Laboratory of Evolutionary Ecology
VOLF LAB
We have published a paper that shows how phytochemical beta-diversity affects insect specialization! Quantity and specialisation matter: Effects of quantitative and qualitative variation in willow chemistry on resource preference in leaf-chewing insects Phytochemical diversity plays important roles in plant-Insect interactions, but specific roles of its various dimensions are poorly known. We linked phytochemical variation in willow salicylates (Salicaceae-specific metabolites) and flavonoids (widespread metabolites) to a standardised distance-based specialisation index (DSI*) in three orders of leaf-chewing insects: sawfly larvae, beetles, and caterpillars. Our results suggest that β-diversity in plant chemistry has differential effects on insect herbivores depending on their order and chemical β-diversity measurement used. Chrysomela populi - one of the highly specialized herbivores studied in this paper.
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New PublicationsMezzomo, P., Weinhold, A., Aurová, K., Jorge, L. R., Kozel, P., Michálek, J., Nováková, N., Seifert, C. L., Volfová, T., Engström, M., Salminen, J.-P., Sedio, B. E., & Volf, M. (2023). Leaf volatile and nonvolatile metabolites show different levels of specificity in response to herbivory. Ecology and Evolution, 13, e10123. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.10123
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