TY - JOUR

T1 - Drought has negative consequences on aphid fitness and plant vigor

T2 - Insights from a meta-analysis

AU - Leybourne, Daniel J.

AU - Preedy, Katharine F.

AU - Valentine, Tracy A.

AU - Bos, Jorunn I.B.

AU - Karley, Alison J.

N1 - Funding Information: DJL was funded by the James Hutton Institute and the Universities of Aberdeen and Dundee through a Scottish Food Security Alliance (Crops) PhD studentship. AJK, TAV, and KFP were supported by the strategic research program funded by the Scottish Government's Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division. JIBB was supported by the European Research Council (310190‐APHIDHOST).

PY - 2021/9/9

Y1 - 2021/9/9

N2 - Aphids are abundant in natural and managed vegetation, supporting a diverse community of organisms and causing damage to agricultural crops. Due to a changing climate, periods of drought are anticipated to increase, and the potential consequences of this for aphid–plant interactions are unclear. Using a meta-analysis and synthesis approach, we aimed to advance understanding of how increased drought incidence will affect this ecologically and economically important insect group and to characterize any potential underlying mechanisms. We used qualitative and quantitative synthesis techniques to determine whether drought stress has a negative, positive, or null effect on aphid fitness and examined these effects in relation to (a) aphid biology, (b) geographical region, and (c) host plant biology. Across all studies, aphid fitness is typically reduced under drought. Subgroup analysis detected no difference in relation to aphid biology, geographical region, or the aphid–plant combination, indicating the negative effect of drought on aphids is potentially universal. Furthermore, drought stress had a negative impact on plant vigor and increased plant concentrations of defensive chemicals, suggesting the observed response of aphids is associated with reduced plant vigor and increased chemical defense in drought-stressed plants. We propose a conceptual model to predict drought effects on aphid fitness in relation to plant vigor and defense to stimulate further research.

AB - Aphids are abundant in natural and managed vegetation, supporting a diverse community of organisms and causing damage to agricultural crops. Due to a changing climate, periods of drought are anticipated to increase, and the potential consequences of this for aphid–plant interactions are unclear. Using a meta-analysis and synthesis approach, we aimed to advance understanding of how increased drought incidence will affect this ecologically and economically important insect group and to characterize any potential underlying mechanisms. We used qualitative and quantitative synthesis techniques to determine whether drought stress has a negative, positive, or null effect on aphid fitness and examined these effects in relation to (a) aphid biology, (b) geographical region, and (c) host plant biology. Across all studies, aphid fitness is typically reduced under drought. Subgroup analysis detected no difference in relation to aphid biology, geographical region, or the aphid–plant combination, indicating the negative effect of drought on aphids is potentially universal. Furthermore, drought stress had a negative impact on plant vigor and increased plant concentrations of defensive chemicals, suggesting the observed response of aphids is associated with reduced plant vigor and increased chemical defense in drought-stressed plants. We propose a conceptual model to predict drought effects on aphid fitness in relation to plant vigor and defense to stimulate further research.

KW - climate change

KW - ecological entomology

KW - insect–environment interactions

KW - meta-analysis

KW - plant–insect interactions

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85111391780&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.1002/ece3.7957

DO - 10.1002/ece3.7957

M3 - Article

AN - SCOPUS:85111391780

VL - 11

SP - 11915

EP - 11929

JO - Ecology and evolution

JF - Ecology and evolution

SN - 2045-7758

IS - 17

ER -