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

9902199 Schultz和Redman宾夕法尼亚州立大学有一个积累的证据表明，食肉节肢动物，主要是寄生蜂，通过定向从被捕食的植物释放的损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在草食动物唾液的作用下重新产生的。 所释放的化合物可能是相当特定的。 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推测空间。 该项目将直接考虑生态问题，通过1）捕获和分析田间危害特定的挥发性物质，2）测量草食动物对挥发性物质排放和非排放植物的寄生发生率，3）评估在不同水平的挥发性物质产生和寄生物吸引下，在不同水平的草食动物下，植物所产生的成本和收益。

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.