Research interests

I am interested in studying the consequences of variation in functional traits on the evolutionary ecology between plants and herbivores, I am also involved in projects dealing with rapid evolution of plant defenses and herbivore counter-adaptations, and how insect communities respond to plant trait diversity. Currently my project in the lab of Evolutionary Entomology is about the effects of parasitoids on plants within a multitrophic context. We are also exploring apparent competition between herbivorous insects associated to maize and lima bean plants. Both plants are native to Mexico and are sympatric in several ecosystems. Leaf and seed herbivores share parasitoids, thus there is potential for apparent competition occurring between herbivores at different developmental stages of the plants. Finally, we want to know what are the consequences of agricultural practices in the natural apparent competition between herbivores.

Publications

Bustos‐Segura, C, Cuny, MAC, Benrey, B. 2019. Parasitoids of leaf herbivores enhance plant fitness and do not alter caterpillar‐induced resistance against seed beetles. Funct Ecol. 00: 1– 11.

Bustos-Segura, C., González-Tokman, D. & Fornoni. 2019. Enhanced survival of a specialized leaf beetle reveals potential trade-offs with host utilization traits. J. Arthropod-Plant Interactions. 13: 635.

Bustos-Segura C, Foley W. 2018. Foliar terpene chemotypes and herbivory determine variation in plant volatile emissions. Journal of Chemical Ecology 44, 51-61

Bustos-Segura C, Dillon S, Keszei A, Foley WJ, Külheim C. 2017. Intraspecific diversity of terpenes of Eucalyptus camaldulensis (Myrtaceae) at a continental scale. Australian Journal of Botany 65: 257-269

Bustos‐Segura C, Padovan A, Kainer D, Foley WJ, Külheim C. 2017. Transcriptome analysis of terpene chemotypes of Melaleuca alternifolia across different tissues. Plant, Cell & Environment 40:2406–2425

Bustos-Segura C, Poelman EH, Reichelt M, Gershenzon J, Gols R. 2017. Intraspecific chemical diversity among neighboring plants correlates positively with plant size and herbivore load but negatively with herbivore damage. Ecology Letters 20(1): 87-97

Bustos-Segura C, Külheim C, Foley W. 2015. Effects of terpene chemotypes of Melaleuca alternifolia on two specialist leaf beetles and susceptibility to myrtle rust. Journal of Chemical Ecology 41(10): 937-947

Bustos-Segura C, Fornoni J, Nuñez-Farfán J. 2014. Evolutionary changes in plant tolerance against herbivory through a resurrection experiment. Journal of Evolutionary Biology 27:488-496

De-Miguel FF, Santamaría-Holek I, Noguez P, Bustos C, Hernández-Lemus E, Rubí JM. 2012. Biophysics of active vesicle transport, an intermediate step that couples excitation and exocytosis of serotonin in the neuronal soma. PLoS ONE 7(10):e45454