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Effects of carbon dioxide on the searching behaviour of the root-feeding clover weevil Sitona lepidus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 March 2007

S.N. Johnson ,
X.X. Zhang ,
J.W. Crawford ,
P.J. Gregory ,
N.J. Hix ,
S.C. Jarvis ,
P.J. Murray  and
I.M. Young
S.N. Johnson*
Affiliation:
Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 233, Reading, RG6 6DW, UK
X.X. Zhang
Affiliation:
Scottish Informatics, Mathematics, Biology and Statistics (SIMBIOS) Centre, University of Abertay, Bell Street, Dundee, DD1 1HG, UK
J.W. Crawford
Affiliation:
Scottish Informatics, Mathematics, Biology and Statistics (SIMBIOS) Centre, University of Abertay, Bell Street, Dundee, DD1 1HG, UK
P.J. Gregory
Affiliation:
Scottish Crop Research Institute, Invergowrie, Dundee DD2 5DA, UK School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 233, Reading, RG6 6DW, UK
N.J. Hix
Affiliation:
School of Human and Environmental Sciences, Department of Soil Science, University of Reading, Whiteknights, PO Box 233, Reading, RG6 6DW, UK
S.C. Jarvis
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke Research Station, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK
P.J. Murray
Affiliation:
Institute of Grassland and Environmental Research, North Wyke Research Station, Okehampton, Devon, EX20 2SB, UK
I.M. Young
Affiliation:
Scottish Informatics, Mathematics, Biology and Statistics (SIMBIOS) Centre, University of Abertay, Bell Street, Dundee, DD1 1HG, UK
*
*Fax: +44 (0)1382 568502 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

The respiratory emission of CO2 from roots is frequently proposed as an attractant that allows soil-dwelling insects to locate host plant roots, but this role has recently become less certain. CO2 is emitted from many sources other than roots, so does not necessarily indicate the presence of host plants, and because of the high density of roots in the upper soil layers, spatial gradients may not always be perceptible by soil-dwelling insects. The role of CO2 in host location was investigated using the clover root weevil Sitona lepidus Gyllenhall and its host plant white clover (Trifolium repens L.) as a model system. Rhizochamber experiments showed that CO2 concentrations were approximately 1000 ppm around the roots of white clover, but significantly decreased with increasing distance from roots. In behavioural experiments, no evidence was found for any attraction by S. lepidus larvae to point emissions of CO2, regardless of emission rates. Fewer than 15% of larvae were attracted to point emissions of CO2, compared with a control response of 17%. However, fractal analysis of movement paths in constant CO2 concentrations demonstrated that searching by S. lepidus larvae significantly intensified when they experienced CO2 concentrations similar to those found around the roots of white clover (i.e. 1000 ppm). It is suggested that respiratory emissions of CO2 may act as a ‘search trigger’ for S. lepidus, whereby it induces larvae to search a smaller area more intensively, in order to detect location cues that are more specific to their host plant.

Keywords

fractal analysisorientationsemiochemicals
Type
Research Article
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 96 , Issue 4 , August 2006 , pp. 361 - 366
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2006

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