Foliar pathogen and insect herbivore effects on two landslide tree species in Puerto Rico

Abstract

To better understand pathogen/herbivore interactions and landslide regeneration, percent leaf area lost to disease and herbivory on two Puerto Rican trees over a 1-year period was sampled. Cecropia schreberiana saplings lost from 1 to 3% leaf area to pathogens and from 1 to 7% to herbivores. For Inga vera, both sapling and seedling losses to pathogens were minimal, but Inga herbivory losses reached 25% for saplings and 34% for seedlings. The most common fungi on Cecropia leaves were species in the genera Phoma and Phyllosticta, and on Inga leaves was Colletotrichum gloeosporioides. Percent survivorship after 1 year in the field varied among species and life-form (46% for Cecropia saplings, 15% for Inga saplings, 0% for Inga seedlings). There were no effects of pathogens or herbivores on survivorship or growth, but increased levels of herbivory did significantly correlate with total phenolics and condensed tannins in both Inga seedlings and saplings. For both seedlings and saplings of two trees on the neotropic island of Puerto Rico: (1) leaf herbivory was modest and leaf losses to pathogen disease were small; (2) these mechanisms did not affect survivorship or growth; (3) a neotropical tree (I. vera) displayed increased levels of secondary chemicals in its leaves, correlated with increased levels of insect herbivory.

Citation

Myster, Randall W. 2002. Foliar pathogen and insect herbivore effects on two landslide tree species in Puerto Rico. Forest Ecology and Management 169 :231–242