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Plant architecture and meristem dynamics as the mechanisms determining the diversity of gall-inducing insects

  • Plant Animal Interactions
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Abstract

Plant architecture is considered to affect herbivory intensity, but it is one of the least studied factors in plant–insect interactions, especially for gall-inducing insects. This study aimed to investigate the influence of plant architecture on the speciose fauna of gall-inducing insects associated with 17 species of Baccharis. Five architectural variables were evaluated: plant height, number of fourth-level shoots, biomass, average level and number of ramifications. The number of galling species associated with each host plant species was also determined. To test the effects of plant architecture on gall richness at the individual level, we used another data set where the number of fourth-level shoots and gall richness were determined for B. concinna, B. dracunculifolia, and B. ramosissima every 3 weeks during 1 year. The average similarity between host species based on gall fauna was low (9%), but plants with the same architectural pattern tended to support similar gall communities. The most important architectural trait influencing gall richness at the species level was the number of fourth-level shoots, which is indicative of the availability of plant meristems, a fundamental tissue for gall induction and development. This variable also showed a positive correlation with gall richness at the individual level. We propose that variations in gall richness among host species are driven by interspecific differences in plant architecture via availability of young, undifferentiated tissue, which is genetically controlled by the strength of the apical dominance. Plant architecture should have evolutionary consequences for gall communities, promoting insect radiation among architecturally similar plants through host shift and sympatric speciation. We also discuss the role of plant architecture in the global biogeography of gall-inducing insects.

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Acknowledgements

We are very grateful to C. F. Sperber, C. M. Jacobi, F. A. O. Silveira, K. D. Floate, S. P. Ribeiro, T. G. Cornelissen, and two anonymous reviewers for their valuable suggestions on early versions of the manuscript, and to R. Pereira and B. G. Pacheco for field assistance. We thank Fapemig (CRA 2519/97, 583/03), IFS (C/2487-1), CNPq (47 9684/2001-4, 30 4851/2004-3), and the Postgraduate Program in Ecologia, Conservação e Manejo da Vida Silvestre of the Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais for financial and logistic support. We gratefully acknowledge a scholarship of the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) to Mário M. Espírito-Santo. This study was in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the PhD degree at Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Centro de Ciências Biológicas e da Saúde, Universidade Estadual de Montes Claros, CP 126, CEP 39401-089, Montes Claros, MG, Brazil

    Mário M. Espírito-Santo & Frederico de S. Neves

  2. Departamento de Biologia Geral, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil

    Frederico de S. Neves, Francisco R. Andrade-Neto & G. Wilson Fernandes

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  1. Mário M. Espírito-Santo
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  2. Frederico de S. Neves
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  4. G. Wilson Fernandes
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Correspondence to Mário M. Espírito-Santo.

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Communicated by Craig Osenberg.

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Espírito-Santo, M.M., de S. Neves, F., Andrade-Neto, F.R. et al. Plant architecture and meristem dynamics as the mechanisms determining the diversity of gall-inducing insects. Oecologia 153, 353–364 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-007-0737-8

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