The Canadian Entomologist (2019) 151, 768-776

Tyler J. Follman, Aleix Valls, Katherine C. Kral-O'Brien and Jason P. Harmon (2019)
Mechanical stimulation from plant contact and wind negatively impact pea aphids (Hemiptera: Aphididae) indirectly through host plants
The Canadian Entomologist 151 (6), 768-776
Abstract: Global change research has shown how altering factors like temperature and precipitation can impact insect ecology. However, despite global changes in wind patterns, the effects of altering wind have been relatively unexplored, and even less is understood about indirect effects on insects. To better understand indirect effects of wind on pea aphids (Acyrthosiphon pisum (Harris); Hemiptera: Aphididae), we performed two experiments using different techniques for simulating mechanical stimulation effects from wind. First, we used either a brush or leaf to simulate plant-to-plant contact caused by wind. Then we tested the indirect effects of wind by distinguishing between wind and wind plus plant contact produced by adjacent plants. In the first experiment, aphid fecundity was reduced on plants with the leaf-to-plant treatment compared to the control. In the second experiment, wind treatments reduced pea aphid fecundity, but wind did not interact with plant density. Our results further the idea that altering wind patterns can influence plant–insect interactions. We also show that more research is necessary to disentangle how and why wind indirectly influences herbivores. Future research should focus on how pea aphid responses to wind change due to the methodology of wind exposure and interactions with additional biotic and abiotic factors.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Jason P. Harmon

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Acyrthosiphon pisum