Long term oviposition preference and larval performance of Schizomyia macrocapillata (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) on larger shoots of its host plant Bauhinia brevipes (Fabaceae)

• Published in: Evolutionary ecology Vol. 22; no. 1; pp. 123 - 137
• Main Authors: Santos, Jean Carlos, Silveira, Fernando A. O, Fernandes, G. Wilson
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Dordrecht Dordrecht : Springer Netherlands 2008; Springer Netherlands; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Animal Ecology; Bauhinia; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Bottom-up and top-down forces; Cecidomyiidae; Diptera; Ecology; Evolutionary Biology; Fabaceae; females; galls; herbivores; host plants; Host selection; hypersensitive response; Insect galls; Insects; Larvae; Life Sciences; Mortality; Mortality factors; natural enemies; natural selection; Offspring; Original Paper; oviposition; Plant biology; Plant pathology; Plant Sciences; Plant Vigor Hypothesis; prediction; Preference-performance; progeny; Schizomyia; shoots; vigor; Host selection; Mortality factors; Bottom-up and top-down forces; Insect galls; Preference–performance; Herbivory; Plant Vigor Hypothesis

The Plant Vigor Hypothesis (PVH) proposes that natural selection on female oviposition choice results from higher fitness of larvae on more vigorous and larger plant modules. For six consecutive years we tested the PVH predictions by investigating the effect of shoot size of Bauhinia brevipes (Fabac...