Unravelling the evolution of autumn colours: an interdisciplinary approach

Cryptic coloration of Macaranga bancana seedlings: A unique strategy for a pioneer species

“…There is a caveat of having red coloration, Archetti et al 23 argued that red colored leaves is counterproductive as it needs extra costs of pigment synthesis, resource loss and decreases the photosynthesis rate. Therefore, the red leaves are thought of as a handicap signal to deter colonizing insect herbivores.…”

Salt-Induced Changes in Antioxidative Enzyme Activities in Shoot Tissues of Two Atriplex Varieties

“…The question of a functional significance of anthocyanin pigments in leaves has received substantial attention in the recent literature (Archetti et al, 2009;ChalkerScott, 1999;Manetas, 2006). Comparatively little attention has been given to the question of why only certain species change leaf colour from green to red during certain ontogenetic stages or seasons while others do not.…”

The shared and separate roles of aposematic (warning) coloration and the co-evolution hypothesis in defending autumn leaves

“…The first was the recognition that anthocyanins are synthesized de novo in red autumn leaves, 1,2 and the second was the formulation of the anti-herbivory co-evolutionary hypothesis. [6][7][8] The updated version of the co-evolutionary hypothesis 9 posits that red autumn coloration signals to all types of insects (including aphids) that migrate to the trees in autumn about their chemical defense, lower nutritional quality or imminent leaf fall, or any other characteristic that would induce a lower fitness in the insects. In addition, yellow leaves signals the same to all herbivores except aphids.…”

“…A special aspect of the co-evolutionary hypothesis is that the reduced fitness of the insects is not only immediate, reducing insect feeding in autumn, but also related to the reduced development of the next generation that hatches in the following spring from eggs laid on the trees in the autumn. 9 Originally, the co-evolutionary hypothesis addressed both red and yellow autumn leaves. [6][7][8] However, with the later understanding that yellow leaves usually attract rather than repel aphids, [9][10][11][12][13] the co-evolutionary hypothesis was later restricted to red leaves when aphids are concerned.…”

“…[6][7][8] However, with the later understanding that yellow leaves usually attract rather than repel aphids, [9][10][11][12][13] the co-evolutionary hypothesis was later restricted to red leaves when aphids are concerned. 9 In addition to other various potential anti-herbivory roles, 14,15 red autumn leaf coloration has several potential physiological functions, such as protection from photoinhibition and photo oxidation, and other physiological functions have been proposed but not agreed upon. 1,2,9,[16][17][18][19][20][21] …”