Abstract
Although consumers often rely on chemical information to optimize their foraging strategies, it is poorly understood how top carnivores above the third trophic level find resources in heterogeneous environments. Hyperparasitoids are a common group of organisms in the fourth trophic level that lay their eggs in or on the body of other parasitoid hosts. Such top carnivores use herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) to find caterpillars containing parasitoid host larvae. Hyperparasitoids forage in complex environments where hosts of different quality may be present alongside non-host parasitoid species, each of which can develop in multiple herbivore species. Because both the identity of the herbivore species and its parasitization status can affect the composition of HIPV emission, hyperparasitoids encounter considerable variation in HIPVs during host location. Here, we combined laboratory and field experiments to investigate the role of HIPVs in host selection of hyperparasitoids that search for hosts in a multi-parasitoid multi-herbivore context. In a wild Brassica oleracea-based food web, the hyperparasitoid Lysibia nana preferred HIPVs emitted in response to caterpillars parasitized by the gregarious host Cotesia glomerata over the non-host Hyposoter ebeninus. However, no plant-mediated discrimination occurred between the solitary host C. rubecula and the non-host H. ebeninus. Under both laboratory and field conditions, hyperparasitoid responses were not affected by the herbivore species (Pieris brassicae or P. rapae) in which the three primary parasitoid species developed. Our study shows that HIPVs are an important source of information within multitrophic interaction networks allowing hyperparasitoids to find their preferred hosts in heterogeneous environments.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 699-709 |
| Number of pages | 11 |
| Journal | Oecologia |
| Volume | 189 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| Early online date | 5 Feb 2019 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Mar 2019 |
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Keywords
- Fourth trophic level organisms
- Hyperparasitoid foraging behavior
- Multitrophic interactions
- Non-host parasitoid species
- Plant-based food web
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Hyperparasitoids exploit herbivore-induced plant volatiles during host location to assess host quality and non-host identity. / Cusumano, Antonino; Harvey, Jeffrey A.; Dicke, Marcel; Poelman, Erik H.
In: Oecologia, Vol. 189, No. 3, 03.2019, p. 699-709.Research output: Contribution to Journal › Article › Academic › peer-review
TY - JOUR
T1 - Hyperparasitoids exploit herbivore-induced plant volatiles during host location to assess host quality and non-host identity
AU - Cusumano, Antonino
AU - Harvey, Jeffrey A.
AU - Dicke, Marcel
AU - Poelman, Erik H.
PY - 2019/3
Y1 - 2019/3
N2 - Although consumers often rely on chemical information to optimize their foraging strategies, it is poorly understood how top carnivores above the third trophic level find resources in heterogeneous environments. Hyperparasitoids are a common group of organisms in the fourth trophic level that lay their eggs in or on the body of other parasitoid hosts. Such top carnivores use herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) to find caterpillars containing parasitoid host larvae. Hyperparasitoids forage in complex environments where hosts of different quality may be present alongside non-host parasitoid species, each of which can develop in multiple herbivore species. Because both the identity of the herbivore species and its parasitization status can affect the composition of HIPV emission, hyperparasitoids encounter considerable variation in HIPVs during host location. Here, we combined laboratory and field experiments to investigate the role of HIPVs in host selection of hyperparasitoids that search for hosts in a multi-parasitoid multi-herbivore context. In a wild Brassica oleracea-based food web, the hyperparasitoid Lysibia nana preferred HIPVs emitted in response to caterpillars parasitized by the gregarious host Cotesia glomerata over the non-host Hyposoter ebeninus. However, no plant-mediated discrimination occurred between the solitary host C. rubecula and the non-host H. ebeninus. Under both laboratory and field conditions, hyperparasitoid responses were not affected by the herbivore species (Pieris brassicae or P. rapae) in which the three primary parasitoid species developed. Our study shows that HIPVs are an important source of information within multitrophic interaction networks allowing hyperparasitoids to find their preferred hosts in heterogeneous environments.
AB - Although consumers often rely on chemical information to optimize their foraging strategies, it is poorly understood how top carnivores above the third trophic level find resources in heterogeneous environments. Hyperparasitoids are a common group of organisms in the fourth trophic level that lay their eggs in or on the body of other parasitoid hosts. Such top carnivores use herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) to find caterpillars containing parasitoid host larvae. Hyperparasitoids forage in complex environments where hosts of different quality may be present alongside non-host parasitoid species, each of which can develop in multiple herbivore species. Because both the identity of the herbivore species and its parasitization status can affect the composition of HIPV emission, hyperparasitoids encounter considerable variation in HIPVs during host location. Here, we combined laboratory and field experiments to investigate the role of HIPVs in host selection of hyperparasitoids that search for hosts in a multi-parasitoid multi-herbivore context. In a wild Brassica oleracea-based food web, the hyperparasitoid Lysibia nana preferred HIPVs emitted in response to caterpillars parasitized by the gregarious host Cotesia glomerata over the non-host Hyposoter ebeninus. However, no plant-mediated discrimination occurred between the solitary host C. rubecula and the non-host H. ebeninus. Under both laboratory and field conditions, hyperparasitoid responses were not affected by the herbivore species (Pieris brassicae or P. rapae) in which the three primary parasitoid species developed. Our study shows that HIPVs are an important source of information within multitrophic interaction networks allowing hyperparasitoids to find their preferred hosts in heterogeneous environments.
KW - Fourth trophic level organisms
KW - Hyperparasitoid foraging behavior
KW - Multitrophic interactions
KW - Non-host parasitoid species
KW - Plant-based food web
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85061204382&partnerID=8YFLogxK
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/citedby.url?scp=85061204382&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s00442-019-04352-w
DO - 10.1007/s00442-019-04352-w
M3 - Article
VL - 189
SP - 699
EP - 709
JO - Oecologia
JF - Oecologia
SN - 0029-8549
IS - 3
ER -