Elevated Atmospheric CO2 Impairs Aphid Escape Responses to Predators and Conspecific Alarm Signals

Inducible defences in Daphnia depend on latent alarm signals from conspecific prey activated in predators.

Some water fleas (Daphnia spp.) undergo phenotypic changes when exposed to chemical signals from predators. The chemical signals have been assumed to be of predator origin (i.e. kairomones), since juices of crushed Daphnia have been found ineffective. We speculated that latent alarm signals could be present in Daphnia, to be activated in predators following ingestion. Accordingly, fish predator...

Host-specific aphid population responses to elevated CO2 and increased N availability

Sap-feeding insects such as aphids are the only insect herbivores that show positive responses to elevated CO2. Recent models predict that increased nitrogen will increase aphid population size under elevated CO2, but few experiments have tested this idea empirically. To determine whether soil nitrogen (N) availability modifies aphid responses to elevated CO2, we tested the performance of Macro...

Responses of Methanogenic and Methanotrophic Communities to Elevated Atmospheric CO2 and Temperature in a Paddy Field

Although climate change is predicted to affect methane (CH4) emissions in paddy soil, the dynamics of methanogens and methanotrophs in paddy fields under climate change have not yet been fully investigated. To address this issue, a multifactor climate change experiment was conducted in a Chinese paddy field using the following experimental treatments: (1) enrichment of atmospheric CO2 concentra...

Spatial responses to predators vary with prey escape mode

Legume species identity and soil nitrogen supply determine symbiotic nitrogen-fixation responses to elevated atmospheric [CO2].

In nitrogen (N)-limited systems, the response of symbiotic N fixation to elevated atmospheric [CO2] may be an important determinant of ecosystem responses to this global change. Experimental tests of the effects of elevated [CO2] have not been consistent. Although rarely tested, differences among legume species and N supply may be important. In a field free-air CO2 enrichment (FACE) experiment,...