Abstract
Pathogens and other parasites can have profound effects on biological communities and ecosystems. Here we explore how two strains of a plant virus – Barley Yellow Dwarf Virus, BYDV – influence the foraging performance and fecundity of two aphid species: Rhopalosiphum maidis and R. padi. We found that pre-inhabitation by R. padi on plants facilitates the subsequent foraging of conspecifics and R. maidis. Without the virus, the occurrence of facilitation is asymmetric because it depends on the order of species arrival. However, with virus we found facilitation irrespective of the order of species arrival. Furthermore, the virus also boosted the fecundity of both aphids. Analyses of nutrient content of virus-free and virus-infected plants show significant increases of essential amino acids, sterols, and carbohydrates. Such nutrient increases appear to underlie the facilitative interactions and fecundity of aphids on virus-infected plants. Our experiments demonstrate that the virus dramatically increases the food consumption and fecundity of aphids through intra and interspecific trophic facilitation, resulting in processes that could affect community organization.
Highlights
Understanding the outcome of interspecific interactions among species with similar ecological requirements is one of ecology’s persisting challenges
Pre-inhabitation by R. maidis increased the time taken by R. padi to find the phloem (t = 10.18, df = 10, P ≤ 0.0001; Fig. 1d), while the duration of ingestion was reduced by 34% (t = 8.50, df = 10, P ≤ 0.0001; Fig. 1d)
We found that the presence of virus strains altered the feeding behavior of both aphid species, pre-inhabitation of R. maidis on plants infected with BYDV-RMV increased the duration of ingestion by 37% on conspecifics (t = 19.57, df = 10, P ≤ 0.0001; Fig. 1e)
Summary
Understanding the outcome of interspecific interactions among species with similar ecological requirements is one of ecology’s persisting challenges. We examine how the order of colonization by two aphid species – R. padi and R. maidis – and two virus strains of Barley yellow dwarf virus – BYDV-PAV and BYDV-RMV– affect feeding and fecundity. If the chronological order of species arrival and the virus matter, outcomes could range from competition to facilitation, potentially including scenarios in which interactions among species are asymmetric (i.e., only one of the interacting species is harmed or derives benefits from the other) We tested these hypotheses using a combination of field and laboratory experiments that manipulated the presence of virus strains and the order of aphid species arrival to examine (1) the time it takes an aphid to start feeding, (2) the feeding duration, and (3) aphid fecundity. Our results show that the plant both strains of the virus significantly increase the feeding rates and fecundity of aphids, resulting in niche expansion and changes in the organization of the plant-virus-insect community
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