Effect of Plant Defenses and Plant Nutrients on the Performance of Specialist and Generalist Herbivores of Datura: A Macroevolutionary Study.

ABSTRACT: Macroevolutionary patterns in the association between plant species and their herbivores result from ecological divergence promoted by, among other factors, plants' defenses and nutritional quality, and herbivore adaptations. Here, we assessed the performance of the herbivores Lema trilineata daturaphila, a trophic specialist on Datura, and Spodoptera frugiperda, a polyphagous pest herbivore, when fed with species of Datura. We used comparative phylogenetics and multivariate methods to examine the effects of Datura species' tropane alkaloids, leaf trichomes, and plant macronutrients on the two herbivores´ performances (amount of food consumed, number of damaged leaves, larval biomass increment, and larval growth efficiency). The results indicate that spec

SUBMITTER: Karinho-Betancourt E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10384791 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature