scholarly journals Plant spines deter herbivory by restricting caterpillar movement

2017 ◽  
Vol 13 (5) ◽  
pp. 20170176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupesh R. Kariyat ◽  
Sean B. Hardison ◽  
Consuelo M. De Moraes ◽  
Mark C. Mescher
Keyword(s):  
Manduca Sexta ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Significant Role ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Solanum Carolinense ◽  
Mammalian Herbivores ◽  
Feeding Sites

The spines of flowering plants are thought to function primarily in defence against mammalian herbivores; however, we previously reported that feeding by Manduca sexta caterpillars on the leaves of horsenettle plants ( Solanum carolinense ) induces increased development of internode spines on new growth. To determine whether and how spines impact caterpillar feeding, we conducted assays with three Solanaceous plant species that vary in spine numbers ( S. carolinense , S. atropurpureum and S. aethiopicum ) and also manipulated spine numbers within each species. We found that M. sexta caterpillars located experimentally isolated target leaves much more quickly on plants with experimentally removed spines compared with plants with intact spines. Moreover, it took caterpillars longer to defoliate species with relatively high spine numbers ( S. carolinense and particularly S . atropurpureum ) compared with S. aethiopicum , which has fewer spines . These findings suggest that spines may play a significant role in defence against insect herbivores by restricting herbivore movement and increasing the time taken to access feeding sites, with possible consequences including longer developmental periods and increased vulnerability or apparency to predators.

scholarly journals Non-glandular trichomes of Solanum carolinense deter feeding by Manduca sexta caterpillars and cause damage to the gut peritrophic matrix

2017 ◽  
Vol 284 (1849) ◽  
pp. 20162323 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rupesh R. Kariyat ◽  
Jason D. Smith ◽  
Andrew G. Stephenson ◽  
Consuelo M. De Moraes ◽  
Mark C. Mescher
Keyword(s):  
Manduca Sexta ◽  
Glandular Trichomes ◽  
Peritrophic Membrane ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Peritrophic Matrix ◽  
First Line ◽  
Solanum Carolinense ◽  
Physical Barriers ◽  
Electron And Light Microscopy ◽  
Direct Toxicity

Plant trichomes constitute a first line of defence against insect herbivores. The pre- and post-ingestive defensive functions of glandular trichomes are well documented and include direct toxicity, adhesion, antinutrition and defence gene induction. By contrast, the defensive functions of non-glandular trichomes are less well characterized, although these structures are thought to serve as physical barriers that impede herbivore feeding and movement. We experimentally varied the density of stellate non-glandular trichomes in several ways to explore their pre- and post-ingestive effects on herbivores. Larvae of Manduca sexta (Sphingidae) initiated feeding faster and gained more weight on Solanum carolinense (Solanaceae) leaves having lower trichome densities (or experimentally removed trichomes) than on leaves having higher trichome densities. Adding trichomes to artificial diet also deterred feeding and adversely affected caterpillar growth relative to controls. Scanning electron and light microscopy revealed that the ingestion of stellate trichomes by M. sexta caterpillars caused extensive damage to the peritrophic membrane, a gut lining that is essential to digestion and pathogen isolation. These findings suggest that, in addition to acting as a physical barrier to deter feeding, trichomes can inhibit caterpillar growth and development via post-ingestive effects.

scholarly journals Mauritian coloured nectar no longer a mystery: a visual signal for lizard pollinators

2006 ◽  
Vol 2 (2) ◽  
pp. 165-168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dennis M Hansen ◽  
Karin Beer ◽  
Christine B Müller
Keyword(s):  
Experimental Evidence ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Visual Signal ◽  
Honest Signal ◽  
Endemic Plant ◽  
Floral Trait ◽  
Flower Visitation ◽  
Artificial Flowers ◽  
Endemic Plant Species

Most floral nectars are clear as water, and the enigmatic coloured nectar in three endemic plant species in Mauritius has puzzled scientists studying it. One hypothesis about the possible ecological function of coloured nectar is that it serves as a visual signal for pollinators. Recent studies have shown that at least two of the three Mauritian plant species with coloured nectar are visited and pollinated by endemic Phelsuma geckos. We here provide experimental evidence for the visual signal hypothesis by showing that Phelsuma ornata geckos prefer coloured over clear nectar in artificial flowers. In flowering plants, coloured nectar could additionally function as an honest signal that allows pollinators to assert the presence and judge the size of a reward prior to flower visitation, and to adjust their behaviour accordingly, leading to increased pollinator efficiency. Our study provides a first step in understanding this rare and intriguing floral trait.

scholarly journals The World Flora Online 2020 project: will Cameroon come up to the expectation?

