Spines protect plants against browsing by small climbing mammals

Cooper, Susan M.; Ginnett, Tim F.

doi:10.1007/s004420050371

Cited by 68 publications

(51 citation statements)

References 15 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…Spines are known to serve as physical defenses in plants and animals and are often highly conspicuous (Inbar and Lev-Yadun, 2005) as, for example in acacias, thistles and cacti (Cooper and Ginnett, 1998;Young and Okello, 1998). Different animal phyla have developed spines, in terrestrial habitats (e.g., arthropods, mammalians) as well as in aquatic habitats (e.g., arthropods, fish, gastropods) as a direct protection against predators or by increasing handling time or as camouflage (Edmunds, 1974).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spiny Prey, Fortunate Prey. Dorsal Spines Are an Asset in Intraguild Interactions among Lady Beetles

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The Multicolored Asian Ladybird, Harmonia axyridis, is an extremely successful invasive species. Here we suggest that, in addition to many other traits, the dorsal spines of its larvae contribute to their success, as suggested by behavioral observations of agonistic interactions between H. axyridis and European coccinellids. In coccinellids, the role of dorsal spines in these interactions has been poorly studied and they could be a physical protection against intraguild predators. Dorsal spines of second instar H. axyridis larvae were removed with micro-scissors, which resulted in spineless larvae after molting (spineless group). These larvae were then exposed to starved Coccinella septempunctata larvae. Two control categories were also submitted to interactions: H. axyridis larvae with all their spines (control group) and with their spines, but injured by pin stings (injured group). Spine removal at the second instar did not hamper H. axyridis development. The bite rate by C. septempunctata was significantly higher on the spineless H. axyridis and more dorsally located compared to the control and injured groups, while no bite rate difference was observed between the injured and the control group. Our results suggest that in addition to behavioral and chemical defenses, the dorsal spines play a significant protective role against bites. Therefore, spines in ladybirds could be considered as a morphological defense against intraguild predation. In H. axyridis, these defenses might contribute to its success in food resources already exploited by other guild members and thus further facilitate the invasion of new areas.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Spiny Prey, Fortunate Prey. Dorsal Spines Are an Asset in Intraguild Interactions among Lady Beetles

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Bear in mind that the size, structure and behaviour of herbivores vary enormously, so the degree of Grubb (1992); Cooper and Ginnett (1998); Pisani and Distel (1998); Olff et al (1999); Hanley and Lamont (2002); Rebollo et al (2002); Gowda and Palo (2003); Gowda and Raffaele (2004); Agrawal and Fishbein (2006).…”

Section: How To Measure?mentioning

confidence: 99%

Corrigendum to: New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide

Pérez‐Harguindeguy¹,

Díaz²,

Garnier³

et al. 2016

Aust. J. Bot.

492

302

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

The authors regret that elements of Appendix 1 were incorrect in the original publication. The correct version of Appendix 1 is given below. Appendix 1. Summary of plant traits Summary of plant traits included in the handbookThe range of values corresponds to those generally reported for field-grown plants. Ranges of values are based on the literature and the authors' datasets and do not always necessarily correspond to the widest ranges that exist in nature or are theoretically possible. Recommended sample size indicates the minimum and preferred number of individuals to be sampled, so as to obtain an appropriate indication of the values for the trait of interest; when only one value is given, it corresponds to the number of individuals ( = replicates); when two values are given, the first one corresponds to the number of individuals and the second one to the number of organs to be measured per individual. Note that one replicate can be compounded from several individuals (for smaller species), whereas one individual cannot be used for different replicates. The expected coefficient of variation (CV) range gives the 20th and the 80th percentile of the CV ( = s.d. scaled to the mean) as observed in several datasets obtained for a range of field plants for different biomes. Numbering of plant traits corresponds with the numbering of the chapters in the handbook Abstract. Plant functional traits are the features (morphological, physiological, phenological) that represent ecological strategies and determine how plants respond to environmental factors, affect other trophic levels and influence ecosystem properties. Variation in plant functional traits, and trait syndromes, has proven useful for tackling many important ecological questions at a range of scales, giving rise to a demand for standardised ways to measure ecologically meaningful plant traits. This line of research has been among the most fruitful avenues for understanding ecological and evolutionary patterns and processes. It also has the potential both to build a predictive set of local, regional and global relationships between plants and environment and to quantify a wide range of natural and human-driven processes, including changes in biodiversity, the impacts of species invasions, alterations in biogeochemical processes and vegetation-atmosphere interactions. The importance of these topics dictates the urgent need for more and better data, and increases the value of standardised protocols for quantifying trait variation of different species, in particular for traits with power to predict plant-and ecosystemlevel processes, and for traits that can be measured relatively easily. Updated and expanded from the widely used previous version, this handbook retains the focus on clearly presented, widely applicable, step-by-step recipes, with a minimum of text on theory, and not only includes updated methods for the traits previously covered, but also introduces many new protocols for further traits. This new handbook has a better balance between whole-plant ...

