EBSCO Logo
Connecting you to content on EBSCOhost
Results
Title

Effects of predation risk and plant resistance on Manduca sexta caterpillar feeding behaviour and physiology.

Authors

THALER, JENNIFER S.; CONTRERAS, HEIDY; DAVIDOWITZ, GOGGY

Abstract

Because predation risk typically alters how prey forage for food, interactions between predation risk and food availability are commonly found. Less is known about how host plant quality and predation risk interact to affect prey behaviour and physiology., Using the caterpillar, Manduca sexta, and its predator, Podisus maculiventris, the effects of predation risk and host plant quality on caterpillar feeding, growth, assimilation efficiency, and resting metabolic rate were tested., Overall, caterpillars on low-resistance tomato plants ( jasmonate-insensitive) gained 14% more mass than caterpillars on high-resistance plants (wild-type tomato). On low-resistance plants, the presence of predators caused caterpillars to eat 32% less, but they gained the same mass as unthreatened caterpillars (i.e. a 19% increase in assimilation efficiency). In addition, caterpillars showed a 17% increase in resting metabolic rate in the presence of predators. On high-resistance plants, predation risk caused a decrease in feeding, but did not alter assimilation efficiency or resting metabolic rate., The reduction in physiological responses to predation risk on high- versus low-resistance plants demonstrates a tradeoff between the ability to respond to predation risk and the ability to grow, especially on well-defended plants.

Subjects

MANDUCA; LARVAL physiology; CATERPILLARS; TOMATO field experiments; HOST plants; PODISUS; BEHAVIOR

Publication

Ecological Entomology, 2014, Vol 39, Issue 2, p210

ISSN

0307-6946

Publication type

Academic Journal

DOI

10.1111/een.12086

EBSCO Connect | Privacy policy | Terms of use | Copyright | Manage my cookies
Journals | Subjects | Sitemap
© 2025 EBSCO Industries, Inc. All rights reserved