Premium
Dietary selection and nutritional regulation in a common mixed‐feeding insect herbivore
Author(s) -
Jonas Jayne L.,
Joern Anthony
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
entomologia experimentalis et applicata
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.765
H-Index - 83
eISSN - 1570-7458
pISSN - 0013-8703
DOI - 10.1111/eea.12065
Subject(s) - biology , herbivore , insect , feeding behavior , nutrient , larva , dietary protein , ecology , zoology , host (biology) , food intake , food science , endocrinology
The geometric framework provides a way for understanding the multi‐dimensional nutritional relationships between consumers and their food. We use this approach to further our understanding of the feeding and nutritional ecology of a ubiquitous mixed‐feeding insect herbivore that consumes a variety of host plants spanning a wide range of nutritional composition. Our overall objective was to examine feeding decisions, resulting performance, and post‐ingestive consequences in a common mixed‐feeding insect herbivore, M elanoplus bivittatus ( S ay) ( O rthoptera: A crididae), when presented with paired diets differing in protein:carbohydrate (p:c) ratio. Intake p:c of M . bivittatus differed among all but two treatments and in many cases was farther than expected from the previously identified p:c intake target for this species. Despite this variability in intake of protein and carbohydrate, we found few effects of the diet treatments on performance or post‐ingestive processing. However, our results suggest that when feeding on high‐quality diets, nutrients consumed in excess may be stored rather than excreted.