Testing the joint effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi and ants on insect herbivory on potato plants.

ABSTRACT:

Main conclusion

Ants, but not mycorrhizae, significantly affected insect leaf-chewing herbivory on potato plants. However, there was no evidence of mutualistic interactive effects on herbivory. Plants associate with both aboveground and belowground mutualists, two prominent examples being ants and arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF), respectively. While both of these mutualisms have been extensively studied, joint manipulations testing their independent and interactive (non-additive) effects on plants are rare. To address this gap, we conducted a joint test of ant and AMF effects on herbivory by leaf-chewing insects attacking potato (Solanum tuberosum) plants, and further measured plant traits likely mediating mutualist effects on herbivory. In a field experiment, we factorially man

SUBMITTER: Moreira X 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11289011 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature