The effect of herbivory by the mite Orthogalumna terebrantis on the growth and photosynthetic performance of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)

Marlin, Danica; Hill, Martin P; Ripley, Bradford S; Strauss, Abram J; Byrne, Marcus J

Title: The effect of herbivory by the mite Orthogalumna terebrantis on the growth and photosynthetic performance of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes)
Creator: Marlin, Danica
Creator: Hill, Martin P
Creator: Ripley, Bradford S
Creator: Strauss, Abram J
Creator: Byrne, Marcus J
Subject: To be catalogued
Date Issued: 2013
Date: 2013
Type: text
Type: article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10962/419411
Identifier: vital:71642
Identifier: xlink:href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aquabot.2012.09.005"
Description: Eutrophication of fresh water systems is one of the most important factors contributing to the invasion of fresh water bodies by water hyacinth, Eichhornia crassipes. The South American mite, Orthogalumna terebrantis, established on the weed in South Africa in the late 1980s, but the impact of mite herbivory on the weed has never been quantified. Water hyacinth was grown under low, medium and high nitrogen and phosphorus nutrient conditions and the effect of mite herbivory on the weed's growth was examined. Additionally, the impact of different mite herbivory intensities on the weed's photosynthetic performance was examined because herbivory may have more subtle effects on the plant than can be seen from changes in plant growth parameters. Water nutrient content had a great impact on plant growth, but growth was unaffected by mite herbivory in all levels of nutrients tested. Photosynthetic performance of water hyacinth leaves exposed to varying levels of mite herbivory was assessed by measuring net photosynthetic rate (A), leaf conductance (gl), transpiration rate (E) and intercellular CO2 concentration (Ci), and by measuring specific fluorescence parameters including maximal fluorescence (Fm), efficiency of photosystem II (Fv/Fm) and certain JIP-test parameters. Photosynthesis decreased as mite herbivory increased, but there was a positive correlation between gl, E and Ci, and the amount of leaf tissue damaged through mite feeding. The efficiency of photosystem II (PSII) decreased as mite herbivory increased, as seen in the altered fluorescence emission of mite-damaged plants, but this was not the consequence of decreased chlorophyll content. Feeding by O. terebrantis thus decreased water hyacinth photosynthetic rate and the light reaction performance, even at relatively low mite densities. These results show that the impact of a biological control agent on its host plant may not be obvious at a plant growth level, but may nonetheless affect the plant at a physiological level.
Format: computer
Format: online resource
Format: application/pdf
Format: 1 online resource (10 pages)
Format: pdf
Publisher: Elsevier
Language: English
Relation: Aquatic Botany
Relation: Marlin, D., Hill, M.P., Ripley, B.S., Strauss, A.J. and Byrne, M.J., 2013. The effect of herbivory by the mite Orthogalumna terebrantis on the growth and photosynthetic performance of water hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes). Aquatic Botany, 104, pp.60-69
Relation: Aquatic Botany volume 104 p. 60 2013 1879-1522
Rights: Publisher
Rights: Use of this resource is governed by the terms and conditions of the Elsevier Terms and Conditions Statement (https://www.elsevier.com/legal/elsevier-website-terms-and-conditions)
Rights: Closed Access

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Ripley, Bradford Sherman (Prof)

RU DST/NRF SARChI for Insects in Sustainable Agricultural Ecosystems

Hill, Martin Patrick (Distinguished Professor)

RU Department of Botany

SDG 15. Life On Land

RU Department of Zoology and Entomology

SDG 14. Life Below Water

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