Could Bryophagous Beetles (Coleoptera: Byrrhidae) Help Us Understand Bryophyte Taxonomy? Preferences within the Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. Species Complex
Open Access
- 2 March 2021
- Vol. 10 (3), 469
- https://doi.org/10.3390/plants10030469
Abstract
Intrataxonomic differences in terms of angiosperm suitability for herbivorous insects stem from variables such as plant structure, palatability, and chemistry. It has not yet been elucidated whether these differences also occur in terms of the bryophyte’s suitability to bryophages. Hypnum cupressiforme Hedw. is a morphologically variable moss species frequently inhabited or fed by insects. In this investigation, we offered five morphotypes of H. cupressiforme to two bryophagous species of Byrrhidae (Coleoptera) to reveal whether the intrataxonomic variability affects beetles’ preferences. The morphotypes were offered with preserved and removed spatial structures. There were no significant differences in morphotype preferences when spatial structures were preserved, although during the daytime, the beetles moved from the flat morphotype to the usual and turgid morphotypes. The beetles preferred the turgid morphotype when the spatial structures were removed. The results suggest that the spatial structure variations in the H. cupressiforme complex are accompanied by different chemical, physiological, or microscopic morphological profiles that are recognized by the bryophagous insects. Phylogenetic and epigenetic analyses can reveal multiple differences within the H. cupressiforme complex. Their interconnection with information about the preferences of bryophagous insects can help us to elucidate which of these differences are ecologically relevant.Keywords
Funding Information
- Ministerstvo Školství, Mládeže a Tělovýchovy (0040/7/NAD/2019)
- Institute of Environmental Technologies (LO1208, CZ.1.05/2.1.00/19.0388, 03557/2019/ŠMS, CZ.1.05/2.1.00/03.0100)
This publication has 64 references indexed in Scilit:
- The relationship between leaf nitrogen, nitrogen metabolites and herbivory in two species of Nyctaginaceae from the Brazilian CerradoEnvironmental and Experimental Botany, 2012
- Bryophytes as food: comparative consumption and utilization of mosses by a generalist insect herbivoreEntomologia Experimentalis et Applicata, 2009
- Community consequences of herbivore‐induced bottom–up trophic cascades: the importance of resource heterogeneityJournal of Animal Ecology, 2009
- Egg sac silk of Theridiosoma gemmosum (Araneae: Theridiosomatidae)Journal of Morphology, 2009
- Working‐correlation‐structure identification in generalized estimating equationsStatistics in Medicine, 2008
- Bryophyte use by an insect herbivore: does the crane-fly Tipula montana select food to maximise growth?Ecological Entomology, 2001
- Altitude trends in conifer leaf morphology and stable carbon isotope compositionOecologia, 2000
- Stratospheric ozone reduction, solar UV-B radiation and terrestrial ecosystemsClimatic Change, 1994
- Sphagnum mosses as a microhabitat for invertebrates in acidified lakes and the colour adaptation and substrate preference in Leucorrhinia dubia (Odonata, Anisoptera)Ecography, 1993
- Stressful Times for the Plant Stress: Insect Performance HypothesisOikos, 1989