Abstract
Intrataxonomic differences in terms of angiosperm suitability for herbivorous insects stem from variables such as plant structure, palatability, and chemistry. It has not yet been elucidated whether these differences also occur in terms of the bryophyte’s suitability to bryophages. Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. is a morphologically variable moss species frequently inhabited or fed by insects. In this investigation, we offered five morphotypes of H. cupressiforme to two bryophagous species of Byrrhidae (Coleoptera) to reveal whether the intrataxonomic variability affects beetles’ preferences. The morphotypes were offered with preserved and removed spatial structures. There were no significant differences in morphotype preferences when spatial structures were preserved, although during the daytime, the beetles moved from the flat morphotype to the usual and turgid morphotypes. The beetles preferred the turgid morphotype when the spatial structures were removed. The results suggest that the spatial structure variations in the H. cupressiforme complex are accompanied by different chemical, physiological, or microscopic morphological profiles that are recognized by the bryophagous insects. Phylogenetic and epigenetic analyses can reveal multiple differences within the H. cupressiforme complex. Their interconnection with information about the preferences of bryophagous insects can help us to elucidate which of these differences are ecologically relevant.
Highlights
There is a high level of variability in the diversity and abundance of insect species that associate with different plants [1]
We investigated whether bryophages discriminated between five common morphotypes of H. cupressiforme when their spatial structures were preserved
The original model had the lowest QICc values in comparison to simplified models replacing the individual morphotypes with the spatial structure features
Summary
There is a high level of variability in the diversity and abundance of insect species that associate with different plants [1]. Host preferences can be partially determined from the strength of the effect of top predators and parasitoids on the lower trophic levels, which varies with their abundance and efficiency [2,3], but mostly from host-related variables [4]. Plant variables such as the number of young leaves, leaf production, palatability, water content, plant height, nitrogen content, phenotypic variability, and secondary compounds determine the nutritional and mechanical properties of plants as hosts for herbivores [5,6,7,8,9]. Local antiherbivore defenses best demonstrate this genetic variability and geographically dependent phenological changes in leaf quality [15], and these result in a geographic mosaic for host plant suitability [16,17].
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