Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed.

Autor: Mach BM; Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America., Long W; Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America., Daniels JC; Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America.; Florida Museum of Natural History, Gainesville, FL, United States of America., Dale AG; Entomology and Nematology Department, Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, United States of America.
Jazyk: angličtina
Zdroj: PloS one [PLoS One] 2023 Jul 26; Vol. 18 (7), pp. e0288407. Date of Electronic Publication: 2023 Jul 26 (Print Publication: 2023).
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0288407
Abstrakt: Anthropogenic disturbance is driving global biodiversity loss, including the monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus), a dietary specialist of milkweed. In response, ornamental milkweed plantings are increasingly common in urbanized landscapes, and recent evidence indicates they have conservation value for monarch butterflies. Unfortunately, sap-feeding insect herbivores, including the oleander aphid (Aphis nerii), frequently reach high densities on plants in nursery settings and urbanized landscapes. Aphid-infested milkweed may inhibit monarch conservation efforts by reducing host plant quality and inducing plant defenses. To test this, we evaluated the effects of oleander aphid infestation on monarch oviposition, larval performance, and plant traits using tropical milkweed (Asclepias curassavica), the most common commercially available milkweed species in the southern U.S. We quantified monarch oviposition preference, larval herbivory, larval weight, and plant characteristics on aphid-free and aphid-infested milkweed. Monarch butterflies deposited three times more eggs on aphid-free versus aphid-infested milkweed. Similarly, larvae fed aphid-free milkweed consumed and weighed twice as much as larvae fed aphid-infested milkweed. Aphid-free milkweed had higher total dry leaf biomass and nitrogen content than aphid-infested milkweed. Our results indicate that oleander aphid infestations can have indirect negative impacts on urban monarch conservation efforts and highlight the need for effective Lepidoptera-friendly integrated pest management tactics for ornamental plants.
Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
(Copyright: © 2023 Mach et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)
Databáze: MEDLINE
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