Host specificity of Lepidoptera in tropical and temperate forests
It is suggested that greater specialization in tropical faunas is the result of differences in trophic interactions; for example, there are more distinct plant secondary chemical profiles from one tree species to the next in tropical forests than in temperate forests as well as more diverse and chronic pressures from natural enemy communities.
The global distribution of diet breadth in insect herbivores
- M. Forister, V. Novotný, L. Dyer
- Environmental ScienceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences
- 29 December 2014
A global dataset is used to investigate host range for over 7,500 insect herbivore species covering a wide taxonomic breadth and interacting with more than 2,000 species of plants in 165 families to ask whether relatively specialized and generalized herbivores represent a dichotomy rather than a continuum from few to many host families and species attacked and whether diet breadth changes with increasing plant species richness toward the tropics.
Revisiting the evolution of ecological specialization, with emphasis on insect-plant interactions.
- M. Forister, L. Dyer, M. Singer, J. Stireman, J. Lill
- BiologyEcology
- 1 May 2012
New developments in the evolution of ecological specialization are synthesized, using insect-plant interactions as a model, to find that theory based on simple genetic trade-offs in host use is being replaced by more subtle and complex pictures of genetic architecture, and multitrophic interactions have risen as a necessary framework for understanding specialization.
Climatic unpredictability and parasitism of caterpillars: implications of global warming.
- J. Stireman, L. Dyer, I. Diniz
- Environmental ScienceProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences…
- 10 October 2005
This work compares caterpillar-parasitoid interactions across a broad gradient of climatic variability and finds that the combined data in 15 geographically dispersed databases show a decrease in levels of parasitism as Climatic variability increases.
Feeny revisited: condensed tannins as anti‐herbivore defences in leaf‐chewing herbivore communities of Quercus
- Rebecca E. Forkner, R. Marquis, J. Lill
- Environmental Science
- 1 April 2004
Community level oak–tannin–insect patterns have been largely unexplored since Paul Feeny's ground‐breaking research and abundance and richness of leaf‐chewing herbivores are negatively correlated with foliar condensed tannin concentrations and variation in condensed tANNin concentrations explains variation in herbivore community structure.
Host plants influence parasitism of forest caterpillars
- J. Lill, R. Marquis, R. Ricklefs
- Environmental Science, BiologyNature
- 9 May 2002
Differences in parasitism among particular caterpillar–host plant combinations could select for specialization of host plant ranges within caterpillar communities, which would ultimately promote the species diversification of Lepidoptera in temperate forests with respect to escape from enemies.
ECOSYSTEM ENGINEERING BY CATERPILLARS INCREASES INSECT HERBIVORE DIVERSITY ON WHITE OAK
- J. Lill, R. Marquis
- Environmental Science
- 1 March 2003
Herbivore community composition differed significantly between the removal and artificial tie treatments in both years, due to increased species richness of leaf- tying caterpillars (1999 and 2000), sawflies (1999 only), and beetles (2000 only) on trees with artificial ties.
The role of climate variability and global warming in the dieback of Northern Hardwoods
- A. Auclair, J. Lill, C. Revenga
- Environmental Science
- 1 October 1996
The severity of dieback in Northern Hardwood Forests of Canada and the United States this century (1910–1990) was reconstructed from pathology records and compared to indices of extreme weather…
6 - Microhabitat Manipulation: Ecosystem Engineering by Shelter-Building Insects
- J. Lill, R. Marquis
- Environmental Science
- 2007
Stinging spines protect slug caterpillars (Limacodidae) from multiple generalist predators
- S. Murphy, Susannah M. Leahy, L. Williams, J. Lill
- Biology, Environmental Science
- 2010
It is concluded that limacodid larvae that are heavily armored with stinging spines are well defended against attacks from invertebrate predators and are significantly more likely to survive predator encounters than are unspined or lightly spined larvae.
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