TY - JOUR
T1 - Drought has negative consequences on aphid fitness and plant vigor
T2 - Insights from a meta-analysis
AU - Leybourne, Daniel J.
AU - Preedy, Katharine F.
AU - Valentine, Tracy A.
AU - Bos, Jorunn I. B.
AU - Karley, Alison J.
N1 - Funding Information:
DJL was funded by the James Hutton Institute and the Universities of Aberdeen and Dundee through a Scottish Food Security Alliance (Crops) PhD studentship. AJK, TAV, and KFP were supported by the strategic research program funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division. JIBB was supported by the European Research Council (310190‐APHIDHOST).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2021 The Authors. Ecology and Evolution published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd.
PY - 2021/9
Y1 - 2021/9
N2 - Aphids are abundant in natural and managed vegetation, supporting a diverse community of organisms and causing damage to agricultural crops. Due to a changing climate, periods of drought are anticipated to increase, and the potential consequences of this for aphid–plant interactions are unclear. Using a meta-analysis and synthesis approach, we aimed to advance understanding of how increased drought incidence will affect this ecologically and economically important insect group and to characterize any potential underlying mechanisms. We used qualitative and quantitative synthesis techniques to determine whether drought stress has a negative, positive, or null effect on aphid fitness and examined these effects in relation to (a) aphid biology, (b) geographical region, and (c) host plant biology. Across all studies, aphid fitness is typically reduced under drought. Subgroup analysis detected no difference in relation to aphid biology, geographical region, or the aphid–plant combination, indicating the negative effect of drought on aphids is potentially universal. Furthermore, drought stress had a negative impact on plant vigor and increased plant concentrations of defensive chemicals, suggesting the observed response of aphids is associated with reduced plant vigor and increased chemical defense in drought-stressed plants. We propose a conceptual model to predict drought effects on aphid fitness in relation to plant vigor and defense to stimulate further research.
AB - Aphids are abundant in natural and managed vegetation, supporting a diverse community of organisms and causing damage to agricultural crops. Due to a changing climate, periods of drought are anticipated to increase, and the potential consequences of this for aphid–plant interactions are unclear. Using a meta-analysis and synthesis approach, we aimed to advance understanding of how increased drought incidence will affect this ecologically and economically important insect group and to characterize any potential underlying mechanisms. We used qualitative and quantitative synthesis techniques to determine whether drought stress has a negative, positive, or null effect on aphid fitness and examined these effects in relation to (a) aphid biology, (b) geographical region, and (c) host plant biology. Across all studies, aphid fitness is typically reduced under drought. Subgroup analysis detected no difference in relation to aphid biology, geographical region, or the aphid–plant combination, indicating the negative effect of drought on aphids is potentially universal. Furthermore, drought stress had a negative impact on plant vigor and increased plant concentrations of defensive chemicals, suggesting the observed response of aphids is associated with reduced plant vigor and increased chemical defense in drought-stressed plants. We propose a conceptual model to predict drought effects on aphid fitness in relation to plant vigor and defense to stimulate further research.
KW - climate change
KW - ecological entomology
KW - insect–environment interactions
KW - meta-analysis
KW - plant–insect interactions
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111391780&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1002/ece3.7957
DO - 10.1002/ece3.7957
M3 - Article
C2 - 34522350
AN - SCOPUS:85111391780
SN - 2045-7758
VL - 11
SP - 11915
EP - 11929
JO - Ecology and Evolution
JF - Ecology and Evolution
IS - 17
ER -