Grazing Scar Characteristics Impact Degree of Fungal Facilitation in Spartina alterniflora Leaves in a South American Salt Marsh

Brazilian Archives of Biology and Technology

Ricardo Franco Freitas¹  Elizabeth Carol Schrack¹  Robert Drew Sieg¹  Brian Reed Silliman¹  César Serra Bonifácio Costa¹ 

关键词: fungi infestation;    phytopathology;    biotic interactions;    aphids;    Neohelice granulata;   

DOI  :  10.1590/S1516-8913201400030

来源: SciELO

【 摘 要 】

Grazing scars of burrowing crabs and Hemiptera insects were simulated on leaves of the salt marsh grass Spartina alterniflora. Simulations of crab feeding generated two-fold higher fungal (ergosterol) content in leaves in comparison to that generated by insect scar simulations (1.26 ±0.55 and 0.57 ±0.25 µg per cm², respectively). This study provided evidence that herbivory could facilitate microbial infection by fungi in dominant South American salt marsh plants and indicated that specific feeding mechanisms used by different herbivores might differentially impact the strength of this interaction.

【 授权许可】

CC BY-NC   
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