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Myrmecophytic Cecropia: antiherbivore defenses under different nutrient treatments by Patricia J. Folgarait; Diane W. Davidson is a Environmental Science article available to read on EtoBox.

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In greenhouse experiments, we compared putative biotic, chemical, physical and phenological defenses of six myrmecophytic Cecropia species cultivated under high and low nutrient regimes. We tested the intraspecific predictions of the C:N balance hypothesis for a broader range of defenses than included in other studies to date. Treatment effects on defenses appear to depend on the nutrient constituents of those defenses. Only strictly carbon-based defenses such as tannins and phenolics reached higher concentrations at the lower nutrient level. The production of glycogen-rich and membrane-bound Müllerian body ant rewards (MBs) increased with greater levels of both nutrients (this study) and light (Folgarait and Davidson 1994). In contrast, lipid- and amino acid-rich pearl body food rewards (PBs) were produced in greater numbers under conditions of high nutrient levels (this study) and low light (Folgarait and Davidson 1994), both of which should have contributed to a relative excess of nitrogen. Nutrient effects on toughness and leaf expansion rates (perhaps serving as phenological defenses) were inconsistent with the predictions of the C:N balance hypothesis. Mature leaves are prote

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Author

Patricia J. Folgarait; Diane W. Davidson

Publisher

Springer-Verlag; Springer Verlag; Springer Science and Business Media LLC (ISSN 0029-8549)

Published

1995

Language

EN

Field

Environmental Science (Physical Sciences)