Abstract Detail

Ecology

Alavez, Veronica [1], McIntyre, Patrick [2], Donoghue, Michael [3], Moeglein, Morgan [3], Olson, Mark [4], Edwards, Erika [3], Cacho, N. Ivalu [4].

Characterizing arthropod communities in two sister species of Viburnum (Adoxaceae) with divergent leaf morphology.

We characterize the arthropod and potential herbivore communities associated with two sister species of Viburnum (Adoxaceae) from the highlands of Chiapas, Mexico that show a strikingly divergent leaf morphology reflected in other viburnum sister pairs.

Viburnum lautum’s leaves are small, glabrous and have smooth margins; V. jucundum’s leaves are large, pubescent, and with toothed margins. The striking divergence in leaf morphology in these sister species is replicated in other sister pairs along the phylogeny of the Oreinotinus clade of Viburnum. Potential drivers of such a repeated divergence are likely to be related to climate and photosynthetic efficiency, but biotic factors could also have a role in driving or maintaining this divergence.
We quantified herbivory and sampled arthropod communities associated with V. lautum and V. jucundum in sites at which species occur in allopatry and in sympatry. We repeated our sampling spanning the rainy and dry seasons. We identified collections to morphospecies.
V. lautum and V. jucundum host arthropod communities that differ in composition and are not related to herbivory levels. Herbivore damage is significantly different between species only in the rainiest month. Differences in arthropod community composition when plant species co-occur compared to allopatric populations are not consistent across months.

1 - Insituto de Biologia, UNAM, Botany, Mexico City
2 - NatureServe, Boulder, CO
3 - Yale University
4 - Insituto de Biologia, UNAM

Keywords:
herbivory
plant-animal interactions
community ecology.

Presentation Type: Poster
Session: P, Ecology Posters
Location: Arizona Ballroom/Starr Pass
Date: Monday, July 29th, 2019
Time: 5:30 PM This poster will be presented at 6:15 pm. The Poster Session runs from 5:30 pm to 7:00 pm. Posters with odd poster numbers are presented at 5:30 pm, and posters with even poster numbers are presented at 6:15 pm.
Number: PEC012
Abstract ID:466
Candidate for Awards:Ecological Section Best Undergraduate Presentation Award