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14 results for “herbivore suppression”
Large herbivores suppress liana infestation in an African savanna
<p>African savannas are the last stronghold of diverse large-mammal communities, and a major focus of savanna ecology is to understand how these animals affect the relative abundance of trees and grasses. However, savannas support diverse plant life-forms, and human-induced changes in large-herbivore assemblages—declining wildlife populations and their displacement by livestock—may cause unexpected shifts in plant community composition. We investigated how herbivory affects the prevalence of lianas (woody vines) and their impact on trees in an East African savanna. Although scarce (<2% of tree canopy area) and defended by toxic latex, the dominant liana, <i>Cynanchum viminale </i>(Apocynaceae), was eaten by 15 wild large-herbivore species and was consumed in bulk by native browsers during experimental cafeteria trials. In contrast, domesticated ungulates rarely ate lianas. When we experimentally excluded all large herbivores for periods of 8 to 17 years (simulating extirpation), liana abundance increased dramatically, with up to 75% of trees infested. Piecewise exclusion of different-sized herbivores revealed functional complementarity among size classes in suppressing lianas. Liana infestation reduced tree growth and reproduction, but herbivores quickly cleared lianas from trees after the removal of 18-year-old exclosure fences (simulating rewilding). A simple model of liana contagion showed that, without herbivores, the long-term equilibrium could be either endemic (liana-tree coexistence) or an all-liana alternative stable state. We conclude that ongoing declines of wild large-herbivore populations will disrupt the structure and functioning of many African savannas in ways that have received little attention and that may not be mitigated by replacing wildlife with livestock.</p>
An omnivore vigor hypothesis? Nutrient availability strengthens herbivore suppression by omnivores across 48 field sites
<ol> <li>Nutrients regulate herbivore growth from the 'bottom-up' via improved plant vigor and food quality. Nitrogen also affects 'top-down' control of herbivores by moderating attraction of predators and the rates at which they consume herbivorous prey.</li> <li>Tri-trophic consequences of nitrogen availability are more challenging to predict among omnivorous natural enemies who feed on both plants and herbivores, limiting our ability to predict net outcomes of nutrient availability in food webs.</li> <li>In a two-year field survey of insects on zucchini host plants at 48 sites, I predicted that both herbivores and foliar-feeding omnivores would increase with nutrient availability, while predators would not.</li> <li>My results revealed positive relationships between omnivores and foliar nitrogen concentrations, while predators had neutral responses to foliar N. Surprisingly, herbivores declined with increasing foliar N across the field sites.</li> <li>Greenhouse experiments reinforced these patterns, as herbivore growth inversely correlated with soil N concentrations in communities that included foliar-feeding omnivores. Conversely, herbivore growth was uncorrelated with soil N on plants with generalist predators, nor on predator-free plants.</li> <li>These results suggest that omnivores mount strong and consistent responses to nitrogen in plant tissues in a variety of ecological contexts. In environments where omnivorous arthropods can thrive, their recruitment to nitrogen-rich plants may increase predation and thereby counterbalance and stabilize 'bottom-up' increases in herbivore performance supported by enhanced foliar nutrition.</li> </ol>
Parasites as ecosystem modulators: Foliar pathogens suppress top-down effects of large herbivores
<p><span>Parasites can catalyze or inhibit interactions between their hosts and other species, but the ecosystem-level effects of such interaction modifications are poorly understood. We conducted a large-scale field experiment in temperate grasslands of northeastern China to understand how foliar fungal pathogens (e.g., rusts and leaf</span><span> spot</span><span>s</span><span>) influenced top-down effects of large herbivores (cattle; <em>Bos</em> <em>taurus</em>) on plant diversity and productivity. In the absence of foliar pathogens, cattle grazing strongly suppressed biomass of the dominant grass, <em>Leymus</em> <em>chinensis</em>, (↓56%), generating competitive release that significantly increased plant species richness (↑75%) and evenness (↑15%). In the absence of grazing, pathogen attack on <em>L. chinensis</em> had no measurable effect on host biomass. However, pathogen infection greatly weakened top-down effects of herbivory by inhibiting cattle grazing on <em>L. chinensis</em> and negating grazing effects on plant biomass and species richness. Mechanistically, foliar pathogens were linked to increased alkaloid (↑45%) and reduced nitrogen levels (↓19%) in leaf tissue that appeared to deter cattle grazing on<em> L. chinensis</em>. Our results demonstrate that foliar pathogens can suppress top-down effects of large herbivores on grassland community structure and function by modifying the strength of its host's interactions with the dominant consumer. We propose that parasites may function primarily as modulators of ecosystem function when their direct effects on host density (often dampened by evolution) are overshadowed by influences on host traits that modify host interactions with strong competitors, herbivores, or predators.</span></p>
An omnivore vigor hypothesis? Nutrient availability strengthens herbivore suppression by omnivores across 48 field sites
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Parasites as ecosystem modulators: Foliar pathogens suppress top-down effects of large herbivores
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Elevated atmospheric CO2 suppresses jasmonate and silicon-based defences without affecting herbivores
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Large herbivores suppress liana infestation in an African savanna
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Data from: Suppression of plant resistance may be a common trait among adapted herbivores
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Data from: Climate warming and plant biomechanical defences: silicon addition contributes to herbivore suppression in a pasture grass
1. Plants, notably the Poacae, often accumulate large amounts of silicon (Si) from the soil. Si has multiple functional roles, particularly for alleviating abiotic and biotic stresses (e.g. defence against herbivores). Recent evidence suggests that environmental change, including temperature changes, can diminish Si accumulation which could affect functions such as herbivore defence. 2. Using a field warming experiment, we grew a pasture grass (Phalaris aquatica) that was either supplemented or untreated with Si (+Si and -Si, respectively) under ambient and elevated (+2.8ºC above ambient) air temperatures. We quantified soil water, plant growth rates, Si accumulation, leaf biomechanical properties and in situ relative growth rates of a herbivorous global insect pest (Helicoverpa armigera). 3. Si supplementation promoted shoot and root biomass by c. 48% and 61%, respectively under ambient temperatures, but these gains were not apparent under warmed conditions. 4. Warmer temperatures reduced Si uptake by -Si plants by c. 17%, potentially due to the lower levels of soil water content in warmed plots. Si supplementation, however, increased Si accumulation in leaves by c. 24% in warmed plots restoring Si levels to those seen under ambient temperatures. 5. Si supplementation enhanced biomechanical properties in the leaves, but this was only statistically significant under ambient temperatures; leaves of +Si plants required 42% more force to fracture and were 30% tougher at the midrib than leaves of -Si plants. The relative growth rates of H. armigera declined by 56% when feeding on +Si plants under ambient temperatures and while Si supplementation caused a trend towards declining herbivore growth rates under warmer conditions, this was not statistically significant. 6. We conclude that climate warming may mitigate the beneficial effects of Si on Phalaris aquatica in the short term, potentially by reducing Si uptake. While Si uptake can be restored with Si supplementation, Si-enhanced biomechanical defences against a global pest may not be fully restored under warmer temperatures.
Soil chemistry determines whether defensive plant secondary metabolites promote or suppress herbivore growth
<p><span>Plant secondary (or specialized) metabolites mediate important interactions in both the rhizosphere and the phyllosphere. If and how such compartmentalized functions interact to determine plant-environment interactions is not well understood. Here, we investigated how the dual role of maize benzoxazinoids as leaf defenses and root siderophores shapes the interaction between maize and a major global insect pest, the fall armyworm. We find that benzoxazinoids suppress fall armyworm growth when plants are grown in soils with very low available iron but enhance growth in soils with higher available iron. Manipulation experiments confirm that benzoxazinoids suppress herbivore growth under iron-deficient conditions and in the presence of chelated iron, but enhance herbivore growth in the presence of free iron in the growth medium. This reversal of the protective effect of benzoxazinoids is not associated with major changes in plant primary metabolism. Plant defense activation is modulated by the interplay between soil iron and benzoxazinoids but does not explain fall armyworm performance. Instead, increased iron supply to the fall armyworm by benzoxazinoids in the presence of free iron enhances larval performance. This work identifies soil chemistry as a decisive factor for the impact of plant secondary metabolites on herbivore growth. It also demonstrates how the multifunctionality of plant secondary metabolites drives interactions between abiotic and biotic factors, with potential consequences for plant resistance in variable environments. </span></p>
Soil chemistry determines whether defensive plant secondary metabolites promote or suppress herbivore growth
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Data from: Climate warming and plant biomechanical defences: silicon addition contributes to herbivore suppression in a pasture grass
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Comparative transcriptomics of tomato plants simultaneously infested with different species of herbivorous mites reveals distinct signatures of host defense suppression
GEO Series GSE116827. Solanum lycopersicum. 24 samples. Type: Expression profiling by array.
ZmPP2C45 and ZmBELL4 suppress maize biochemical defense against insect herbivores
GEO Series GSE276608. Zea mays. 6 samples. Type: Expression profiling by high throughput sequencing.
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