INVESTIGADORES
SALVO Silvia Adriana
artículos
Título:
Choosing between good and better: optimal oviposition drives host plant selection when parents and offspring agree on best resources
Autor/es:
VIDELA, M.; VALLADARES, G. R.; SALVO, A.
Revista:
OECOLOGIA
Editorial:
SPRINGER
Referencias:
Lugar: Berlin; Año: 2012 vol. 167 p. 1 - 10
ISSN:
0029-8549
Resumen:
Insect preferences for particular plant species
might be subjected to trade-o V s among several selective
forces. Here, we evaluated, through laboratory and W eld
experiments, the feeding and ovipositing preferences of the
polyphagous leafminer Liriomyza huidobrensis (Diptera:
Agromyzidae) in relation to adult and o V spring performance
and enemy-free space. Female leafminers preferred laying
their eggs on Vicia faba (Fabaceae) over Beta vulgaris var.
cicla (Chenopodiaceae), in both laboratory and W eld choice
experiments, although no oviposition preference was
observed in no-choice tests. Females fed more often on
B. v. var. cicla (no-choice test) or showed no feeding prefer-
ence (choice test), even when their realized fecundity was
remarkably higher on V. faba. O V spring developed faster,
tended to survive better, and attained bigger adult size on the
preferred host plant. Also, a W eld experiment showed higher
overall parasitism rates for leafminers developing on
B. v. var. cicla, with a nonsigni W cant similar tendency in
W eld surveys. According to these results, host plant selection
by L. huidobrensis appears to be driven mainly by variation
in host quality. Moreover, the consistent oviposition choices
for the best host and the labile feeding preferences observed
here, suggest that host plant selection might be driven by maximization of o V spring W tness even without a con X ict of
interest between parents and o V spring. Overall, these results
highlight the complexity of decisions performed by phy-
tophagous insects regarding their host plants, and the impor-
tance of simultaneous evaluation of the various driving
forces involved, in order to unravel the adaptive signi W cance
of female choices.