Beneficial effects of flower-dwelling predators on their host plant

Autor(es)

Romero‚ G.Q. ; Vasconcellos-Neto‚ J.

• Tipo de documento: Artigo Científico
• Fonte: ECOLOGY; v. 85, n. 2, p. 446-457, 2004.

Resumo

We examined the effects of the sit-and-wait spider Misumenops argenteus (Thomisidae) on the herbivore assemblage and fitness of the perennial woody shrub Trichogoniopsis adenantha (Asteraceae). Because crab spiders prey on both pollinators and phytophagous insects, they can have potentially negative and positive effects on plants. In a manipulative experiment using paired plants, spiders decreased the density of sucking and some endophagous herbivores on the leaves and capitula and reduced the number of damaged achenes produced by the plants. Damaged capitula had a higher proportion of fertilized achenes in plants with spiders than without spiders, but not undamaged capitula. These results indicate that M. argenteus exerted a double positive effect on seed production in T. adenantha. The effect of M. argenteus on herbivores may be taxon specific and vary among years with different herbivore abundances. (AU)

• Processo FAPESP: 98/15854-3 - Estudo experimental da associação entre Misumenops sp. (Araneae, Thomisidae) e Trichogoniopsis adenantha (Asteraceae)
• Beneficiário: Gustavo Quevedo Romero
• Modalidade de apoio: Bolsas no Brasil - Mestrado
• Processo FAPESP: 99/05446-8 - Biodiversidade de Arachnida e Myriapoda do estado de São Paulo
• Beneficiário: Antonio Domingos Brescovit
• Modalidade de apoio: Auxílio à Pesquisa - Programa BIOTA - Temático