Authors: Abdala-Roberts, Luis; Parra-Tabla, Víctor

Source: Biotropica, Volume 37, Number 2, June 2005 , pp. 251-257(7)

Publisher: Wiley-Blackwell

Abstract:

Induction of plant defenses and their spatial variability are key subjects in the field of ecology and evolution of defensive traits in plants. Nevertheless, induction has been more commonly studied under controlled environments, ignoring other factors that might influence this process in natural settings. The main goal of this study was to determine if artificial defoliation induces trichome production in three natural populations of the tropical shrub Cnidoscolus aconitifolius. First, we performed trichome counts for each population before imposing artificial defoliation to assess differences in trichome loads between populations. Trichome densities (trichomes/cm²) were quantified for leaf blades, petioles, and flower stalks. To determine if defoliation induced trichome production, three defoliation treatments (0% leaves defoliated or controls, 50% of total leaves defoliated, and 100% defoliation) were applied once at the beginning of the reproductive season. Trichome counts were performed on each structure every 20 d during a 3-mo period after the application of treatments. Trichome counts showed significant differences in trichome densities between populations for all three structures. In turn, artificial defoliation increased trichome density. Significant differences among treatments were found for trichome densities on leaf blades and petioles. In both these structures, the 100 percent defoliation treatment differed significantly from control plants, presenting higher trichome densities. In addition, the treatment × population interaction was not significant for leaf blades and petioles, indicating that induction is a generalized response in this species, at least at the study sites. These results indicate that trichomes in C. aconitifolius are inducible due to defoliation.

Keywords: Cnidoscolus aconitifolius; defoliation; herbivory; induction; México; spatial variation; trichomes

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1744-7429.2005.00034.x

Publication date: 2005-06-01

Related content

• In this: publication
• By this: publisher
• In this Subject: Biology
• By this author: Abdala-Roberts, Luis ;  Parra-Tabla, Víctor

Website © Publishing Technology. Article copyright remains with the publisher, society or author(s) as specified within the article.

• Terms and conditions
• Privacy policy
• Information for advertisers