Herbivory and Mutualismndash; Chapter 14.ppt

Herbivory and Mutualism– Chapter 14 How Can The World Be Green? Some herbivorous populations may evolve self-regulatory mechanisms that prevent them from destroying their food supply Predation may hold herbivore populations in check Plants have evolved an array of defenses against herbivores Has led to a coevolutionary contest betweens plants and herbivores in evolutionary time Plant Defense Plants may discourage herbivores by structural mechanisms Rose thorns Some plants produce secondary plant substance’s for defense Not found in all plants Are by-products of the primary metabolic pathways in plants Secondary Plant Substance Evolution Compounds are primarily waste products of metabolism Adaptation to avoid autointoxication Plant excretion is different than animal excretion Plants can volatize, leach, or chemically alter toxic chemicals Two possible benefits Releasing chemicals into the environment may have an allelopathic effect Plant may become toxic or distasteful to herbivores Secondary Plant Substance Evolution Chemicals were specifically evolved by plants to deter herbivores Assumes that few secondary plant substances are really useful to the plant as excretory products, and that most are actively produced at a metabolic cost to the plant. Plants that produce secondary plant substances are at an advantage If all herbivores were removed, plants would not produce secondary chemicals If plant defense has a cost in terms of fitness then: Plants evolve more defenses if they are exposed to much damage, and fewer defenses if the cost of defense is too high. Plants allocate more defense to valuable tissues that are at risk. Defense mechanisms are reduced when enemies are absent, and increase when plants are attacked. Defense mechanisms are costly (energy and nutrients are diverted from other needs) and cannot be maintained if plants are severely stressed by environmental factors. Plant Defense And Life History Long-lived plants are more likely than short-lived p