Journal Article

Beneficial effects of flower-dwelling predators on their host plant

Vasconcellos-Neto, João, Romero, Gustavo Q.

2004

Overview

We examined the effects of the sit-and-wait spider Misumenops argenteus (Thomisidae) on the herbivore assemblage and fitness of the perennial woody shrub Trichogoniopsis adenantha (Asteraceae). Because crab spiders prey on both pollinators and phytophagous insects, they can have potentially negative and positive effects on plants. In a manipulative experiment using paired plants, spiders decreased the density of sucking and some endophagous herbivores on the leaves and capitula and reduced the number of damaged achenes produced by the plants. Damaged capitula had a higher proportion of fertilized achenes in plants with spiders than without spiders, but not undamaged capitula. These results indicate that M. argenteus exerted a double positive effect on seed production in T. adenantha. The effect of M. argenteus on herbivores may be taxon specific and vary among years with different herbivore abundances.

• Publisher: Ecology Society of America,Ecological Society of America
• Subject: Achenes / Animal and plant ecology / Animal, plant and microbial ecology / Asteraceae / Biological and medical sciences / Crabs / direct and indirect effects / Ecology / floral herbivory / Food chains / fruits / Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology / General aspects / Herbivores / host plants / Infestation / Insect ecology / Insects / leaves / Misumenops / Misumenops argenteus / phytophage assemblage / Phytophagous insects / plant fitness / Plants / pollination / Pollinators / Predation / Predators / seed predators / southeastern Brazil / Spiders / thomisid spider / Thomisidae / tri-trophic interactions / Trichogoniopsis adenantha