Influence of plant chemical diversity on the insect herbivore

Aphids are one of the most destructive pests of agricultural and horticultural crops, damaging plants through their feeding and also by vectoring plant pathogens. In Canada, crop losses due to aphids and the pathogens they vector are significant and forecast to increase as global warming progresses and new aphid species become established with more generations expected during longer summers and lower mortality predicted due to milder winters. This research focuses on understanding how host plant chemical diversity affects two aphid species, the green peach aphid and the black bean aphid, and addresses important agricultural and ecological questions such as whether aphids preferentially feed on host ecotypes that are less chemically diverse, how this affects their performance and if aphids are able to sequester plant-derived compounds. This collaborative research project draws on expertise from both McGill University and the University of Bielefeld in plant chemical ecology, aphid biology and plant-insect interactions to understand how intraspecific chemodiversity shapes plant-insect interactions to provide fundamental insights into plant chemical ecology as well as critical information that may be applied in agriculture to optimize sustainable management practices.

Faculty Supervisor:

Jacquie Bede

Student:

Partner:

Universität Bielefeld

Discipline:

Life Sciences

Sector:

Agriculture and Food; Environmental Science and Technology; Sustainability & the Environment

University:

McGill University

Program: