Abstract
Context Pilostyles are a genus of endoparasitic plants specific to the Fabaceae family. In Australia, three species are restricted to the South-west floristic region. Aims This study aimed to assess the use of resource-selection functions (RSFs) on populations of Pilostyles hamiltoniorum to understand host preference to the known host species of Daviesia. Methods Forty sites were chosen along the known distribution of P. hamiltoniorum, and infected and uninfected hosts were recorded at each site. The Manly resource-usage function was applied to the data to assess host use in populations of P. hamiltoniorum. Key results Only 9 of the 40 sites had populations large enough to assess host use. Out of these surveys, Pilostyles presented high preference for four hosts species, namely, Daviesia angulata, D. physodes, D. preisii and D. rhombifolia, with D. decurrens, observed to be the least favoured host. Conclusion Resource-selection indices showed to be a potential tool in understanding host preference within the genus Pilostyles, with evidence here indicating that host use is not equal within the environment. Implications The patterns of host use show that there are some unknown factors between each host affecting infection, along with the identification of strongly preferred hosts that could lead to future research in ex vitro cultivation.
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