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Exogenous application of methyl jasmonate to Ficus hahliana attracts predators of insects along an altitudinal gradient in Papua New Guinea

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 May 2019

Anna Mrazova Open the ORCID record for Anna Mrazova [Opens in a new window]  and
Katerina Sam Open the ORCID record for Katerina Sam [Opens in a new window]
Anna Mrazova
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic Biology Centre, CAS, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
Katerina Sam*
Affiliation:
Faculty of Science, University of South Bohemia, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic Biology Centre, CAS, Institute of Entomology, Ceske Budejovice, Czech Republic
*
*Email: [email protected]
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Abstract

In many plants, the defence systems against herbivores are induced, and may be involved in recruiting the natural enemies of herbivores. We used methyl jasmonate, a well-known inducer of plant defence responses, to manipulate the chemistry of Ficus hahliana along a tropical altitudinal gradient in order to test its ability to attract the enemies of herbivores. We examined whether chemical signals from MeJA-treated trees (simulating leaf damage by herbivores) attracted insect enemies in the complex settings of a tropical forest; and how this ability changes with altitude, where the communities of predators differ naturally. We conducted the research at four study sites (200, 700, 1700 and 2700 m asl) of Mt Wilhelm in Papua New Guinea. Using dummy plasticine caterpillars to assess predation on herbivorous insect, we showed that, on average, inducing plant defences with jasmonic acid in this tropical forest increases predation twofold (i.e. caterpillars exposed on MeJA-sprayed trees were attacked twice as often as caterpillars exposed on control trees). The predation rate on control trees decreased with increasing altitude from 20.2% d−1 at 200 m asl to 4.7% d−1 at 2700 m asl. Predation on MeJA-treated trees peaked at 700 m (52.3% d−1) and decreased to 20.8% d−1 at 2700 m asl. Arthropod predators (i.e. ants and wasps) caused relatively more attacks in the lowlands (200–700 m asl), while birds became the dominant predators above 1700 m asl. The predation pressure from birds and arthropods corresponded with their relative abundances, but not with their species richness. Our study found a connection between chemically induced defence in plants and their attractivity to predators of herbivorous insect in the tropics.

Keywords

Herbivore-induced plant volatileHIPVmethyl jasmonatemultitrophic interactionsplasticine caterpillarspredatorstropical gradient
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 35 , Issue 4 , July 2019 , pp. 157 - 164
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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