Effects of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi on aboveground tri-trophic interactions are contingent upon plant genetic effects of cross type in the perennial herb Ruellia nudiflora

1.- Recent work has improved our understanding of the linkages between above- and below-ground interactions mediated by plants. However, relatively few of the studies conducted thus far have focused on muli-trophic interactions (i.e. beyond two trophic levels) and the influence of plant genetic intra-specific variation on these dynamics has rarely been addressed.
2.- We tested the effect of arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi (AMF) on above-ground tri-trophic interactions associated with the canopy of the perennial herb Ruellia nudiflora, and further determined whether genetic effects due to cross type (i.e. wether a plant originated from from self- or cross-pollination) influenced these interactions.
3.- We propagated plants originating from self- or cross-pollination, and within each category inoculated half of the plants with AMF. We subsequently established a common garden where plants were exposed to naturally occurring seed-eating caterpillars and their parasitoids. We measured plant g...