Rodriguésia ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 66 (4) ◽  
pp. 961-972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean Michel Onana
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
West African ◽  
Tropical Africa ◽  
African Countries ◽  
Red Data Book ◽  
The World ◽  
Data Book ◽  
Plant Families ◽  
High Level

Abstract Biodiverse Cameroon has been highlighted as the top country in tropical Africa for plant species diversity per degree square, with a higher diversity than all other West African countries added together, and including two of the top documented centres of plant diversity in Tropical Africa. Despite its reduced taxonomic capacity, with only six active taxonomists a high level of botanical activity in the country has resulted in accomplishments such as the databasing of the YA Herbarium (over 60,000 records), which has an in-country collection coverage of almost 95% of the known plant species that are recorded for Cameroon. Other accomplishments are the Red Data Book of the Flowering Plants of Cameroon, several local checklists and published volumes of the Flore du Cameroun which covers 37% of the country's species. Currently the checklist of Cameroon records 7,850 taxa at species and infraspecific level. Resources are needed to support and heighten the profile of this small botanical community. Already thanks to strong collaboration between Cameroon and renowned botanical institutes of others countries, in particular France and United Kingdom, one hundred and thirteen plant families have been published and would help this country to complete the recording of its biodiversity towards contributing to the World Flora Online 2020 project.

scholarly journals Are declines in insects and insectivorous birds related?

The Condor ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Douglas W Tallamy ◽  
W Gregory Shriver
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Invasive Plant ◽  
Bird Species ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Native Plant ◽  
Insectivorous Birds ◽  
Population Declines ◽  
Native Plant Species ◽  
Host Plant Specialization ◽  
Scale Population

Abstract A flurry of recently published studies indicates that both insects and birds have experienced wide-scale population declines in the last several decades. Curiously, whether insect and bird declines are causally linked has received little empirical attention. Here, we hypothesize that insect declines are an important factor contributing to the decline of insectivorous birds. We further suggest that insect populations essential to insectivorous birds decline whenever non-native lumber, ornamental, or invasive plant species replace native plant communities. We support our hypothesis by reviewing studies that show (1) due to host plant specialization, insect herbivores typically do poorly on non-native plants; (2) birds are often food limited; (3) populations of insectivorous bird species fluctuate with the supply of essential insect prey; (4) not all arthropod prey support bird reproduction equally well; and (5) terrestrial birds for which insects are an essential source of food have declined by 2.9 billion individuals over the last 50 years, while terrestrial birds that do not depend on insects during their life history have gained by 26.2 million individuals, a 111-fold difference. Understanding the consequences of insect declines, particularly as they affect charismatic animals like birds, may motivate land managers, homeowners, and restoration ecologists to take actions that reverse these declines by favoring the native plant species that support insect herbivores most productively.

scholarly journals Toevoegings tot die blomplantlys van die Bergkwagga Nasionale Park

Koedoe ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
B.L. Penzhorn
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
National Park ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Flowering Plant ◽  
Check List ◽  
Flowering Plant Species

Additions to the check list of flowering plants of the Mountain Zebra National Park. Thirteen additional flowering plant species are reported from the Mountain Zebra National Park, increasing the total reported to 371 species.

scholarly journals Host specificity of insect herbivores in tropical forests

2005 ◽  
Vol 272 (1568) ◽  
pp. 1083-1090 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vojtech Novotny ◽  
Yves Basset
Keyword(s):  
Host Specificity ◽  
Tropical Forests ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Field Studies ◽  
Tropical Species ◽  
Distribution Data ◽  
Insect Herbivores ◽  
Leaf Miners ◽  
Experimental Conditions ◽  
Plant Phylogeny

