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Disentangling the influence of plants and herbivores on the local diversity of parasitoids in the Brazilian Cerrado
Author(s) -
Nascimento André R.,
AlmeidaNeto Mário,
Almeida Adriana M.,
Fonseca Carlos R.,
Lewinsohn Thomas M.,
PenteadoDias Angélica
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
insect conservation and diversity
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.061
H-Index - 39
eISSN - 1752-4598
pISSN - 1752-458X
DOI - 10.1111/icad.12108
Subject(s) - herbivore , species richness , parasitoid , biology , ecology , extinction (optical mineralogy) , hymenoptera , species diversity , biodiversity , paleontology
This study investigated the extent to which host plants and their associated herbivores determine the local diversity of parasitoids, which depend, directly or indirectly, on these two groups as food resource or shelter for their development. The tritrophic system studied here is composed of Asteraceae, endophagous herbivores associated with their flower heads and parasitoid wasps. Samplings were undertaken in 18 remnants of the Brazilian Cerrado. Path analysis was used to unveil the direct and indirect effects of species richness, average taxonomic distinctness (AvTD), and sampling effort of plants and herbivores on parasitoid richness and AvTD. Plant species richness had only an indirect effect – mediated by herbivores – on parasitoid species richness. On the other hand, there were both direct and indirect effects of plant species richness on the AvTD of parasitoids. An implication of our findings is that the local extinction of plant species promotes not only the local loss of their herbivores but also the loss of parasitoid species and a decrease in the phylogenetic diversity of parasitoids, which can jeopardise their future evolutionary history.