Banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO: RAFAEL DOMINGOS DE OLIVEIRA

Uma banca de QUALIFICAÇÃO de DOUTORADO foi cadastrada pelo programa.
DISCENTE : RAFAEL DOMINGOS DE OLIVEIRA
DATA : 22/11/2018
HORA: 14:00
LOCAL: Laboratório Didático II - DECOL/CB
TÍTULO:

Effects of experimental diversity gradientes on herbivory and plant-insect interactions in plant communities

PALAVRAS-CHAVES:

Biodiversity and ecosystem functioning; Caatinga; restoration; herbivory; interactions network.

PÁGINAS: 41
GRANDE ÁREA: Ciências Biológicas
ÁREA: Ecologia
RESUMO:

There is evidence that biodiversity directly influences or correlates with functions and services offered and regulated by ecosystems. In addition, plant diversity can affect aspects related to higher trophic levels, such as herbivore insect abundance and diversity, herbivory patterns, and multitrophic interactions between plants, herbivores and their natural enemies. Therefore, this thesis examines how herbivory by insects can be affected by the diversity of plant species, by the diversity of functional characteristics of the plant species, as well as investigates the configuration of the interaction networks between insects and plants. The study was performed in large-scale experiments in the Brazilian Caatinga and in Germany grasslands. In these experiments, plant communities were constructed with different levels of plant diversity. Chapter 1 studies how insect herbivory affects plant mortality and is affected by planting diversity in a Caatinga restoration program in the Brazilian semi-arid region. The results indicate that plant diversity at this early stage of restoration does not affect herbivory rates. It was also verified that the presence of herbivore insects did not jeopardize the initial establishment of plants during the Caatinga restoration, and it is not necessary to use any insecticide to combat possible pests that could harm the restoration. Chapter 2 studies the characteristics of the interaction network between insects and transplanted plants in the first two years of the Caatinga experiment. The interaction networks were modular and nested. There is a presence of highly generalist insect species and some plant species act as hubs of interaction in the network. Chapter 3, conducted in Germany, discusses how insect herbivory can be influenced by both the plant diversity and the morpho-functional traits of these plants. A positive relation between plant richness and insect herbivory rates was found.

 

MEMBROS DA BANCA:
Presidente - 1677189 - GISLENE MARIA DA SILVA GANADE
Externo ao Programa - 2358559 - GUILHERME GERHARDT MAZZOCHINI
Interno - 1451741 - MARCIO ZIKAN CARDOSO