Galhas de insetos em brejos de altitude da Paraíba, Nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

Galls are pathological changes that occur in plant tissue due to hypertrophy and/or hyperplasia resulting from galling insect-host plant interactions. Despite their abundance and importance, these interactions are little studied to date. Therefore, this work aimed to: in Chapter I, inventory gall diversity, characterizing them according to the host plant organ attacked, shape, color, presence or absence of trichomes, occurrence, inducing insect, identification of host plant species and associated entomofauna; and, in Chapter II, analyze whether there are differences in the richness and abundance of galled plants and in their morphotypes between the dry and rainy seasons. To survey gall diversity in the two remaining areas, active searches for galled plants were conducted, totaling a 72- hour sampling effort in each area. To analyze the influence of seasonality on the richness and abundance of host plants and morphotypes, fixed transects were installed in the Goiamunduba Forest, with gall and host plant sampling conducted during the rainy and dry seasons, totaling two collections in each season. As a result of Chapter I, 48 gall morphotypes were recorded in the Pau-Ferro Forest, associated with 29 plant species, 29 genera, and 19 families. The families with the greatest gall richness were Myrtaceae, Fabaceae, and Sapindaceae, and the organ with the highest gall occurrence was the leaves. Six gall shapes were identified: globoid, lenticular, fusiform, coiled, clavate, and amorphous. The most common gall colors were green and brown, and most galls lacked trichomes. In the Goiamunduba Forest, 53 gall morphotypes were found on 22 host plant species, distributed across 22 genera and 17 families. The largest number of galls was found in Myrtaceae, Lecythidaceae, and Melastomataceae. Regarding the organs where galls occurred, most were on the leaves. Galls with globoid, lenticular, fusiform, conical, amorphous, horn-shaped, coiled, and folded shapes were identified. Green was the predominant color, followed by brown. Regarding the presence of trichomes, most galls were glabrous. In Chapter II, statistically, neither the richness nor the abundance of galled plant species, nor the abundance of gall morphotypes, showed significant differences between transects, seasons, and years. Data analysis revealed a higher occurrence of galled plants during the dry season in both locations. These are the first records of galls from the Pau-Ferro Forest in Areia and the Goiamunduba Forest in Bananeiras. Given the importance of ecological interactions between galling insects and their host plants, particularly in seasonal environments in Northeastern Brazil, these results constitute an important contribution to our knowledge of insect galls in high-altitude marshlands in the region.