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Atmospheric change alters foliar quality of host trees and performance of two outbreak insect species

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Abstract

This study examined the independent and interactive effects of elevated carbon dioxide (CO2) and ozone (O3) on the foliar quality of two deciduous trees species and the performance of two outbreak herbivore species. Trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides) and paper birch (Betula papyrifera) were grown at the Aspen FACE research site in northern Wisconsin, USA, under four combinations of ambient and elevated CO2 and O3. We measured the effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on aspen and birch phytochemistry and on gypsy moth (Lymantria dispar) and forest tent caterpillar (Malacosoma disstria) performance. Elevated CO2 nominally affected foliar quality for both tree species. Elevated O3 negatively affected aspen foliar quality, but only marginally influenced birch foliar quality. Elevated CO2 slightly improved herbivore performance, while elevated O3 decreased herbivore performance, and both responses were stronger on aspen than birch. Interestingly, elevated CO2 largely offset decreased herbivore performance under elevated O3. Nitrogen, lignin, and C:N were identified as having strong influences on herbivore performance when larvae were fed aspen, but no significant relationships were observed for insects fed birch. Our results support the notion that herbivore performance can be affected by atmospheric change through altered foliar quality, but how herbivores will respond will depend on interactions among CO2, O3, and tree species. An emergent finding from this study is that tree age and longevity of exposure to pollutants may influence the effects of elevated CO2 and O3 on plant–herbivore interactions, highlighting the need to continue long-term atmospheric change research.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to T.D. Fitzgerald for generously providing forest tent caterpillar egg masses. We thank K.F. Rubert-Nason for assistance with the chemical analysis of phenolic glycosides, and M. Bushell for laboratory assistance. We also thank P.A. Townsend, P.T. Wolter, and S.P. Serbin for assistance with PLSR analysis. One reviewer provided particularly constructive comments on the manuscript. Aspen FACE was principally supported by the Office of Science (BER), U.S. Department of Energy, grant no. DE-FG02-95ER62125 to Michigan Technological University, and contract no. DE-AC02-98CH10886 to Brookhaven National Laboratory, the US Forest Service Northern Global Change Program and North Central Research Station, Michigan Technological University, and Natural Resources Canada—Canadian Forest Service. This work was supported by the U.S. Department of Energy (Office of Science, BER), grant DE-FG02-06ER64232, to RL.

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  1. Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, Russell Laboratories, 1630 Linden Dr., Madison, WI, 53706, USA

    John J. Couture, Timothy D. Meehan & Richard L. Lindroth

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  1. John J. Couture
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  2. Timothy D. Meehan
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Correspondence to John J. Couture.

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Communicated by Roland Brandl.

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Couture, J.J., Meehan, T.D. & Lindroth, R.L. Atmospheric change alters foliar quality of host trees and performance of two outbreak insect species. Oecologia 168, 863–876 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-011-2139-1

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