Evaluating the use of native ornamental plant cultivars for insect herbivores
| Author(s) | Baisden, Emily | |
| Date Accessioned | 2017-12-04T18:05:50Z | |
| Date Available | 2017-12-04T18:05:50Z | |
| Publication Date | 2017 | |
| SWORD Update | 2017-09-05T16:30:16Z | |
| Abstract | Native plants are becoming more commonly used in ornamental gardening as a way to help combat the many environmental issues caused by urbanization. Designing anthropogenic habitats that promote insect diversity and abundance may be paramount for reconciliation efforts. Plant breeders have introduced many cultivars of native plants to improve the aesthetic value, disease resistance, or site adaption of the plant that may positively or negatively impact wildlife. There has been a debate as to whether or not native cultivars have the same ecological value as their wild type counterparts. This remains to be tested. ☐ In this study I focus on the use of native plant cultivars for wildlife value, specifically for insect herbivore-driven food webs. These cultivars often have chemical or physical properties that have been altered from the straight species which may alter an insect’s ability to locate and consume its host plant. I chose six cultivar traits that are commonly sought after in woody plant cultivar selections to compare insect feeding, abundance and species richness between the cultivars and the wild type plants. An experimental garden plot was established with cultivars and their parent species at the Mt. Cuba Center in Hockessin, Delaware. Three experiments explored the differences between the cultivars and their straight species. First, the garden was used to sample the insect community and abundance associated with each species and cultivar. Second, I conducted a feeding trial with the bagworm Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis in which neonate caterpillars were offered a choice of the cultivars and parent plants and amount of feeding on each was compared. Lastly, I conducted an end-of-season leaf damage analyses to compare the average amount of feeding damage that had accumulated on leaves in the garden plots by September. ☐ Results showed a deterrence of feeding on cultivars that had leaves altered from green to red color. Results for the other traits varied from test to test and by plant species, but many often showed no difference from the straight species. In a few cases insects showed a preference for the cultivar over the straight species. Thus, the usefulness of native cultivars in restoring insect driven food webs may, in many situations, depend on the suitability of the cultivar trait and/or the plant species from which the selection was derived. | en_US |
| Advisor | Tallamy, Douglas W. | |
| Degree | M.S. | |
| Department | University of Delaware, Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology | |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.58088/dan6-ek18 | |
| Unique Identifier | 1013890141 | |
| URL | http://udspace.udel.edu/handle/19716/21755 | |
| Language | en | |
| Publisher | University of Delaware | en_US |
| URI | https://search.proquest.com/docview/1957948844?accountid=10457 | |
| Keywords | Biological sciences | |
| Title | Evaluating the use of native ornamental plant cultivars for insect herbivores | en_US |
| Type | Thesis | en_US |