Wednesday, August 8, 2007: 8:00 AM-11:30 AM
C1&2, San Jose McEnery Convention Center
OOS 24 - Soil biota alteration of aboveground plant interactions
This session will examine how soil biota indirectly alter aboveground plant-insect interactions and plant competition. Plant interactions with soil organisms can have large effects on plant phenotype. For example, earthworms and detritivores alter plant phenotypes through the mobilization of nutrients, fungi, and bacteria in the rhizosphere. Nematodes and root herbivores often reduce plant fitness through feeding on root tissue, and mycorrhizal fungi increase plant fitness through increased nutrient uptake. Resulting changes in plant phenotype can alter interactions between plants and aboveground herbivores, pollinators and competitors. This session explores patterns and mechanisms of such multi-trophic below- and above-ground interactions. Can we predict the outcome of these multi-level species interactions by combining our knowledge of distinct pairwise interactions? For example, if mycorrhizal fungi increase plant biomass and fitness, does this directly translate into increased fitness or biomass for herbivores feeding on these larger plants? If the outcomes of these pairwise interactions are not additive, then what are the underlying mechanisms through which soil biota change plant-herbivore, plant-pollinator, or plant-plant interactions? For example, do changes other than simple increases in plant size (such as disproportionate changes in plant defense) occur in plants associated with mycorrhizal fungi, in turn altering fitness of herbivores feeding on host plants? Speakers will focus not only on the intersection of soil biota, plants, and aboveground interactions, but also on the mechanisms through which soil biota alter many different aboveground plant interactions.
Organizer:Alison E. Bennett, University of California, Davis
Co-organizer:Mirka Macel, University of California, Davis
Moderator:Mirka Macel, University of California, Davis
8:00 AMOOS 24-1Microbial resource competition: A new link between plant diversity and ecosystem processes
Mark P. Waldrop, United States Geological Survey, Donald R. Zak, University of Michigan, David Tilman, University of Minnesota
8:20 AMOOS 24-2Modified soil community effects on the growth, establishment, and herbivore defense of Erigeron glaucus
Alison E. Bennett, University of California, Davis, Sharon Y. Strauss, University of California, Davis
8:40 AMOOS 24-3Belowground herbivory influences plant growth and plant-pollinator interactions
Katja Poveda, Göttingen University, Nadege Nchimi, Göttingen University, Maria I. Gomez-Jimenez, Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Ingolf Steffan-Dewenter, Göttingen University, Andre Kessler, Cornell University, Teja Tscharntke, Göttingen University
9:00 AMOOS 24-4Earthworms alter aboveground plant interactions
Susanne Wurst, Netherlands Institute of Ecology
9:20 AMOOS 24-5Influence of leaf herbivory, root herbivory, and pollination on plant performance in Cucurbita moschata
Kristen Hladun, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Lynn Adler, University of Massachusetts
9:40 AM Break
9:50 AMOOS 24-6Do mycorrhizal fungi alter plant tolerance to herbivory?
Victoria Borowicz, Illinois State University
10:10 AMOOS 24-7Plant-soil feedbacks link the maintenance of species and genetic diversity among Brassica nigra and its competitors
Richard A. Lankau, University of California, Davis, Sharon Y. Strauss, University of California, Davis
10:30 AMOOS 24-8Detritivore community influences on primary producer food-webs
Jessica Hines, University of Maryland, Robert F. Denno, University of Maryland

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See more of The ESA/SER Joint Meeting (August 5 -- August 10, 2007)