Li Yang, Parven Nousheen, Akimoto Shin-Ichi
Department of Ecology and Systematics, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, 060-8589, Japan.
College of Biology and Agriculture, Zunyi Normal University, Zunyi, 563006, Guizhou, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Feb 19;14(1):4079. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-54019-7.
The preset study tested whether an aphid species can control its reproduction by recognizing the presence and density of a rival species. Acyrthosiphon pisum and Megoura crassicauda often coexist on the same leguminous plant. We established clonal colonies from each species and mixed colonies with one A. pisum and one M. crassicauda adult. There were no significant differences in the population growth patterns of the two species at 20 °C. However, mixed colonies increased faster and attained larger colony sizes than the clonal colonies. Thus, positive interspecific interactions were confirmed. A mixed colony was dominated by the members of a clone that produced a greater number of newborns in the initial stage, irrespective of the species. Thus, we confirmed the priority effect in the interspecific competition. To simulate the priority effect, 15 glass beads coated with the hexane extract of M. crassicauda aphids were attached to a cut leaf, to which one A. pisum adult was transferred. The presence of the hexane extract of M. crassicauda greatly reduced the reproductive rate of A. pisum adults. We conclude that aphids can control their reproduction by evaluating the relative density of rivals to fellow aphids based on the cuticular hydrocarbons.
本研究测试了一种蚜虫是否能够通过识别竞争物种的存在和密度来控制自身繁殖。豌豆蚜和豆无网长管蚜常常共存于同一种豆科植物上。我们从每个物种建立了克隆群体，并将一个豌豆蚜成虫和一个豆无网长管蚜成虫混合成群体。在20℃时，两个物种的种群增长模式没有显著差异。然而，混合群体比克隆群体增长得更快，且群体规模更大。因此，证实了种间的积极相互作用。混合群体由在初始阶段产生更多新生个体的克隆成员主导，而不论物种。因此，我们证实了种间竞争中的优先效应。为了模拟优先效应，将15颗涂有豆无网长管蚜己烷提取物的玻璃珠附着在一片切下的叶子上，然后将一只豌豆蚜成虫转移到这片叶子上。豆无网长管蚜己烷提取物的存在大大降低了豌豆蚜成虫的繁殖率。我们得出结论，蚜虫可以通过基于表皮碳氢化合物评估竞争对手相对于同类蚜虫的相对密度来控制自身繁殖。
