Everything That Kills Me Makes Me Feel Alive: The Paradox of Plant Defense and Insect Preference
Research Poster Health & Life Sciences 2025 Graduate ExhibitionPresentation by Sujay Manoj Paranjape
Exhibition Number 108
Abstract
Plants are the primary source of energy on land, serving as food for many organisms, including insects. However, they don’t simply allow themselves to be eaten without a fight. Plants have ways to defend themselves from insects that eat them. These defenses come in two types: some directly harm the insects, while others attract predators that eat the insects. However, making these defenses takes a lot of energy, so plants only produce them when needed. Insects need plants for food, but they also have to deal with these defenses. This creates a tricky situation where an insect must decide whether a plant is a good meal based on both how nutritious it is and how strong its defenses are. We don’t fully understand which factor—nutrition or defense—matters more to insects when they pick a plant to eat. To figure this out, we studied how insects choose plants by testing their preferences and growth on plants grown in different soil nutrition conditions. We expected insects to prefer plants with weaker defenses and thought plants with fewer nutrients would also have weaker defenses. Surprisingly, we found that plants in nutrient-rich soil had stronger defenses, but insects still preferred them and even grew better on them! This suggests that when insects choose which plant to eat, nutrition may be more important than defense.
Importance
This study helps us understand how insects choose which plants to eat by exploring the balance between plant nutrition and defense. While plants protect themselves from insects using chemical defenses, they also need nutrients to grow and maintain these defenses. Our research shows that even though well-fed plants have stronger defenses, insects still prefer them and grow better on them.This challenges the idea that insects avoid well-defended plants and highlights the role of plant nutrition in insect feeding behavior. These findings could be important for agriculture and pest control, helping to develop strategies for managing insect damage while maintaining healthy crops. Understanding these dynamics can also support more sustainable farming practices by reducing the need for chemical pesticides and improving natural plant resilience.
DEI Statement
This research contributes to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) by promoting sustainable agricultural practices that can benefit diverse communities, including small-scale and resource-limited farmers. Understanding how plant nutrition influences insect feeding behavior can help reduce reliance on chemical pesticides, which disproportionately impact marginalized communities through environmental and health risks. Additionally, by exploring plant-insect interactions, this study supports biodiversity and ecological balance, which are essential for global food security. The research findings will be shared in an accessible manner to engage a broad audience, including underrepresented groups in science. By fostering inclusive scientific communication and promoting sustainable solutions, this work aligns with DEI principles and encourages diverse participation in ecological and agricultural research.