TY - JOUR
T1 - Plants under multiple herbivory: consequences for parasitoid search behaviour and foraging efficiency
AU - Bukovinszky, T.
AU - Poelman, E.H.
AU - Kamp, A.
AU - Hemerik, L.
AU - Prekatsakis, G.
AU - Dicke, M.
N1 - Reporting year: 2012
Metis note: 5194; WAG; TE; AqE
PY - 2012
Y1 - 2012
N2 - In the field, plants are attacked by several herbivore species both simultaneously and in isolation. Spatial
variation in damage to plants by different herbivores may affect the search behaviour of parasitoid wasps,
but the consequences of this variation for hosteparasitoid interactions are still little understood. We
examined the effects of multiple herbivory on the search behaviour of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata.
Reduced parasitism was found in a field tent experiment, when both the host small cabbage white, Pieris
rapae, and the nonhost cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae, were present on Brassica oleracea plants.
When hosts and nonhosts occurred on the same or neighbouring plants, this reduction in parasitism was
similar, but the underlying behavioural mechanisms were different. In wind tunnel bioassays, parasitoids
were equally attracted towards plants infested by the two herbivore species but were more attracted to
plants with both herbivore species than to plants with only one. Differences in arrival tendencies
therefore could not explain the reduced parasitism in the tent experiment with mixed infestations.
Experiments showed that parasitoids readily left nonhost patches, whereas leaving tendencies from
mixed patches of hosts and nonhosts were the same as from pure host patches. Therefore, reduced
leaving tendencies and reduced host encounters explained the lower parasitism rate in mixed infestations
in the tent experiment. Our results show that the spatial context in which hosts and nonhosts
attack plants determines the foraging efficiency of parasitoids, with consequences for hosteparasitoid
interactions.
AB - In the field, plants are attacked by several herbivore species both simultaneously and in isolation. Spatial
variation in damage to plants by different herbivores may affect the search behaviour of parasitoid wasps,
but the consequences of this variation for hosteparasitoid interactions are still little understood. We
examined the effects of multiple herbivory on the search behaviour of the parasitoid Cotesia glomerata.
Reduced parasitism was found in a field tent experiment, when both the host small cabbage white, Pieris
rapae, and the nonhost cabbage moth, Mamestra brassicae, were present on Brassica oleracea plants.
When hosts and nonhosts occurred on the same or neighbouring plants, this reduction in parasitism was
similar, but the underlying behavioural mechanisms were different. In wind tunnel bioassays, parasitoids
were equally attracted towards plants infested by the two herbivore species but were more attracted to
plants with both herbivore species than to plants with only one. Differences in arrival tendencies
therefore could not explain the reduced parasitism in the tent experiment with mixed infestations.
Experiments showed that parasitoids readily left nonhost patches, whereas leaving tendencies from
mixed patches of hosts and nonhosts were the same as from pure host patches. Therefore, reduced
leaving tendencies and reduced host encounters explained the lower parasitism rate in mixed infestations
in the tent experiment. Our results show that the spatial context in which hosts and nonhosts
attack plants determines the foraging efficiency of parasitoids, with consequences for hosteparasitoid
interactions.
KW - national
U2 - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.11.027
DO - 10.1016/j.anbehav.2011.11.027
M3 - Article
SN - 0003-3472
VL - 83
SP - 501
EP - 509
JO - Animal Behaviour
JF - Animal Behaviour
IS - 2
ER -