Journal
AMERICAN NATURALIST
Volume 164, Issue 1, Pages 113-120Publisher
UNIV CHICAGO PRESS
DOI: 10.1086/420980
Keywords
Aphis nerii; Asclepias spp.; cardenolides; aphid population dynamics; milkweed; plant-insect interactions
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Long-standing theory has predicted that plant defensive and nutritional traits contribute to the population dynamics of insect herbivores. To examine the role of plant variation in density dependence, I took a comparative approach by conducting density manipulation experiments with the specialist aphid, Aphis nerii, on 18 species of milkweed (Asclepias spp.). The strength of density dependence varied on the plant species. Variation in plant secondary compounds (cardenolides), trichomes, leaf carbon and nitrogen concentrations, and seed mass of the milkweed species predicted the R-max of aphid populations, while specific leaf weight, carbon concentration, latex, water content, and trichome density were significant predictors of the strength of density dependence. Thus, plant traits that probably evolved for primary and defensive functions contribute to the ecological dynamics of herbivore populations.
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