Disparate effects of plant genotypic diversity on foliage and litter arthropod communities
- University of Tennessee, Knoxville (UTK)
- ORNL
Intraspecific diversity within plant species is increasingly recognized as an important influence on the structure of associated arthropod communities, though whether there are congruent responses of above- and belowground communities to intraspecific diversity remains unclear. In this study, we compare the effects of host-plant genotype and genotypic diversity of the perennial plant, Solidago altissima, on the arthropod community associated with living plant tissue (foliage-based community) and microarthropods associated with leaf litter (litter-based community). We found that variation among host-plant genotypes had strong effects on the diversity and composition of foliage-based arthropods, but only weak influence on litter-based microarthropods. Furthermore, host-plant genotypic diversity was positively related to the abundance and diversity of foliage-based arthropods, including herbivore and predator trophic levels. In contrast, there were minimal effects of genotypic diversity in litter on microarthropods. Our study illustrates that incorporating both above- and belowground perspective into community genetics studies leads to very different conclusions about the importance of intraspecific diversity, than when considering aboveground responses in isolation.
- Research Organization:
- Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States). Oak Ridge National Environmental Research Park
- Sponsoring Organization:
- USDOE Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) Program; USDOE Office of Science (SC)
- DOE Contract Number:
- DE-AC05-00OR22725
- OSTI ID:
- 939643
- Journal Information:
- Oecologia, Vol. 158, Issue 1; ISSN 0029-8549
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
Local and latitudinal variation in abundance: the mechanisms shaping the distribution of an ecosystem engineer
Radioactive tracer studies of soil and litter arthropod food chains. Progress report, November 1, 1975--October 31, 1976. [/sup 134/Cs, /sup 85/Sr]