Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?

Specialization in plant-insect interactions is an important driver of evolutionary divergence; yet, plant traits mediating such interactions are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how flower color and floral scent are related to seed predation by a seed-eating pollinator. We used fiel...

Full description

Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Paul Page, Adrien Favre, Florian P Schiestl, Sophie Karrenberg
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Public Library of Science (PLoS) 2014-01-01
Series:PLoS ONE
Online Access:http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4048206?pdf=render
_version_ 1819086663718010880
author Paul Page
Adrien Favre
Florian P Schiestl
Sophie Karrenberg
author_facet Paul Page
Adrien Favre
Florian P Schiestl
Sophie Karrenberg
author_sort Paul Page
collection DOAJ
description Specialization in plant-insect interactions is an important driver of evolutionary divergence; yet, plant traits mediating such interactions are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how flower color and floral scent are related to seed predation by a seed-eating pollinator. We used field-transplanted recombinant F2 hybrids between Silene latifolia and S. dioica that are the preferred and alternative hosts of the moth Hadena bicruris and crosses within these species for comparison. We scored seed predation and flower color and analyzed floral scent. Pinker S. dioica-like flowers and emission of α-pinene decreased the odds of seed predation while emission of benzyl acetate and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one increased the odds of seed predation. Emission of these compounds did not differ significantly between the two Silene species. Our results suggest that flower color plays an important role in the specific interaction of H. bicruris with its preferred host S. latifolia. The compounds α-pinene, benzyl acetate and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one could represent non-specific deterrents and attractants to ovipositing moths. Alternatively, emission of these compounds could be related to herbivory or pathogen attack and act as a signal for host quality. This would weaken the predictability of the plant's costs and benefits of the interaction and act to maintain an imperfect degree of specialization.
first_indexed 2024-12-21T21:23:50Z
format Article
id doaj.art-a5da0b90093542688f2e0793cf12972b
institution Directory Open Access Journal
issn 1932-6203
language English
last_indexed 2024-12-21T21:23:50Z
publishDate 2014-01-01
publisher Public Library of Science (PLoS)
record_format Article
series PLoS ONE
spelling doaj.art-a5da0b90093542688f2e0793cf12972b2022-12-21T18:49:49ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032014-01-0196e9875510.1371/journal.pone.0098755Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?Paul PageAdrien FavreFlorian P SchiestlSophie KarrenbergSpecialization in plant-insect interactions is an important driver of evolutionary divergence; yet, plant traits mediating such interactions are poorly understood. In this study, we investigated how flower color and floral scent are related to seed predation by a seed-eating pollinator. We used field-transplanted recombinant F2 hybrids between Silene latifolia and S. dioica that are the preferred and alternative hosts of the moth Hadena bicruris and crosses within these species for comparison. We scored seed predation and flower color and analyzed floral scent. Pinker S. dioica-like flowers and emission of α-pinene decreased the odds of seed predation while emission of benzyl acetate and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one increased the odds of seed predation. Emission of these compounds did not differ significantly between the two Silene species. Our results suggest that flower color plays an important role in the specific interaction of H. bicruris with its preferred host S. latifolia. The compounds α-pinene, benzyl acetate and 6-methyl-5-hepten-2-one could represent non-specific deterrents and attractants to ovipositing moths. Alternatively, emission of these compounds could be related to herbivory or pathogen attack and act as a signal for host quality. This would weaken the predictability of the plant's costs and benefits of the interaction and act to maintain an imperfect degree of specialization.http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4048206?pdf=render
spellingShingle Paul Page
Adrien Favre
Florian P Schiestl
Sophie Karrenberg
Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?
PLoS ONE
title Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?
title_full Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?
title_fullStr Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?
title_full_unstemmed Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?
title_short Do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of Hadena bicruris, a seed-eating pollinator, under field conditions?
title_sort do flower color and floral scent of silene species affect host preference of hadena bicruris a seed eating pollinator under field conditions
url http://europepmc.org/articles/PMC4048206?pdf=render
work_keys_str_mv AT paulpage doflowercolorandfloralscentofsilenespeciesaffecthostpreferenceofhadenabicrurisaseedeatingpollinatorunderfieldconditions
AT adrienfavre doflowercolorandfloralscentofsilenespeciesaffecthostpreferenceofhadenabicrurisaseedeatingpollinatorunderfieldconditions
AT florianpschiestl doflowercolorandfloralscentofsilenespeciesaffecthostpreferenceofhadenabicrurisaseedeatingpollinatorunderfieldconditions
AT sophiekarrenberg doflowercolorandfloralscentofsilenespeciesaffecthostpreferenceofhadenabicrurisaseedeatingpollinatorunderfieldconditions