A test of elemental defence against slugs by Ni in hyperaccumulator and non-hyperaccumulator Streptanthus species

Summary. Tissues of most plant species contain < 10 μg Ni g⁻¹ but Ni hyperaccumulators contain more than 1000 μg Ni g⁻¹ . Hyperaccumulated Ni can defend plants from some herbivores but the defensive role of lesser Ni concentrations is little explored. We raised five species of Streptanthus (Brassicaceae) native to ultramafic soils, one of which (S. polygaloides) is a Ni hyperaccumulator whereas the others are simply Ni-tolerant, on Ni-amended and unamended green-house soils to create plants differing in Ni concentrations. On high-Ni soil, leaves of the hyperaccumulator contained 3800 μg Ni g⁻¹ whereas leaves of non-hyperaccumulator species contained 41–64 μg Ni g⁻¹. Plants of all species grown on low-Ni soils had < 14 μg Ni g⁻¹. Slugs (Limax maximus) were fed plant material in no-choice tests over a 50-day period and survival and mass changes were recorded. All slugs fed high-Ni leaves of the hyperaccumulator species died within 21 d. Slugs fed high-Ni leaves of the other species did not differ significantly in survival or mass change from those fed low-Ni leaves. In choice tests, slugs (Lehmannia valentiana) offered both high- and low-Ni S. polygaloides leaves did little damage to high-Ni leaves. We conclude that hyperacumulated Ni can defend S. polygaloides from slug herbivory via both toxicity and deterrence, but these defensive effects do not extend to Streptanthus species containing < 70 μg Ni g⁻¹.     

Amino acids during development of mountain birch leaves

Summary. The nutritive value of tree foliage for herbivores decreases rapidly with leaf maturation, due in particular to the decline in leaf nitrogen content. Since the amino acid content of plants differs from the need of herbivores for individual amino acids, we examined developmental changes in the contents of amino acids throughout the growth season of mountain birch. The contents of free and protein-bound amino acids, as well as essential and nonessential ones, displayed different patterns with leaf maturation, suggesting that total nitrogen or protein levels are poor predictors of the nutritive status of leaves. The contents of protein-bound amino acids were 100 times higher than those of free amino acids, indicating that the role of free amino acids in nutrition of herbivores is probably less important than that of protein-bound amino acids. Among protein-bound amino acids, both the absolute and the relative contents of two nitrogen-rich essential amino acids, lysine and arginine, decreased during early leaf growth, presumably reducing nitrogen availability in developing leaves. Essential amino acids were mainly positively related to each other, suggesting the co-ordinated regulation of their synthesis. Changes in correlations among individual free amino acids reflected developmental changes in allocation preferences between biosynthesis pathways with leaf growth. Received 31 January 2003; accepted 17 March 2003. R1D=" Correspondence to: Teija Ruuhola, e-mail: teiruu@utu.fi     

Indirect Effects of Pandemic Deer Overabundance Inferred from Caterpillar‐Host Relations

Externally feeding phytophagous insect larvae (i.e., caterpillars, here, larval Lepidoptera and sawflies, Hymenoptera: Symphyta) are important canopy herbivores and prey resources in temperate deciduous forests. However, composition of forest trees has changed dramatically in the eastern United States since 1900. In particular, browsing by high densities of white‐tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) has resulted in forests dominated by browse‐tolerant species, such as black cherry (Prunus serotina), and greatly reduced relative abundance of other tree species, notably pin cherry (Prunus pensylvanica) and birches (Betula spp.). To quantify effects of these changes on caterpillars, we sampled caterpillars from 960 branch tips of the 8 tree species that comprise 95% of trees in Allegheny hardwood forests: red maple (Acer rubrum), striped maple (Acer pensylvanicum), sugar maple (Acer saccharum), sweet birch (Betula lenta), yellow birch (Betula allegheniensis), American beech (Fagus grandifolia), black cherry, and pin cherry. We collected 547 caterpillar specimens that belonged to 66 Lepidoptera and 10 Hymenoptera species. Caterpillar density, species richness, and community composition differed significantly among tree species sampled. Pin cherry, nearly eliminated at high deer density, had the highest density and diversity of caterpillars. Pin cherry shared a common caterpillar community with black cherry, which was distinct from those of other tree hosts. As high deer density continues to replace diverse forests of cherries, maples, birches, and beech with monodominant stands of black cherry, up to 66% of caterpillar species may be eliminated. Hence, deer‐induced changes in forest vegetation are likely to ricochet back up forest food webs and therefore negatively affect species that depend on caterpillars and moths for food and pollination. Efectos Indirectos de la Sobreabundancia de Venados Pandémicos Inferida de Relaciones Orugas‐Huéspedes     

Allocation of herbivory-induced hydroxamic acids in the wild wheat Triticum uniaristatum

