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    Responding positively to plant defences, a candidate key trait for invasion success in in the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica

    Lefort, Marie-Caroline; Worner, S.P.; Rostas, M.M.; Vereijssen, J.; Boyer, Stephane

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    MC_JasmonicAcid_NZJEcol_2015.pdf (571.1Kb)
    Date
    2014-07-28
    Citation:
    Lefort, M-C., Worner, S. P., Rostas, M., Vereijsen, J., & Boyer, S. (2014). Responding positively to plant defences, a candidate key trait for invasion success in in the New Zealand grass grub Costelytra zealandica. New Zealand Journal of Ecology, 39(1), pp.128-132. http://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3205
    Permanent link to Research Bank record:
    https://hdl.handle.net/10652/3457
    Abstract
    Occasionally, exotic plant introductions lead to the emergence of an invasive insect within its native geographical range. Such emergence could be explained by a pre-adaptation of the insect to break through the defences of the new encountered host. We investigated the fitness responses of two New Zealand endemic scarabs (Costelytra brunneum and C. zealandica) when given a diet of an exotic pasture species, Trifolium repens, whose defences were artificially triggered by the phytohormone jasmonic acid. We found differential fitness responses between the two species when they were exposed to a defence-induced diet. We observed a significant weight increase in the invasive species C. zealandica when it was fed with treated roots compared with untreated controls, whereas no significant weight increase was observed in the non-invasive C. brunneum compared with the control treatments. Our study suggests that C. zealandica has a pre-existing ability to tolerate the defence chemicals of its exotic host and, more interestingly, to benefit from them, which may explain why this species has become a serious pest of pasture throughout its native geographical range.
    Keywords:
    jasmonic acid, Trifolium repens (Pasture species), Costelytra zealandica (Scarabaeidae: Melolonthinae), Costelytra brunneum (Broun),, scarab beetles, feeding preferences, grass grubs, New Zealand, plant-insect interactions, native invaders, invasive species
    ANZSRC Field of Research:
    050103 Invasive Species Ecology
    Copyright Holder:
    New Zealand Ecological Society Inc (NZES)
    Copyright Notice:
    All text and images on this website and the content of all electronic files © 2004–2015. New Zealand Ecological Society, Inc. Any information viewed or downloaded from this website is subject to terms and conditions. The publication of the New Zealand Journal of Ecology is primarily funded by the individual and institutional members of the New Zealand Ecological Society. There are lots of benefits to being a member besides the journal.
    Available Online at:
    http://newzealandecology.org/nzje/3205
    Rights:
    This digital work is protected by copyright. It may be consulted by you, provided you comply with the provisions of the Act and the following conditions of use: Any use you make of these documents or images must be for research or private study purposes only, and you may not make them available to any other person. You will recognise the author's and publishers rights and give due acknowledgement where appropriate.
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