Plant defences limit herbivore population growth by changing predator-prey interactions.

ABSTRACT: Plant quality and predators are important factors affecting herbivore population growth, but how they interact to regulate herbivore populations is not well understood. We manipulated jasmonate-induced plant resistance, exposure to the natural predator community and herbivore density to test how these factors jointly and independently affect herbivore population growth. On low-resistance plants, the predator community was diverse and abundant, promoting high predator consumption rates. On high-resistance plants, the predator community was less diverse and abundant, resulting in low predator consumption rate. Plant resistance only directly regulated aphid population growth on predator-excluded plants. When predators were present, plant resistance indirectly regulated herbivore population gr

SUBMITTER: Kersch-Becker MF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC5597831 | biostudies-literature | 2017 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature