Plant species loss affects life-history traits of aphids and their parasitoids.

ABSTRACT: The consequences of plant species loss are rarely assessed in a multi-trophic context and especially effects on life-history traits of organisms at higher trophic levels have remained largely unstudied. We used a grassland biodiversity experiment and measured the effects of two components of plant diversity, plant species richness and the presence of nitrogen-fixing legumes, on several life-history traits of naturally colonizing aphids and their primary and secondary parasitoids in the field. We found that, irrespective of aphid species identity, the proportion of winged aphid morphs decreased with increasing plant species richness, which was correlated with decreasing host plant biomass. Similarly, emergence proportions of parasitoids decreased with increasing plant species richness. Both

SUBMITTER: Petermann JS 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2917359 | biostudies-literature | 2010 Aug

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature