title: Piper kelleyi, a hotspot of ecological interactions and a new species from Ecuador and Peru.
abstract: We describe Piper kelleyi sp. nov., a new species from the eastern Andes of Ecuador and Peru, named in honor of Dr. Walter Almond Kelley. Piper kelleyi is a member of the Macrostachys clade of the genus Piper and supports a rich community of generalist and specialist herbivores, their predators and parasitoids, as well as commensalistic earwigs, and mutualistic ants. This new species was recognized as part of an ecological study of phytochemically mediated relationships between plants, herbivores, predators, and parasitoids. Compared to over 100 other Piper species surveyed, Piper kelleyi supports the largest community of specialist herbivores and parasitoids observed to date.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cincinnati, 614 Rieveschl Hall, Cincinnati, Ohio 45221, USA.
authors.forename: Eric J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Tepe
authors.affiliation: Department of Integrative Biology, University of Texas at Austin, 1 University Station, Austin, Texas 78712, USA.
authors.forename: Genoveva
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Castañeda
authors.affiliation: Biology Department 0314, University of Nevada Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors.forename: Andrea E
authors.initials: AE
authors.lastname: Glassmire
authors.affiliation: Biology Department 0314, University of Nevada Reno, 1664 North Virginia Street, Reno, Nevada 89557, USA.
authors.forename: Lee A
authors.initials: LA
authors.lastname: Dyer
keywords: Andes; Braconidae; Ecuador; Eois; Geometridae; Piper section Macrostachys; Piperaceae; Tachinidae; herbivore-parasitoid interactions; plant-herbivore interactions