Patterns of Selective Herbivory on Five Prairie Legume Species

Abstract

Historic, wide-spread destruction of native prairies in Minnesota was caused by conversion to agricultural land, disruption of disturbance regimes, and loss of key species. Attempts to restore tall-grass prairies have resulted in a new ecosystem type on the Midwestern landscape, with novel assemblages of both plant and animal species. The mammalian herbivore community, once dominated by bison, is now primarily comprised of white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus), Eastern cottontail rabbits (Sylvilagus floridanus), and small mammals such as meadow voles (Microtus pennsylvanicus). The role of this assemblage of herbivores in restored prairies is not well understood. This study characterizes patterns of mammalian herbivory on five legume species in restored prairie in southern Minnesota. Legumes were sampled along transects that varied in their distance from the prairie-forest boundary and time since prescribed burning. Herbivore selectivity was determined for each legume species using an electivity index based on the total number of stems of each species and the percent of stems grazed. Herbivory was highly variable among legume species: Desmodium canadense was strongly preferred, Dalea candida and Dalea purpurea were moderately preferred, and Amorpha canescens and Lespedeza capitata were avoided. Both Dalea species and Lespedeza experienced increased rates of herbivory in burned sites. Avoided species were characterized by either low tissue nitrogen content or a high proportion of recalcitrant carbon relative to preferred species. These results suggest mammalian herbivores have an important functional role in prairie communities with potential consequences for community dynamics and the success of prairie restorations.

Benefits of jasmonate-dependent defenses against vertebrate herbivores in nature

“…Vertebrate herbivores can have a profound impact on plant fitness and the distribution of plant species in nature ( Hulme, 1994 ; 1996 ; Shimoda et al, 1994 ; Palmisano and Fox, 1997 ; Waller and Alverson, 1997 ; Gómez and Zamora, 2000 ; Sessions and Kelly, 2001 ; Warner and Cushman, 2002 ; Maron and Crone, 2006 ; Maron and Kauffman, 2006 ; Nisi et al, 2015 ). For instance, Paliurus ramosissimus trees that are intensively bark peeled by sika deer ( Cervus nippon ) will take nearly 30 years to recover ( Ishihama et al, 2014 ).…”

Connecting plant species and natural products from the Canadian prairie ecological zone to biomedical knowledge

“…was consumed in preference relative to Amorpha canescens Pursh. (Nisi et al, 2015). Changes in plant defenses over a period of 39 years were observed in the investigation of aphids and Arabidopsis thaliana L. (Brassicaceae) interactions in Europe (Züst et al, 2012).…”

Value of endemic legumes for livestock production on Caatinga rangelands

“…(Dittus & Muir, 2010;Bushman et al, 2015), low vigor seedlings resulting in slow establishment (Chandra, 2009), low seed productivity (Fischer et al, 2015), pod dehiscence and low persistence under continuous stocking, especially of very palatable legumes in relation to grasses less sought after by grazing animals (Muir et al, 2011). The domestication of unpalatable legumes (Nisi et al, 2015), for example, containing condensed tannins (Cooper et al, 2014) or less accessible, may contribute to the persistence of rangeland legume biodiversity (Nisi et al, 2015).…”