Publications by authors named "Anouk Guyer"

How climate change will modify belowground tritrophic interactions is poorly understood, despite their importance for agricultural productivity. Here, we manipulated the three major abiotic factors associated with climate change (atmospheric CO, temperature, and soil moisture) and investigated their individual and joint effects on the interaction between maize, the banded cucumber beetle (Diabrotica balteata), and the entomopathogenic nematode (EPN) Heterorhabditis bacteriophora. Changes in individual abiotic parameters had a strong influence on plant biomass, leaf wilting, sugar concentrations, protein levels, and benzoxazinoid contents.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF
Article Synopsis
  • Climate change is affecting plants, insects, and their predators, which could change how they all interact with each other.
  • Scientists studied how higher levels of CO2, hotter temperatures, and less rainfall impact certain predator species like nematodes, spiders, ladybugs, and wasps.
  • They found that while some predators showed reduced survival with climate changes, most of them, especially spider and nematode species, actually did better in hunting their prey.
View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Although the production of phytohormones has been commonly associated with production of plant defence and stress-related traits, few studies have simultaneously investigated this phenomenon across several plant species that grow along large-scale ecological gradients. To address these knowledge gaps, we performed a common garden experiment with six Cardamine species, which collectively encompass an elevational gradient of 2000 m. We quantified constitutive and Pieris brassicae caterpillars-induced phytohormones and chemical defences in leaves.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Climate change is predicted to increase the risk of drought in many temperate agroecosystems. While the impact of drought on aboveground plant-herbivore-natural enemy interactions has been studied, little is known about its effects on belowground tritrophic interactions and root defense chemistry. We investigated the effects of low soil moisture on the interaction between maize, the western corn rootworm (WCR, ), and soil-borne natural enemies of WCR.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Late blight, caused by the oomycete Phytophthora infestans, is the most devastating disease of potato. In organic farming, late blight is controlled by repeated applications of copper-based products, which negatively impact the environment. To find alternative solutions for late blight management, we have previously isolated a large collection of bacteria from the phyllosphere and the rhizosphere of potatoes.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF