Leaf-shelters facilitate the colonization of arthropods and enhance microbial diversity on plants

Shelter-building insects are important ecosystem engineers, playing critical roles in structuring arthropod communities. Nonetheless, the influence of leaf shelters and arthropods on plant-associated microbiota remains largely unexplored. Arthropods that visit or inhabit plants can contribute to the leaf microbial community, resulting in significant changes in plant-microbe interactions. By artificially constructing leaf shelters, we provide evidence that shelter-building insects influence not only the arthropod community structure but also impact the phyllosphere microbiota. Leaf shelters exhibited higher abundance and richness of arthropods, changing the associated arthropod community composition. These shelters also altered the composition and community structure of phyllosphere microbiota, promoting greater richness and diversity of bacteria at the phyllosphere. In leaf shelters, microbial diversity positively correlated with the richness and diversity of herbivores. These findings ..., Study area and system
We conducted the experiment in the southeastern plains of the United States at the J. Nicholene Bishop Biological Field Station (32°51’11” N, 87°40’22” W, Akron, AL). The experiment was conducted in June 2018 (15 pairs of trees) and in August 2021 (30 pairs of trees), and plants were 5-15 meters apart. The average minimum and maximum temperatures recorded during the experiment were 19-32°C in 2018 and 22-32°C in 2021. Throughout the experimental period of the trial conducted in June, precipitation averaged 127 mm, whereas in August 2021, it averaged 25.4 mm. The study area consisted of an oak-hickory-pine forest. We selected the white oak, Quercus alba, as a model system for constructing artificial leaf shelters. Q. alba plays an important role in providing food and shelter for numerous arthropod species (Lill & Marquis 2003; Baer & Marquis 2014). This system is ideal for studying the role of ecosystem engineers, considering the rich diversity of shelter-bu..., , # Leaf-shelters facilitate the colonization of arthropods and enhance microbial diversity on plants

Journal: Ecology Letters

Authors:
M.S. Danilo F. B. dos Santos
M.S. Jacob E. Herschberger
M.S. Bijay Subedi
Dr. Victoria M. PociusWesley
Dr. J. Neely
Dr. Sasha E. Greenspan
Dr. C. Guilherme Becker
Dr. Gustavo Q. Romero
Dr. Mônica F. Kersch-Becker

Data collection:
Trial 1 - June 2018
Trial 2 - August 2021

Contact information:
M.S. Danilo F. B. dos Santos: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])
Dr. Dr. Mônica F. Kersch-Becker: [[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

Keywords: ecosystem engineering, plant-insect interactions, plant microbiome, leaf shelters, phyllosphere

Funding:

* Department of Entomology at the Pennsylvania State University and the USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture and Hatch Appropriations under Project #PEN04923 and Accession #7006440.
* FAPESP (Grants 2019/08474-8,2022/10765-3 and 2023/01589-0), by a CNPq-Brazil productivity grant, and funding from th...

# 叶片巢幕促进节肢动物定殖并提升植物表面微生物多样性

造巢昆虫是重要的生态系统工程师（ecosystem engineer），在构建节肢动物群落结构方面发挥关键作用。然而，叶片巢幕与节肢动物对植物相关微生物群的影响仍未得到充分探索。造访或栖息于植物的节肢动物可参与叶片微生物群落的构建，进而显著改变植物-微生物互作关系。本研究通过人工构建叶片巢幕，证实造巢昆虫不仅会影响节肢动物群落结构，还会改变叶围微生物群（phyllosphere microbiota）。叶片巢幕的节肢动物丰度与物种丰富度更高，改变了伴生节肢动物的群落组成。此类巢幕还会改变叶围微生物群的组成与群落结构，提升叶围细菌的物种丰富度与多样性。在叶片巢幕中，微生物多样性与植食性动物的物种丰富度和多样性呈显著正相关。上述研究发现…… 研究区域与实验系统
本实验于美国东南部平原的J·尼科琳·毕晓普生物野外站（J. Nicholene Bishop Biological Field Station，北纬32°51’11’’，西经87°40’22’’，阿拉巴马州阿克伦市）开展。实验分别于2018年6月（15组树木对）与2021年8月（30组树木对）开展，植株间距为5至15米。实验期间记录的平均最低与最高气温分别为：2018年19-32℃，2021年22-32℃。2018年6月实验周期内的平均降水量为127毫米，2021年8月则为25.4毫米。研究区域为栎-山核桃-松混交林。本研究选取白栎（Quercus alba）作为构建人工叶片巢幕的模式物种。白栎可为多种节肢动物提供食物与栖息场所（Lill与Marquis，2003；Baer与Marquis，2014）。鉴于造巢昆虫丰富的多样性…… 该系统是研究生态系统工程师作用的理想模型。

期刊：《Ecology Letters》
作者：
M.S. 达尼洛·F·B·多斯·桑托斯（M.S. Danilo F. B. dos Santos）
M.S. 雅各布·E·赫施伯格（M.S. Jacob E. Herschberger）
M.S. 比贾伊·苏贝迪（M.S. Bijay Subedi）
维多利亚·M·波修斯韦斯利博士（Dr. Victoria M. PociusWesley）
J·尼利博士（Dr. J. Neely）
萨沙·E·格林斯潘博士（Dr. Sasha E. Greenspan）
C·吉列尔梅·贝克尔博士（Dr. C. Guilherme Becker）
古斯塔沃·Q·罗梅罗博士（Dr. Gustavo Q. Romero）
莫妮卡·F·克施-贝克尔博士（Dr. Mônica F. Kersch-Becker）

数据采集：
试验1——2018年6月
试验2——2021年8月

联系方式：
M.S. 达尼洛·F·B·多斯·桑托斯：[[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])
莫妮卡·F·克施-贝克尔博士：[[e-mail]](mailto:[e-mail])

关键词：生态系统工程（ecosystem engineering）、植物-昆虫互作、植物微生物组（plant microbiome）、叶片巢幕、叶围（phyllosphere）

资助信息：
* 宾夕法尼亚州立大学昆虫学系、美国农业部国家食品与农业研究所（USDA National Institute of Food and Agriculture），以及项目编号PEN04923和登录号7006440对应的哈奇拨款（Hatch Appropriations）
* 圣保罗研究基金会（FAPESP，资助号2019/08474-8、2022/10765-3与2023/01589-0）、巴西国家科学技术发展委员会（CNPq）生产力拨款，以及来自……的资助