Intra-plant heterogeneity influences the preference and performance of juveniles and adults of a gall midge Export

@article{citeulike:4110985, abstract = {Abstract. 1. Field studies were conducted to evaluate the preference and performance of a gall-inducing midge (Harmandia tremulae) within the crown of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides). Females did not select oviposition sites preferentially within leaves, but did lay preferentially on young leaves. 2. Larvae were the only life stage involved in gall site selection within leaves and in gall initiation and development. Gall size, which was positively related to survival, was highest for galls on mid veins that were located close to the petiole. However, one-third of galls were located on lateral veins and most galls were not adjacent to the petiole, indicating that many larvae choose sub-optimal gall initiation sites. 3. Gall density was positively associated with leaf length, and leaf length, was positively associated with gall size. However, gall density per leaf was not related to larval survival in galls. This latter result may be a result of an observed inverse relationship between gall size and gall density for similar-sized leaves. 4. The results partially support the plant vigour and optimal plant module size hypotheses, which predict that galler fitness in successfully induced galls should be highest on large, fast-growing plant modules. The lack of a strong preference-performance link supports the confusion hypothesis, which predicts that oviposition and gall site selection may often be suboptimal in systems where galler lifespan is short. This study suggests that small-scale variations in plant quality within leaves, can render gall site selection by juveniles as important as that previously reported for adult females.}, address = {Population Ecology Group, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada}, author = {Andrew Morriso, N. and Dan Quirin, G.}, citeulike-article-id = {4110985}, citeulike-linkout-0 = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01076.x}, citeulike-linkout-1 = {http://www.ingentaconnect.com/content/bsc/eent/2009/00000034/00000002/art00015}, citeulike-linkout-2 = {http://www3.interscience.wiley.com/cgi-bin/abstract/121657340/ABSTRACT}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01076.x}, issn = {1365-2311}, journal = {Ecological Entomology}, keywords = {architecture, gall, harmandia, midge, populus, preference}, number = {2}, pages = {287--295}, posted-at = {2009-08-04 10:08:11}, priority = {2}, publisher = {Blackwell Publishing}, title = {Intra-plant heterogeneity influences the preference and performance of juveniles and adults of a gall midge}, url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01076.x}, volume = {34}, year = {2009} }

TY - JOUR ID - citeulike:4110985 L3 - citeulike-article-id:4110985 N2 - Abstract. 1. Field studies were conducted to evaluate the preference and performance of a gall-inducing midge (Harmandia tremulae) within the crown of trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides). Females did not select oviposition sites preferentially within leaves, but did lay preferentially on young leaves. 2. Larvae were the only life stage involved in gall site selection within leaves and in gall initiation and development. Gall size, which was positively related to survival, was highest for galls on mid veins that were located close to the petiole. However, one-third of galls were located on lateral veins and most galls were not adjacent to the petiole, indicating that many larvae choose sub-optimal gall initiation sites. 3. Gall density was positively associated with leaf length, and leaf length, was positively associated with gall size. However, gall density per leaf was not related to larval survival in galls. This latter result may be a result of an observed inverse relationship between gall size and gall density for similar-sized leaves. 4. The results partially support the plant vigour and optimal plant module size hypotheses, which predict that galler fitness in successfully induced galls should be highest on large, fast-growing plant modules. The lack of a strong preference-performance link supports the confusion hypothesis, which predicts that oviposition and gall site selection may often be suboptimal in systems where galler lifespan is short. This study suggests that small-scale variations in plant quality within leaves, can render gall site selection by juveniles as important as that previously reported for adult females. IS - 2 JF - Ecological Entomology SN - 1365-2311 AD - Population Ecology Group, Faculty of Forestry and Environmental Management, University of New Brunswick, Fredericton, New Brunswick, Canada EP - 295 TI - Intra-plant heterogeneity influences the preference and performance of juveniles and adults of a gall midge PB - Blackwell Publishing VL - 34 SP - 287 KW - architecture KW - gall KW - harmandia KW - midge KW - populus KW - preference AU - Andrew Morriso, N AU - Dan Quirin, G PY - 2009/// UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2311.2008.01076.x ER -