When is an herbivore not an herbivore? Detritivory facilitates herbivory in a freshwater system

Parallel molecular evolution in an herbivore community.

Numerous insects have independently evolved the ability to feed on plants that produce toxic secondary compounds called cardenolides and can sequester these compounds for use in their defense. We surveyed the protein target for cardenolides, the alpha subunit of the sodium pump, Na(+),K(+)-ATPase (ATPα), in 14 species that feed on cardenolide-producing plants and 15 outgroups spanning three ins...

More than one way to be an herbivore: convergent evolution of herbivory

14 In fishes, the evolution of herbivory has occured within a spectrum of digestive strategies, with 15 two extremes on oposite ends: 1) a Rate-maximization strategy characterized by high intake, 16 rapid throughput of food through the gut, and little reliance on microbial digestion; or 2) a Yield17 maximization strategy characterized by measured intake, slower transit of food through the gut, ...

Can inducible resistance in plants cause herbivore aggregations? Spatial patterns in an inducible plant/herbivore model.

Many theories regarding the evolution of inducible resistance in plants have an implicit spatial component, but most relevant population dynamic studies ignore spatial dynamics. We examined a spatially explicit model of plant inducible resistance and herbivore population dynamics to explore how realistic features of resistance and herbivore responses influence spatial patterning. Both transient...

Experimental Infection of Plants with an Herbivore-Associated Bacterial Endosymbiont Influences Herbivore Host Selection Behavior

Although bacterial endosymbioses are common among phloeophagous herbivores, little is known regarding the effects of symbionts on herbivore host selection and population dynamics. We tested the hypothesis that plant selection and reproductive performance by a phloem-feeding herbivore (potato psyllid, Bactericera cockerelli) is mediated by infection of plants with a bacterial endosymbiont. We co...

Dynamics of a discrete-time plant-herbivore model