show abstract

“…Chemical changes following herbivory may include a decrease in nutrients and an increase in the levels of secondary metabolites, which may be toxic, act as feeding deterrents, and reduce plant digestibility and animal fecundity (Karban and Myers 1989;Haukioja 1990; Karban and Baldwin 1997;Jones 1998). Morphological changes induced by herbivores include the development of thorns and hairs, and the modification of leaf size and branch density (Bryant 1987;Grubb 1992;Danell et al 1994;Cooper and Ginnett 1998). Few species invest simultaneously in morphological and chemical defences, which suggests a trade-off between different strategies (Rosenthal and Kotanen 1994;Rohner and Ward 1997).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Disarmed by domestication? Induced responses to browsing in wild and cultivated olive

Massei¹,

Hartley²

2000

Oecologia

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Some theories of plant allocation to defence predict that chemical or structural defences against herbivores should be maximised when browsing is most likely to occur. However, plants are constrained by a trade-off between growth and defence such that slow-growing plants usually have higher levels of secondary compounds, such as phenolics and tannins, than faster-growing ones. Thus, it is possible that the selection for increased yield and growth rate that occurs when plants are domesticated, may cause a reduction in allocation to these compounds. We tested this hypothesis using wild (Olea europaea L. var. sylvestris Brot.) and cultivated (O. europaea L. var. europaea) olive growing in an area with high densities of ungulates. In our study, olives outside fences excluding ungulates were heavily browsed. However, browsing induced an increase in the phenolic content of olives of both varieties in winter but not in spring. In spring, new leaves of both varieties had generally higher levels of phenolics and nitrogen than old leaves, but new leaves in both varieties exposed to browsing had a lower nitrogen content compared to controls. Browsing in both olive varieties caused leaf and shoot density to increase and leaf and shoot length to decrease, but in wild olives browsed shoots lost their leaves and became similar to spines. Structural responses to browsing occurred in spring during regrowth, whilst chemical changes were more obvious in winter, in both varieties. We suggest that olive may exhibit both morphological and chemical responses to browsing, depending on the different resource allocation priorities at different times of year. In spring, independently of browsing, cultivated olive had generally longer shoots and lower levels of phenolics than wild olive. We speculate that domestication may have selected for faster growth, at the expense of allocation to secondary compounds.

show abstract

Spines protect plants against browsing by small climbing mammals

Cited by 68 publications

References 15 publications

Spiny Prey, Fortunate Prey. Dorsal Spines Are an Asset in Intraguild Interactions among Lady Beetles

Spiny Prey, Fortunate Prey. Dorsal Spines Are an Asset in Intraguild Interactions among Lady Beetles

Corrigendum to: New handbook for standardised measurement of plant functional traits worldwide

Disarmed by domestication? Induced responses to browsing in wild and cultivated olive

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About