Comments on plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions in two cerrado areas of Southern Brazil

Caldas, Astrid; Passos, Fernando de C.

doi:10.1590/S0101-81751996000200010

Abstract

This work describes some interactions between lepidopteran larvae and braconid parasitoids on a group of plants at two sites. There was no significant difference in parasitoid diversity between the sites (Shannon index, p<0.05), and similarity was 62.5%, estimated through Sorensen's index. The diversity of hosts was also not different (p<0.05), but the similarity of host diversity was only 28.5%. This suggests that the parasitoids have strategies for maintaining similar reproduction rates, population densities and communities in areas with different potential hosts.

Braconidae; diversity; community; Lepidoptera; similarity

Comments on plant-herbivore-parasitoid interactions in two cerrado areas of Southern Brazil

Astrid Caldas^I; Fernando de C. Passos^II

^IDepartamento de Biologia Animal e Vegetal, Universidade do Estado do Rio de Janeiro. Rua São Francisco Xavier 524, 20559-900 Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brasil

^IIPós-graduação em Ecologia e Recursos Naturais, Universidade Federal de São Carlos. 13569-905 São Carlos, São Paulo, Brasil

ABSTRACT

This work describes some interactions between lepidopteran larvae and braconid parasitoids on a group of plants at two sites. There was no significant difference in parasitoid diversity between the sites (Shannon index, p<0.05), and similarity was 62.5%, estimated through Sorensen's index. The diversity of hosts was also not different (p<0.05), but the similarity of host diversity was only 28.5%. This suggests that the parasitoids have strategies for maintaining similar reproduction rates, population densities and communities in areas with different potential hosts.

Key words: Braconidae, diversity, community, Lepidoptera, similarity

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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. The authors thank Dr. Angélica Maria P.M. Dias for the identification of braconids and for constant and invaluable advise to FCP during senior thesis, and Dr. Manoel Martins Dias Filho for identification of the herbivores whenever possible. Gerardo Lamas and R.K. Robbins made comments on the manuscript. The Instituto de Florestas and SEMA of São Paulo state allowed the project to be developed at the areas. This work was partially funded by a FAPESP undergraduate fellowship to FCP (87/1170-0), under the sponsorship of Dr. Angélica Maria P.M. Dias.

Recebido em 31.VIII.1995; aceito em 10.IX.1996.

Achterberg, C. van. 1976. A preliminary key to the subfamilies of the Braconidae (Hymenoptera). Tijdschr. Ent. 119 (3):33-78.
Brown, K.S. Jr. 1992. Borboletas da Serra do Japi: diversidade, habitats, recursos alimentares e variação temporal, p.142-187. In: L.P.C. Morellato (Ed.). História natural da Serra do Japi. Ecologia e preservação de uma área florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Campinas, Editora UNICAMP, 321p.
Caldas, A. 1994. Biology of Anaea ryphea (Nymphalidae) in Campinas, Brazil. J. Lepid. Soc. 48 (3):248-257.
______. 1995. Population ecology of Anaea ryphea (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): immatures at Campinas, Brazil. J. Lepid. Soc. 49 (3):234-245.
Clark, L.R.; P.W. Geier; R.D. Hughes; R.F. Morris. 1967. The ecology of insect populations in theory and practice. London, Chapman and Hall, 232p.
Dempster, J.P. 1983. The natural control of populations of butterflies and moths. Biol. Rev. 58:461-481.
______. 1984. The natural enemies of butterflies,p.97-104. In: R.I. Vane-Wright & P.R. Ackery (Eds). The biology of butterflies. London, Academic, 429p.
Hairston, N.G.; F.E. Smith; L.B. Slobodkin. 1960. Community structure, population control and competition. Amer. Nat. 94:421-425.
Hassel, M.P. 1985. Insect natural enemies as regulating factors. J. Anim. Ecol. 54:323-334.
Magurran, A.E. 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton, Princeton Univ. Press, 179p.
Price, P.W. & K.M. Clancy. 1986. Interactions among three trophic levels: Gall size and parasitoid attack. Ecology 67 (6):1593-1600.
Price, P.W.; C.E. Bouton; P. Gross; B.A. McPheron; J.N. Thompson & A.E. Weis. 1980. Interactions among three levels: Influence of plants on interactions between insect herbivores and natural enemies. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11:41-65.
Weis, A.E. & W.G. Abrahamson. 1985. Potential selective pressures by parasitois on a plant-herbivore interaction. Ecology 66 (4):1261-1269.
Zwölfer, H. 1987. Species richness, species packing, and evolution in insect-plant systems, p. 301-319. In: E.D. Schulze & H. Zwölfer (Eds). Ecological Studies. Potentials and limitations of ecosystem analysis New York, Springer-Verlag, Vol. 61, 435p.

Publication Dates

Publication in this collection
14 July 2009
Date of issue
1996

History

Accepted
10 Sept 1996
Received
31 Aug 1995

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

[1] Achterberg, C. van. 1976. A preliminary key to the subfamilies of the Braconidae (Hymenoptera). Tijdschr. Ent. 119 (3):33-78.

[2] Brown, K.S. Jr. 1992. Borboletas da Serra do Japi: diversidade, habitats, recursos alimentares e variação temporal, p.142-187. In: L.P.C. Morellato (Ed.). História natural da Serra do Japi. Ecologia e preservação de uma área florestal no Sudeste do Brasil. Campinas, Editora UNICAMP, 321p.

[3] Caldas, A. 1994. Biology of Anaea ryphea (Nymphalidae) in Campinas, Brazil. J. Lepid. Soc. 48 (3):248-257.

[4] ______. 1995. Population ecology of Anaea ryphea (Lepidoptera: Nymphalidae): immatures at Campinas, Brazil. J. Lepid. Soc. 49 (3):234-245.

[5] Clark, L.R.; P.W. Geier; R.D. Hughes; R.F. Morris. 1967. The ecology of insect populations in theory and practice. London, Chapman and Hall, 232p.

[6] Dempster, J.P. 1983. The natural control of populations of butterflies and moths. Biol. Rev. 58:461-481.

[7] ______. 1984. The natural enemies of butterflies,p.97-104. In: R.I. Vane-Wright & P.R. Ackery (Eds). The biology of butterflies. London, Academic, 429p.

[8] Hairston, N.G.; F.E. Smith; L.B. Slobodkin. 1960. Community structure, population control and competition. Amer. Nat. 94:421-425.

[9] Hassel, M.P. 1985. Insect natural enemies as regulating factors. J. Anim. Ecol. 54:323-334.

[10] Magurran, A.E. 1988. Ecological diversity and its measurement. Princeton, Princeton Univ. Press, 179p.

[11] Price, P.W. & K.M. Clancy. 1986. Interactions among three trophic levels: Gall size and parasitoid attack. Ecology 67 (6):1593-1600.

[12] Price, P.W.; C.E. Bouton; P. Gross; B.A. McPheron; J.N. Thompson & A.E. Weis. 1980. Interactions among three levels: Influence of plants on interactions between insect herbivores and natural enemies. Ann. Rev. Ecol. Syst. 11:41-65.

[13] Weis, A.E. & W.G. Abrahamson. 1985. Potential selective pressures by parasitois on a plant-herbivore interaction. Ecology 66 (4):1261-1269.

[14] Zwölfer, H. 1987. Species richness, species packing, and evolution in insect-plant systems, p. 301-319. In: E.D. Schulze & H. Zwölfer (Eds). Ecological Studies. Potentials and limitations of ecosystem analysis New York, Springer-Verlag, Vol. 61, 435p.