Abstract
1. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), the association of AM fungi and plant roots, may alter morphological and physiological attributes of aboveground plant parts and thereby influence plant‐associated organisms such as herbivores and their natural enemies, predators and parasitoids. 2. The interactions between AM and the players of aboveground tri‐trophic systems have mainly been considered in isolation from each other. The effects of AM on aboveground herbivore–carnivore population dynamics and the consequences to plant fitness are unknown. 3. We explored AM‐induced compensatory mechanisms for AM‐promoted proliferation of the herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L. Vegetative and reproductive plant growth, AM fungal colonisation levels, and mite densities were assessed on spider mite‐infested plants colonised or not by the AM fungus Glomus mosseae Nicol. & Gerd, and harbouring the natural enemy of the spider mites, the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis Anthias‐Henriot or not. 4. AM symbiosis modulated the aboveground tri‐trophic system to the fitness benefit of the plant. AM‐increased plant productivity outweighed the fitness decrease due to AM‐promoted herbivory: at similar vegetative growth, mycorrhizal plants produced more seeds than non‐mycorrhizal plants. 5. AM‐increased spider mite population levels were compensated for by enhanced population growth of the predators and increased plant tolerance to herbivory. 6. AM‐enhanced predator performance looped back to the AM fungus and stabilised its root colonisation levels, providing the first experimental evidence of a mutually beneficial interaction between AM and an aboveground third trophic level natural enemy.
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Claims 6
Claim · model-written summary
Mycorrhizal bean plants produced more seeds than non-mycorrhizal plants in the spider mite and predatory mite system.
- Taxon
- Phaseolus vulgaris
Phaseolus vulgarise2 - Treatment
- AM fungus Glomus mosseaee3
- Interactor
- Glomus mosseae
Funneliformis mosseaee3symbiont - Outcome
- seedse1
- Direction
- moree1
- Comparator
- non‐mycorrhizal plantse1
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e1“at similar vegetative growth, mycorrhizal plants produced more seeds than non‐mycorrhizal plants”
e2“herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L”
e3“colonised or not by the AM fungus Glomus mosseae”
Claim · model-written summary
AM increased plant productivity, outweighing the fitness decrease caused by AM-promoted herbivory.
- Taxon
- Phaseolus vulgarisPhaseolus vulgarise2
- Treatment
- AMe0
- Outcome
- plant productivitye0
- Direction
- increasede0
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“AM‐increased plant productivity outweighed the fitness decrease due to AM‐promoted herbivory”
e2“herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L”
Claim · model-written summary
AM increased spider mite population levels on bean plants.
- Taxon
- Phaseolus vulgarisPhaseolus vulgarise2
- Treatment
- AMe4
- Interactor
- Tetranychus urticae
.jpg?width=60)
Tetranychus urticaee2herbivore - Outcome
- spider mite population levelse4
- Direction
- increasede4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
.jpg?width=500)
Verbatim
e4“AM‐increased spider mite population levels were compensated for by enhanced population growth of the predators and increased plant tolerance to herbivory”
e2“herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L”
Claim · model-written summary
AM-increased spider mite population levels were compensated by enhanced population growth of the predatory mites.
- Taxon
- Phaseolus vulgarisPhaseolus vulgarise2
- Treatment
- AMe4
- Interactor
- Phytoseiulus persimilis
Phytoseiulus persimilise6biocontrol_agent - Second interactor
- Tetranychus urticaeTetranychus urticaee2herbivore
- Outcome
- population growth of the predatorse4
- Direction
- enhancede4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“AM‐increased spider mite population levels were compensated for by enhanced population growth of the predators and increased plant tolerance to herbivory”
e6“the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis”
e2“herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L”
Claim · model-written summary
AM increased plant tolerance to spider mite herbivory on bean plants.
- Taxon
- Phaseolus vulgarisPhaseolus vulgarise2
- Treatment
- AMe4
- Interactor
- Tetranychus urticaeTetranychus urticaee2herbivore
- Outcome
- plant tolerance to herbivorye4
- Direction
- increasede4
Not reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e4“AM‐increased spider mite population levels were compensated for by enhanced population growth of the predators and increased plant tolerance to herbivory”
e2“herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L”
Claim · model-written summary
AM-enhanced predator performance was associated with stabilised AM root colonisation levels.
- Taxon
- Phaseolus vulgarisPhaseolus vulgarise2
- Interactor
- AM funguse5symbiont
- Second interactor
- Phytoseiulus persimilisPhytoseiulus persimilise6biocontrol_agent
- Outcome
- root colonisation levelse5
Not reportedDirection
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e5“AM‐enhanced predator performance looped back to the AM fungus and stabilised its root colonisation levels”
e6“the predatory mite Phytoseiulus persimilis”
e2“herbivorous spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, on whole bean plants, Phaseolus vulgaris L”
The same questions in other papers
Funneliformis mosseae · yield · Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
mycorrhiza · yield · Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)Positive and negative results
24 papers in the same direction as this paper · 3 in the opposite direction
- positive
- no effect
- negative
24 papers more in this group
See all 28 papers →mycorrhiza · Tetranychus urticae · Phaseolus vulgaris (common bean)Results agree
1 paper in the same direction as this paper
- positive
Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.