Vertical stratification and defensive traits of caterpillars against parasitoids in a lowland tropical forest in Cameroon

Result code in IS VaVaI

<a href="https://www.isvavai.cz/riv?ss=detail&h=RIV%2F60077344%3A_____%2F24%3A00585519" target="_blank" >RIV/60077344:_____/24:00585519 - isvavai.cz</a>

Alternative codes found

RIV/60076658:12310/24:43907983

Result on the web

<a href="https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00442-024-05542-x.pdf" target="_blank" >https://link.springer.com/content/pdf/10.1007/s00442-024-05542-x.pdf</a>

DOI - Digital Object Identifier

<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00442-024-05542-x" target="_blank" >10.1007/s00442-024-05542-x</a>

Result language

angličtina

Original language name

Vertical stratification and defensive traits of caterpillars against parasitoids in a lowland tropical forest in Cameroon

Original language description

Insect herbivores and their parasitoids play a crucial role in terrestrial trophic interactions in tropical forests. These interactions occur across the entire vertical gradient of the forest. This study compares how caterpillar communities, and their parasitism rates, vary across vertical strata and between caterpillar defensive strategies in a semi deciduous tropical forest in Nditam, Cameroon. Within a 0.1 ha plot, all trees with a diameter at breast height (DBH) >= 5 cm were felled and systematically searched for caterpillars. We divided the entire vertical gradient of the forest into eight, five-metre strata. All caterpillars were assigned to a stratum based on their collection height, reared, identified, and classified into one of three defensive traits: aposematic, cryptic and shelter-building. Caterpillar species richness and diversity showed a midstory peak, whereas density followed the opposite pattern, decreasing in the midstory and then increasing towards the highest strata. This trend was driven by some highly dense shelter-building caterpillars in the upper canopy. Specialisation indices indicated decreasing levels of caterpillar generality with increasing height, a midstory peak in vulnerability, and increasing connectance towards the upper canopy, although the latter was likely driven by decreasing network size. Both aposematic and shelter-building caterpillars had significantly higher parasitism rates than cryptic caterpillars. Our results highlight nuanced changes in caterpillar communities across forest strata and provide evidence that defences strategies are important indicators of parasitism rates in caterpillars and that both aposematic and shelter-building caterpillars could be considered a ’safe haven’ for parasitoids.

Czech name

—

Czech description

—

Type

J_imp - Article in a specialist periodical, which is included in the Web of Science database

CEP classification

—

OECD FORD branch

10618 - Ecology

Project

<a href="/en/project/GX19-28126X" target="_blank" >GX19-28126X: Testing mechanisms that maintain high species diversity in food webs by experimental manipulation of trophic cascades in a tropical rainforest</a><br>

Continuities

I - Institucionalni podpora na dlouhodoby koncepcni rozvoj vyzkumne organizace

Publication year

2024

Confidentiality

S - Úplné a pravdivé údaje o projektu nepodléhají ochraně podle zvláštních právních předpisů

Name of the periodical

Oecologia

ISSN

0029-8549

e-ISSN

1432-1939

Volume of the periodical

204

Issue of the periodical within the volume

4

Country of publishing house

US - UNITED STATES

Number of pages

16

Pages from-to

915-930

UT code for WoS article

001201471100001

EID of the result in the Scopus database

2-s2.0-85190360150