Studies of host specificity in tropical insect herbivores are evolving from a focus on insect distribution data obtained by canopy fogging and other mass collecting methods, to a focus on obtaining data on insect rearing and experimentally verified feeding patterns. We review this transition and identify persisting methodological problems. Replicated quantitative surveys of plant–herbivore food webs, based on sampling efforts of an order of magnitude greater than is customary at present, may be cost-effectively achieved by small research teams supported by local assistants. Survey designs that separate historical and ecological determinants of host specificity by studying herbivores feeding on the same plant species exposed to different environmental or experimental conditions are rare. Further, we advocate the use of host‐specificity measures based on plant phylogeny. Existing data suggest that a minority of species in herbivore communities feed on a single plant species when alternative congeneric hosts are available. Thus, host plant range limits tend to coincide with those of plant genera, rather than species or suprageneric taxa. Host specificity among tropical herbivore guilds decreases in the sequence: granivores>leaf-miners>fructivores>leaf-chewers=sap-suckers>xylophages>root-feeders, thus paralleling patterns observed in temperate forests. Differences in host specificity between temperate and tropical forests are difficult to assess since data on tropical herbivores originate from recent field studies, whereas their temperate counterparts derive from regional host species lists, assembled over many years. No major increase in host specificity from temperate to tropical communities is evident. This conclusion, together with the recent downward revisions of extremely high estimates of tropical species richness, suggest that tropical ecosystems may not be as biodiverse as previously thought.

scholarly journals Observations on two commercial flower mixtures as food sources for beneficial insects in the UK

1997 ◽  
Vol 128 (4) ◽  
pp. 397-403 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. L. CARRECK ◽  
I. H. WILLIAMS
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Dominant Species ◽  
Flowering Phenology ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
The Other ◽  
Food Sources ◽  
Beneficial Insects ◽  
Flower Density ◽  
The Uk ◽  
Made In

Observations were made in 1994 and 1995 in Hertfordshire of the flowering phenology and attractiveness to beneficial insects of two commercial mixtures of flowering plants intended for set-aside land. These were the Tübingen Mixture from Germany and Ascot Linde SN from the Netherlands. The mixtures were visited by 14 species of Hymenoptera, 14 species of syrphid Diptera and six species of Lepidoptera. Although the mixtures contained 12 and five plant species respectively, Phacelia tanacetifolia was the dominant species to establish, flower and attract insects in both mixtures. The other plants contributed little to flower density or insect diversity. These mixtures are therefore not suitable for UK needs using the present proportions of plant species.

scholarly journals Plant Species- and Status-specific Odorant Blends Guide Oviposition Choice in the Moth Manduca sexta

2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (2) ◽  
pp. 147-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Späthe ◽  
Andreas Reinecke ◽  
Shannon B. Olsson ◽  
Subaharan Kesavan ◽  
Markus Knaden ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Manduca Sexta ◽  
Plant Species ◽  
Oviposition Choice

scholarly journals The seed productivity and similarity of seeds of early flowing plants

2021 ◽  
pp. 55-60
Author(s):  
O. N. Kurdyukova
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
High Potential ◽  
Early Flowering ◽  
Seed Productivity ◽  
Potential Productivity ◽  
Field Germination ◽  
Natural Flora

Seed productivity of 22 early flowering plants of the natural flora of the Kamensky geobotanical region, introduced into the culture and used in landscaping, has been established. It was shown that the actual average seed productivity of one individual of various plant species varies from 12 to 373 pcs., And the maximum - from 20 to 448 pcs. seeds, which is 10 to 90% of the potential. In most species, high actual seed productivity is combined with high potential productivity. Field germination of seeds of all plant species was higher when sowing with freshly harvested seeds within 5-14 days after ripening. Storage of seeds at a temperature of 18,0-20,0ºС followed by sowing them in the spring led to a significant decrease in germination.

scholarly journals Checklist of Flowering Plants (Magnoliophyta) of Mount Nglanggeran, Gunungkidul: Confirmation and Update of Flora of Java and APG III

2017 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 19
Author(s):  
Widodo Widodo ◽  
Muhammad Jafar Luthfi
Keyword(s):  
Plant Species ◽  
Flowering Plants ◽  
Survey Method ◽  
Flowering Period ◽  
Visual Data ◽  
Specimen Collection ◽  
Plant Families

This study aimed to collect data on the species plants in Mount Nglanggeran, to confirm and update the existence of these plants from Flora of Java book by Backer &amp; Bakhuizen, and to showing the visual data of plant species in Nglanggeran Mountain. This research used survey method through <em>in-situ</em> visit and specimen collection. Monitoring and visits were conducted based on prediction of flowering period and fruit-bearing season. Eighty plant families of flowering plants were found in the mount Nglanggeran. Based on the phylogenetic arrangement of flowering plants it was found that all the main groups (clades) of flowering plants were found at this location.

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