DIRECT AND INDIRECT EFFECTS OF PLANT GENETIC-VARIATION ON ENEMY IMPACT

1. The Tritrophic and Enemy Impact concepts predict that natural enemy impact varies: (a) among plant genotypes and (b) may depend on the ab undance of heterospecific herbivores, respectively. I tested these pre dictions using three herbivore species on potted, cloned genotypes of Salix sericea Marshall in a common garden experiment. 2. Densities of the leaf miner (Phyllonorycter salicifoliella (Chambers)) and two leaf galling sawflies (Phyllocolpa nigrita (Marlatt) and Phyllocolpa elean orae Smith and Fritz) varied significantly among willow clones, indica ting genetic variation in resistance. 3. Survival and natural enemy im pact caused by egg and larval parasitoids and/or unknown predators dif fered significantly among willow clones for each of the three herbivor e species, indicating genetic variation in survival and enemy impact. 4. Survival of Phyllonorycter was negatively density-dependent among c lones. 5. Survival of Phyllonorycter and Phyllocolpa eleanorae were po sitively correlated with densities of heterospecific herbivores among clones and parasitism of these species were negatively correlated with densities of the same heterospecific herbivores among clones. 6. At l east for Phyllonorycter this positive correlation may suggest either f acilitation of survival between herbivore species, which do not share natural enemies, or an apparent interaction caused by host plant genet ic variation. 7. Among clones, egg parasitism of Phyllocolpa eleanorne was weakly positively correlated with density of Phyllocolpa nigrita. Since these species share the same Trichogramma egg parasitoid, this interaction could support the hypothesis of apparent competition.