Diet specialization mediates drivers of Cucurbita herbivory in a semi-arid agroecosystem.

ABSTRACT: Herbivory is a major fitness pressure for plants and a key driver of crop losses in agroecosystems. Dense monocultures are expected to favor specialist herbivorous insects, particularly those who primarily consume crop species; yet, levels and types of herbivory are not uniform within regional cropping systems. It is essential to determine which local and regional ecological factors drive variation in herbivory in order to support functional agroecosystems that rely less on chemical inputs. Crops in the genus Cucurbita host a suite of both generalist and specialist herbivores that inflict significant damage, yet little is known about the relative contribution of these herbivores to variation in herbivory and how local- and landscape-scale Cucurbita resource concentrations, ma

SUBMITTER: Gray HL 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11233904 | biostudies-literature | 2024

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature