L5: Plant defense against herbivory Flashcards
what is herbivory
interaction when animal consumes live tissues of plant
how do plant reduce probability of being found
- remaining inconspicuous within a given habitat
- occupying herbivore free sites
- mimicking another well defended or damaged plant
- having a short life cycle
- completely lacking chemical attraction
- asynchronous timing
- mass production of tissues to swamp herbivores
an example of mimicry
mistletoe and eucalyptus
what are the physical barriers some plants have to protect themselves from herbivores
toughness hardness scales barbs thorns spines trichromes
what are divaricating plants
branching structure with wide angled, interlaced shoots bearing small leaves
branches are wiry
what are two detterents of plant palatibility
quantitative detterent qaulitative detterent (act as secondary defense compounds)
what is the resource availability hypothesis
- costs and benefits of investing defense depends on inherent growth rate of species; for fast growers, loss of leaves not so costly therefore invest less in defensive chemicals
- expect more chemical defenses in plants from resource poor environments with longer leaf life spans and slower growth
Give an example of association of plants with predators to deter herbivores
Domatia on leaves act as refuges for predatory arthropods and plants with lots of domatia can reduce populations of herbivorous mites
How do pseudomyrmex ants protect acacia
they live in the hollow thorns of acacia to protect them from herbivores
what is induced resistance
induced when adjacent attacked plant releases exudates, attacked plant decrease nutritional quality of foliage and increasing production of secondary compounds , can also emit volatile chemicals to attract that herbivores enemies, or warn neighbouring plants
