2018 ESA Annual Meeting (August 5 -- 10)

OOS 30 - The Consequences of Plant Trait Diversity for Higher Trophic Levels: A Mechanistic Perspective

Thursday, August 9, 2018: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
346-347, New Orleans Ernest N. Morial Convention Center
Organizer:
William Wetzel
Co-organizer:
Susan R. Whitehead
Moderator:
Megan L Blanchard
An abundance of empirical studies have shown that plant species diversity and genotypic diversity have important effects on interactions between plants and higher trophic levels. While these studies greatly improved our understanding of the potential consequences of plant diversity, they left unresolved the trait-mediated mechanisms by which plant diversity influences plant-animal interactions. This organized oral session highlights and synthesizes recent work that is moving beyond the traditional focus on species and genotypic diversity to examine how plant-animal interactions depend on diversity and variability in plant traits. Speakers in the session will discuss plant trait diversity and variability across a range of spatial and temporal scales. At fine scales, plant traits, including key defenses, vary temporally within individual plants through ontogeny. At intermediate scales, neighboring plants often differ in phytochemistry in important ways. At large scales, plant traits vary dramatically across entire landscapes, and different landscapes can have different levels of trait variability. This session, by examining differences and similarities across scales of plant trait diversity, aims to develop a holistic and mechanistic understanding of the consequences of plant trait diversity and variability for higher trophic levels.
8:00 AM
Interactive effects of climate and plant neighbors on phytochemistry: Do herbivores care?
Bastien Castagneyrol, INRA - Université de Bordeaux; Hervé Jactel, INRA; Xoaquin Moreira, Misión Biológica de Galicia (MBG-CSIC)
8:20 AM
Genetics and ecology of plant physical and phytochemical defense
Liza M. Holeski, Northern Arizona University
9:00 AM
Phytochemical diversity of tomato plants influence oviposition preference of a specialist moth, Manduca sexta
Andrea E. Glassmire, Michigan State University; William Wetzel, Michigan State University
9:40 AM
9:50 AM
The role of phytochemical diversity on multi-trophic interactions
Lora A. Richards, University of Nevada, Reno; Andrea E. Glassmire, University of Nevada, Reno; Casey S Philbin, University of Nevada, Reno; Heather Lea Slinn, University of Nevada, Reno; Christopher Jefferey, University of Nevada, Reno; Lee A. Dyer, University of Nevada, Reno
10:10 AM
Beyond variance: Incorporating time-sensitive effects of trait variation into species interactions
Ian Pearse, United States Geological Survey; Ryan Paul, Colorado State University; Paul J. Ode, Colorado State University
10:30 AM
Effects of phytochemical diversity on insect performance
Susan R. Whitehead, Virginia Tech; Ethan Bass, Cornell University; Andre Kessler, Cornell University; Katja Poveda, Cornell University
10:50 AM
Plant populations in a volatile situation: Variation in volatiles induced by insect herbivory alters neighbor growth and survival
Meredith Schuman, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology; Silke Allmann, University of Amsterdam; Matthew J. Hecking, Hampshire College; Richard Childers, Harvard University; Elisabeth Seyferth, Duke University; Rayko Halitschke, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology; Ian T. Baldwin, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology; Karolin Troebs, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology; Grit Kunert, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology; Daniel Veit, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology
11:10 AM
Dimensions of phytochemical diversity: A multi-scale framework for studying the ecology and evolution of plant defense
William Wetzel, Michigan State University; Susan R. Whitehead, Virginia Tech