Affiliation:
1. USDA-ARS Subarctic Agricultural Research Unit, P. O. Box 757200, Fairbanks, AK 99775
Abstract
Abstract
Crepis tectorum L., narrow leaf hawksbeard, first was collected in Alaska in 1974 and by 2004 was a common weed in agricultural fields. Introduction and establishment of a new plant species in a region represents a potential new resource for herbivores, as well as a new competitor for plant species already present. Objectives of this study were to determine the preference for C. tectorum, relative to other common plant species, by Melanoplus borealis (Fieber), a generalist herbivore grasshopper common in Alaska, and to determine the potential impact of grasshoppers on this weed. In choice tests, M. borealis preferred C. tectorum over two native forbs, and a grass species, but dandelion, Taraxacum officinale G. H. Weber ex Wiggers, was preferred over C. tectorum. In field cages, in each of 3 yr, grasshoppers reduced biomass of mature plants, flowers, and seedlings of C. tectorum, but not other forbs. We conclude that this weed is a readily accepted new food resource for generalist-feeding grasshoppers, and although grasshoppers could potentially limit seed production of C. tectorum, generally grasshopper densities are not high enough to have significant impact on the weed populations.
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Cited by
10 articles.
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