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Effects of elevated CO 2 associated with maize on multiple generations of the cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera
Author(s) -
Yin Jin,
Sun Yucheng,
Wu Gang,
Ge Feng
Publication year - 2010
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/j.1570-7458.2010.00998.x
Subject(s) - helicoverpa armigera , biology , noctuidae , fecundity , population , lepidoptera genitalia , larva , bollworm , zoology , toxicology , agronomy , horticulture , botany , demography , sociology
Under elevated environmental carbon dioxide (CO 2 ), leaf chewers tend to compensate for decreased leaf nutritional quality with increased consumption; mortality and development times also increase and cause a reduction in the fitness of leaf chewers. However, the effect of elevated CO 2 on multiple successive generations of these and other insects is not well understood. Furthermore, information about the direct effects of increased environmental CO 2 on developmental time and consumption of herbivores is lacking. In this paper, we tested the hypothesis that cascade effects of elevated CO 2 through plants, rather than the direct effects of elevated CO 2 , are the main factors decreasing the fitness of cotton bollworm, Helicoverpa armigera Hübner (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). We used two series of experiments to quantify the growth, development, and consumption of H. armigera fed on an artificial diet or C 4 plants (maize) grown under two CO 2 levels (ambient vs. double ambient). In the first series of experiments, elevated CO 2 had no effect on the population abundance or individual consumption for three successive generations of cotton bollworms fed on an artificial diet. In the second series of experiments, elevated CO 2 reduced population abundance of cotton bollworm larvae for two successive generations when they were fed maize milky grains. The specific effects were longer larval duration, lower fecundity, and decreased r m of cotton bollworms. Furthermore, elevated CO 2 increased individual consumption when cotton bollworm was fed maize milky grains for two successive generations and decreased the population’s total consumption in the first generation but increased it in the second generation. The results from this study indicate that: (1) The effects of elevated CO 2 on three successive generations of cotton bollworm fed on artificial diet were weak, or even non‐existent, and (2) elevated CO 2 increased the consumption when cotton bollworm were fed maize. Our study also suggests that the damage inflicted by cotton bollworm on maize (a C 4 plant) will be seriously affected by the increases in atmospheric CO 2 , which is unlike our previous results for spring wheat (a C 3 plant).