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ARS Home » Plains Area » Sidney, Montana » Northern Plains Agricultural Research Laboratory » Pest Management Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #175793
Title: INSECT HERBIVORY STIMULATES ALLELOPATHIC EXUDATION BY AN INVASIVE PLANT AND THE SUPPRESSION OF NATIVES

Author
item THELEN, GILES - UNIV OF MONTANA-BUTTE
item VIVANCO, JORGE - COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
item NEWINGHAM, BETH - USGS, MOAB, UT
item GOOD, WILLIAM - UNIV OF MONTANA-BUTTE
item BAIS, HARSH - COLORADO STATE UNIVERSITY
item LANDRES, PETER - ALDO LEOPOLD INSTITUTE
item Caesar, Anthony
item CALLAWAY, RAGAN - UNIV OF MONTANA-BUTTE

Submitted to: Ecological Applications
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 9/15/2004
Publication Date: 10/1/2004
Citation: Thelen, G.C., Vivanco, J.M., Newingham, B., Good, W., Bais, H.P., Landres, P., Caesar, A.J., Callaway, R.M. 2004. Insect herbivory stimulates allelopathic exudation by an invasive plant and the suppression of natives. Ecological Applications. 14:209-217

Interpretive Summary: Exotic invasive plants are often subjected to attack from imported insects as a method of biological control. A fundamental, but rarely explicitly tested assumption of biological control is that damaged plants are less fit and compete poorly. In contrast, we find that one of the most destructive invasive plants in North America, Centaurea maculosa, exudes far higher amounts of ()-catechin, an allelopathic chemical known to have deleterious effects on native plants, when attacked by larvae of two different root boring biocontrol insects. We also demonstrate that C. maculosa plants experimentally attacked by these biocontrols exhibit more intense negative effects on natives.

Technical Abstract: Exotic invasive plants are often subjected to attack from imported insects as a method of biological control. A fundamental, but rarely explicitly tested assumption of biological control is that damaged plants are less fit and compete poorly. In contrast, we find that one of the most destructive invasive plants in North America, Centaurea maculosa, exudes far higher amounts of ()-catechin, an allelopathic chemical known to have deleterious effects on native plants, when attacked by larvae of two different root boring biocontrol insects. We also demonstrate that C. maculosa plants experimentally attacked by these biocontrols exhibit more intense negative effects on natives.