Buckley Ralf
The Australian Mineral Development Laboratories, P.O. Box 114, 5063, Eastwood, S.A., Australia.
Oecologia. 1983 Apr;58(1):132-136. doi: 10.1007/BF00384553.
This study describes an experimental analysis of a five-fold plant-insect interaction, with the primary aim of determining the net effect of insect-insect interactions on the host plant. The participlants are the extrafloral nectary-bearing host plant Acacia decurrens; the resident sap-sucking membracid treehopper Sextius virescens; the ant Iridomyrmex sp. which attends both EFN and treehoppers; external herbivores including grasshoppers and gall wasps; and predators and parasitoids of the membracids. The main results are as follows. 1. The membracids alone decrease plant growth and seed set. 2. In the absence of membracids, the ants defend the plant against external herbivores, and their presence increases plant growth and seed set. 3. The interaction between ants and membracids exerts an overall negative effect on plant growth and seed set. This has not been demonstrated for any system previously and is the main result of the study. 4. Ant attendance does not increase membracid populations or feeding rates significantly, or reduce mid-season mortality. 5. Ant attendance decreases late-season membracid mortality significantly. This has been shown previously for Lepidoptera and nymphal Homoptera only. 6. The mechanism of the interactive effect in (3) is apparently that the honeydewsecreting membracids attract the ants away from the EFN and decrease the efficacy of the plant's ant defence.
本研究描述了一种五重植物 - 昆虫相互作用的实验分析，其主要目的是确定昆虫间相互作用对寄主植物的净效应。参与的物种包括带有花外蜜腺的寄主植物金合欢；常驻的吸食树液的角蝉科昆虫六斑角蝉；光顾花外蜜腺和角蝉的蚂蚁虹臭蚁属；包括蚱蜢和瘿蜂在内的外部食草动物；以及角蝉的捕食者和寄生蜂。主要结果如下：1. 仅角蝉会降低植物生长和结实率。2. 在没有角蝉的情况下，蚂蚁会保护植物免受外部食草动物侵害，其存在会增加植物生长和结实率。3. 蚂蚁与角蝉之间的相互作用对植物生长和结实率产生总体负面影响。此前在任何系统中都未证明这一点，这是该研究的主要结果。4. 蚂蚁的光顾不会显著增加角蝉数量或取食率，也不会降低季节中期的死亡率。5. 蚂蚁的光顾会显著降低季节后期角蝉的死亡率。此前仅在鳞翅目和若虫期的同翅目中有过此类现象。6. （3）中相互作用效应的机制显然是分泌蜜露的角蝉将蚂蚁从花外蜜腺吸引开，降低了植物蚂蚁防御的功效。
