et al.  Sexual trapping of Tortrix viridana L. (Lep., Tortricidae) on a French mediterranean mountain. 1. Flight period and dispersal of the insect , 1985 .

[52]  R. B. Root.  Organization of a Plant-Arthropod Association in Simple and Diverse Habitats: The Fauna of Collards (Brassica Oleracea) , 1973 .