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Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed
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...
Autores principales: | , , , |
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Formato: | Online Artículo Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
Publicado: |
Public Library of Science
2023
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10370756/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37494406 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288407 |
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author | Mach, Bernadette M. Long, William Daniels, Jaret C. Dale, Adam G. |
author_facet | Mach, Bernadette M. Long, William Daniels, Jaret C. Dale, Adam G. |
author_sort | Mach, Bernadette M. |
collection | PubMed |
description | 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. |
format | Online Article Text |
id | pubmed-10370756 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2023 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-103707562023-07-27 Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed Mach, Bernadette M. Long, William Daniels, Jaret C. Dale, Adam G. PLoS One Research Article 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. Public Library of Science 2023-07-26 /pmc/articles/PMC10370756/ /pubmed/37494406 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288407 Text en © 2023 Mach et al https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) , which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Mach, Bernadette M. Long, William Daniels, Jaret C. Dale, Adam G. Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
title | Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
title_full | Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
title_fullStr | Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
title_full_unstemmed | Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
title_short | Aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
title_sort | aphid infestations reduce monarch butterfly colonization, herbivory, and growth on ornamental milkweed |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC10370756/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/37494406 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0288407 |
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