Dissertation Research: The Ecological Consequences of Parasitoid Attraction to Damage-Induced Volatile Compounds

[902199] Schultz和redman宾夕法尼亚州立大学已经积累了大量的证据，证明肉食性节肢动物，主要是寄生蜂，通过从被捕食的植物中释放出的伤害诱导的挥发性化合物来定位食草动物。这些化合物似乎是由植物对草食动物唾液的新生反应产生的。释放的化合物可能是非常特殊的。以前对这一现象的调查仅限于实验室条件，留下了对其生态相关性的猜测空间。本项目将直接考虑生态问题：1)捕获和分析田间危害特异性挥发性物质；2)测量草食动物寄生在挥发性和非挥发性植物上的发生率；3)评估植物在不同水平的挥发性生产和寄生蜂吸引下所产生的成本和效益。

9902199 Schultz and RedmanPennsylvania State University There has been an accumulation of evidence that has demonstrated that carnivorous arthropods, primarily parasitic wasps, locate herbivores by orienting to damage-induced volatile compounds that are released from plants that are preyed upon. These compounds appear to be generated by plants de novo in response to herbivore saliva. The compounds released may be quite specific. Previous investigations of this phenomenon have been restricted to laboratory conditions leaving room for speculation on its ecological relevance. This project will consider ecological issue directly by 1) trapping and analyzing damage-specific volatile materials in the field, 2) measuring the incidence of parasitism of herbivores on volatile-emitting and non-emitting plants and 3) evaluating the costs and benefits that plants incur at various levels of volatile production and parasitoid attraction, under various levels of herbivory.