Meta-analysis of olfactory responses of herbivores and natural enemies to methyl salicylate in laboratory experiments

ROSSETTI M.R.; KUZMANICH N.; VIDELA M.; BEN-ZVI Y.; RODRIGUEZ-SAONA C.

Congreso; VII Congress of the Latin American Association of Chemical Ecology.; 2023

Plants release volatile compounds in response to herbivore damage or infection by pathogens. These herbivore-induced plant volatiles (HIPVs) can attract natural enemies of herbivores, and could thus serve as an indirect plant defense. One of the most studied HIPVs is methyl salicylate (MeSA) given its potential use in enhancing conservation biological control. The success of the use of MeSA to manage pests depends on natural enemy as well as herbivore behavioral responses. MeSA is expected to attract natural enemies and repel herbivores since phytophagous would avoid damaged plants, although arthropod responses may vary depending on life history traits. We conducted a meta-analysis of olfactory responses of natural enemy and herbivore arthropods to MeSA in laboratory experiments and compared the effects between different functional groups (predators vs parasitoids; chewers vs suckers) and between herbivores with different host specialization (generalists vs specialists). We identified 23 suitable studies for natural enemies and 14 studies for herbivores after online search and filtering. These studies yielded 177 effect sizes, calculated as log odds ratio. Most of the studies evaluated the responses of insects (33 species) and a smaller number of publications examined the behavior of mites (4 species) and spiders (2 species). We found a significant attractive effect of MeSA on natural enemy arthropods, and this response did not differ between parasitoids and predators. Herbivores were not affected by MeSA, without significant differences between functional groups and between generalists and specialists. Our work summarizing results from laboratory experiments support the potential use of MeSA to attract natural enemies, with negligible effects on herbivore behavior. These findings have important implications for incorporating HIPVs, such as MeSA, in pest management strategies.