Chemical defenses against herbivores and fungi limit establishment of fungal farms on salt marsh angiosperms

Sieg, R. Drew; Wolfe, Kevin; Willey, Drew; Ortiz-Santiago, Vicky; Kubanek, Julia

doi:10.1016/j.jembe.2013.05.007

Cited by 10 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 50 publications

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“…Presence of tree snails: a common factor that determines microbe communities, a direction for future research Animals, including snails, have been shown to alter the community structure of microbes on which they feed (Rollins et al, 2001;Poulsen and Boomsma, 2005;Silliman and Newell, 2011;Aizenberg-Gershtein et al, 2013;Sieg et al, 2013). Snails rasping the surface of leaves can influence biosphere community succession and nutrient cycling, and may alter antimicrobial barriers of plants such as the wax layer and antimicrobial compounds therein (Lindow and Brandl, 2003;Yadav et al, 2005).…”

Section: Sample Typementioning

confidence: 99%

Dining local: the microbial diet of a snail that grazes microbial communities is geographically structured

O’Rorke

Cobian

Holland

et al. 2014

Environmental Microbiology

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Achatinella mustelina is a critically endangered tree snail that subsists entirely by grazing microbes from leaf surfaces of native trees. Little is known about the fundamental aspects of these microbe assemblages: not taxonomic composition, how this varies with host plant or location, nor whether snails selectively consume microbes. To address these questions, we collected 102 snail faecal samples as a proxy for diet, and 102 matched-leaf samples from four locations. We used Illumina amplicon sequencing to determine bacterial and fungal community composition. Microbial community structure was significantly distinct between snail faeces and leaf samples, but the same microbes occurred in both. We conclude that snails are not 'picky' eaters at the microbial level, but graze the surface of whatever plant they are on. In a second experiment, the gut was dissected from non-endangered native tree snails in the same family as Achatinella to confirm that faecal samples reflect gut contents. Over 60% of fungal reads were shared between faeces, gut and leaf samples. Overall, location, sample type (faeces or leaf) and host plant identity all significantly explained the community composition and variation among samples. Understanding the microbial ecology of microbes grazed by tree snails enables effective management when conservation requires captive breeding or field relocation.

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Section: Sample Typementioning

confidence: 99%

Dining local: the microbial diet of a snail that grazes microbial communities is geographically structured

O’Rorke

Cobian

Holland

et al. 2014

Environmental Microbiology

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“…There are two possible explanations for a lack of induced defense by Littoraria grazing. First, Littoraria herbivory on Spartina can induce chemical defensive compounds other than phenolics (Long et al 2011, Sieg et al 2013, Kicklighter et al 2018), so perhaps a defense response was elicited that was not captured by our measured traits. Alternatively, there is a tradeoff between constitutive and induced defenses, such that plants with high constitutive defense will not invest resources in induced defense (Kempel et al 2011).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Resource availability and plant age drive defense against herbivory in salt marshes

Wittyngham¹,

Carey

Johnson³

2023

Oikos

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The resource‐availability hypothesis (RAH) and the intraspecific RAH (RAHintra), posit that resources, (i.e. nutrients) control plant antiherbivore defenses. Both hypotheses predict that in low‐resource environments, plant growth is slow, and constitutive defense is high. In high‐resource environments, however, the RAH predicts that plant growth is fast, and constitutive defense is low, whereas the RAHintra predicts that increased resources attract more herbivores, and this intensified grazing pressure leads to high constitutive defense. Salt marshes are nutrient‐limited ecosystems threatened by eutrophication and chronic herbivory, yet we know little about how these stressors shape saltmarsh plant antiherbivore defenses, which influence trophic interactions and ecosystem resilience. We manipulated resource availability via nutrient addition and herbivory via the marsh periwinkle Littoraria irrorata, on the saltmarsh foundation species Spartina alterniflora, in mesocosms. Because plant age can also influence trait variation, we measured traits in both original and clonally‐grown new stems. Feeding assays then evaluated how treatments and plant age affected subsequent Littoraria consumption of Spartina. Nutrient addition stimulated growth, while decreasing defensive traits (e.g. fiber and silica content), following the RAH. Herbivory enhanced belowground production and increased stem diameter, yet did not induce defensive traits, contrary to our expectations. Herbivory plus nutrients increased Spartina biomass and reduced phenolics, a defensive trait, further supporting the RAH. Regardless of treatment, clonally‐grown new stems had greater variation in measured traits. Despite altered traits, however, treatments and plant age did not affect Littoraria consumption. Our results support the RAH and part of the RAHintra and suggest: 1) nutrient availability is a primary driver of plant trait change and 2) plant age controls the magnitude of trait variation in Spartina. Further, our findings indicate that eutrophic conditions may not always increase top‒down control by herbivores, and in some instances can enhance saltmarsh resilience against sea‐level rise via stimulated Spartina biomass production.

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Grazer deterrence and fungal inhibition by the invasive marsh grass Phragmites australis and the native sedge Bolboschoenus robustus in a mesohaline marsh

et al. 2018

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Chemical defenses against herbivores and fungi limit establishment of fungal farms on salt marsh angiosperms

Cited by 10 publications

References 50 publications

Dining local: the microbial diet of a snail that grazes microbial communities is geographically structured

Dining local: the microbial diet of a snail that grazes microbial communities is geographically structured

Resource availability and plant age drive defense against herbivory in salt marshes

Grazer deterrence and fungal inhibition by the invasive marsh grass Phragmites australis and the native sedge Bolboschoenus robustus in a mesohaline marsh

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