Summary. We characterized the induction of hydroxamic acids (Hx) by aphid infestation in the wild wheat Triticum uniaristatum by addressing the following questions: i) Do different leaves have similar responses to aphid damage?, ii) Is the Hx induction localized or systemic?, iii) How long does the induction last?, and iv) Is the degree of damage related to the magnitude of induced Hx? Based on earlier results on this wheat/aphid system (lack of costs of Hx induction) we expected to find the plant exhibiting cost-saving patterns of response to herbivory. Aphid infestation in the primary leaf led to induced levels of Hx, but no differences in Hx levels were found after infestation of the secondary leaf. Induction of Hx was restricted to the infested leaf (primary leaf). Induced Hx levels exhibited by the primary leaf at the end of aphid infestation were not observed 2 days later. Finally, different aphid densities (between 10 and 40 aphids per leaf) did not produce significant differences in Hx levels in infested primary leaves. Characteristics of Hx induction by aphid infestation in T. uniaristatum partially support the expected cost-saving patterns in the allocation of induced defenses. Received 15 January 1997; accepted 7 July 1997.     

Chemical defence in chewing and sucking insect herbivores: Plant-derived cardenolides in the monarch butterfly and oleander aphid

Summary Cardenolide sequestration by a hemimetabolous aphid and a holometabolous butterfly from the neotropical milkweed,Asclepias curassavica L., is compared. The oleander aphid,Aphis nerii B. de F., sequestered a similarly narrow range of cardenolide concentrations to the monarch butterfly,Danaus plexippus (L.), from the wide range of concentrations available in leaves of A.curassavica. However, A.nerii sequestered significantly less cardenolide (269 µg/0.1 g) thanD. plexippus (528 µg/0.1 g). The honeydew excreted by A.nerii was comprised of 46% cardenolide. The complete polarity range of 25 cardenolides detected by thin layer chromatography in A.curassavica was represented in the 17 whole aphid cardenolides and the 20 aphid honeydew cardenolides detected. D.plexippus sequestered a narrower polarity range of 11 cardenolides, having eliminated low polarity cardenolide genins and glycosides. It is suggested that these chemical differences may be related to interactions among the broad feeding tactics of sucking or chewing milkweed leaves, life history constraints of holometabolyversus hemimetaboly, the distribution of milkweed food resources in space and time, and the dynamics of natural enemies.     

Ecological consequences of forest elephant declines for Afrotropical forests

Poaching is rapidly extirpating African forest elephants (Loxodonta cyclotis) from most of their historical range, leaving vast areas of elephant‐free tropical forest. Elephants are ecological engineers that create and maintain forest habitat; thus, their loss will have large consequences for the composition and structure of Afrotropical forests. Through a comprehensive literature review, we evaluated the roles of forest elephants in seed dispersal, nutrient recycling, and herbivory and physical damage to predict the cascading ecological effects of their population declines. Loss of seed dispersal by elephants will favor tree species dispersed abiotically and by smaller dispersal agents, and tree species composition will depend on the downstream effects of changes in elephant nutrient cycling and browsing. Loss of trampling and herbivory of seedlings and saplings will result in high tree density with release from browsing pressures. Diminished seed dispersal by elephants and high stem density are likely to reduce the recruitment of large trees and thus increase homogeneity of forest structure and decrease carbon stocks. The loss of ecological services by forest elephants likely means Central African forests will be more like Neotropical forests, from which megafauna were extirpated thousands of years ago. Without intervention, as much as 96% of Central African forests will have modified species composition and structure as elephants are compressed into remaining protected areas. Stopping elephant poaching is an urgent first step to mitigating these effects, but long‐term conservation will require land‐use planning that incorporates elephant habitat into forested landscapes that are being rapidly transformed by industrial agriculture and logging.     

A Fast Method for Monitoring Foliage Density in Single Lower-canopy Trees

A subjective visual assessment of foliage density is the mostwidely used rapid method of determining forest health. Forthese assessments to be ecologically meaningful they must bereliable (have low inter- and intra-observer variability) andreadily relate to a measure of physiological or physicalstress. A simple rapid method for assessing percent foliagedensity in lower stature trees is described. This method haslow inter-observer variability (standard deviation betweenobservers=8.6%) and therefore, minimizes the risk ofconfounding the effects of different observers with genuinechanges in density. The percentage changes in this measure offoliage density correlate well with percentage changes inbiomass, allowing a ready interpretation of observed changes.The technique does not specifically identify the cause of themeasured changes, however, with appropriate additionalmeasures this problem may be overcome.     

Antioxidant alteration ofGlycine max (Fabaceae) defensive chemistry: Analogy to herbivory elicitation

Summary The water-soluble antioxidant, L-ascorbic acid (vitamin C), proved elicitory to alterable anti-herbivory inGlycine max againstTrichoplusia ni larvae. Elicitation by vitamin C was influenced especially by dose, time after elicitation and space in the plant. Results allow an analogy between antioxidant and herbivory elicitation. Elicitation apparently involves a sulfhydryl-protein-dependent redox mechanism which can be significantly affected by antioxidants. Findings would also support a proposed common redox-based mechanism, involving the plasma membrane, for communication between plant and animal cells and their environments.