Coexistence of three specialist aphids on common milkweed, Asclepias syriaca

Ecology
R A SmithAnurag A Agrawal

Abstract

Coexistence of host-specific herbivores on plants is believed to be governed by interspecific interactions, but few empirical studies have systematically unraveled these dynamics. We investigated the role of several factors in promoting coexistence among the aphids Aphis nerii, Aphis asclepiadis, and Myzocallis asclepiadis that all specialize on common milkweed (Asclepias syriaca). Competitive exclusion is thought to occur when interspecific competition is stronger than intraspecific competition. Consequently, we investigated whether predators, mutualists, or resource quality affected the strength of intra- vs. interspecific competition among aphids in factorial manipulations of competition with exposure to predation, ants, and variable plant genotypes in three separate experiments. In the predation x competition experiment, predators reduced aphid per capita growth by 66%, but the strength of intra- and interspecific competition did not depend on predators. In the ants x competition experiment, ants reduced per capita growth of A. nerii and M. asclepiadis (neither of which were mutualists with ants) by approximately one-half. In so doing, ants ameliorated the negative effects of these competitors on ant-tended A. asclepiadis b...Continue Reading

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Citations

Sep 10, 2016·The Journal of Animal Ecology·Guille PegueroS Joseph Wright
May 31, 2017·Global Change Biology·Tess Nahanni Grainger, Benjamin Gilbert
Dec 1, 2017·Biology Letters·Lydia WongBenjamin Gilbert
Jul 14, 2020·Biological Reviews of the Cambridge Philosophical Society·Łukasz DepaMariusz Kanturski
Jul 15, 2021·Ecology and Evolution·Abigail S Potts, Mark D Hunter

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