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Attracting Antagonists: Does Floral Nectar Increase Leaf Herbivory?, Lynn Adler, Judith L. Bronstein
Attracting Antagonists: Does Floral Nectar Increase Leaf Herbivory?, Lynn Adler, Judith L. Bronstein
Lynn Adler
Traits that are attractive to mutualists may also attract antagonists, resulting in conflicting selection pressures. Here we develop the idea that increased floral nectar production can, in some cases, increase herbivory. In these situations, selection for increased nectar production to attract pollinators may be constrained by a linked cost of herbivore attraction. In support of this hypothesis, we report that experimentally supplementing nectar rewards in Datura stramonium led to increased oviposition by Manduca sexta, a sphingid moth that pollinates flowers, but whose larvae feed on leaf tissue. We speculate that nectar composition may provide information about plant nutritional status or …
The Dual Role Of Floral Traits: Pollinator Attraction And Plant Defense, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn Adler, Alison K. Brody
The Dual Role Of Floral Traits: Pollinator Attraction And Plant Defense, Rebecca E. Irwin, Lynn Adler, Alison K. Brody
Lynn Adler
Plants are under siege from a diversity of enemies that consume both leaf and floral parts. Plants resist damage to leaves in a variety of ways, and we now have a rich literature documenting how plants defend themselves against herbivore attack. In contrast, the mechanisms by which plants resist enemies that consume floral parts or resources are much less known, even though damage to floral tissue usually has tighter links to plant fitness than damage to leaf tissue. Many plants experience nectar robbing, whereby floral visitors remove nectar from flowers, often without pollinating. Nectar robbers can reduce plant fitness to …