Effect of Leaf Quality on Herbivory of Three Atlantic Forest Species

Aline Alves Do Nascimento,Jefferson Cabral Luiz,Dora Maria Villela,Marcelo Trindade Nascimento,Maria Raquel Garcia Vega

doi:10.1590/2179-8087.081017

Aline Alves Do Nascimento, Jefferson Cabral Luiz + Show 3 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/2179-8087.081017

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Abstract

ABSTRACT The present study evaluated the relationship between herbivory and leaf quality of three abundant tree species (Cupania oblongifolia Mart., Siparuna guianensis Aubl. and Xylopia sericea St. Hill.) in the understory of a eucalyptus plantation and an adjacent Atlantic Rainforest fragment. Herbivory differed among species, since X. sericea was less attacked, while C. oblongifolia and S. guianensis were more. The species showed similar herbivory patterns between the investigated areas (eucalyptus plantation versus forest), although X. sericea showed higher herbivory rates in the forest fragment. Fiber values (NDF, CEL and LIG) varied significantly among the species, being lower in S. guianensis. X. sericea, the species with the highest C/N ratio, higher concentrations of total phenols, smaller leaf area and higher trichome density, showed the lowest leaf herbivory rates, corroborating the hypothesis that herbivory is lower in species with lower nutritional quality and a greater set of leaf defense features.

Highlights

AND OBJECTIVESHerbivores and plants are connected by one of the most important ecological relationships in nature, herbivory (Strong et al, 1984; Wilson, 2001)
The present study evaluated the relationship between herbivory and leaf quality of three abundant tree species
X. sericea, the species with the highest C/N ratio, higher concentrations of total phenols, smaller leaf area and higher trichome density, showed the lowest leaf herbivory rates, corroborating the hypothesis that herbivory is lower in species with lower nutritional quality and a greater set of leaf defense features

Summary

Introduction

AND OBJECTIVESHerbivores and plants are connected by one of the most important ecological relationships in nature, herbivory (Strong et al, 1984; Wilson, 2001). Existing herbivores, which include arthropods, mollusks, nematodes and vertebrates, consume about 15% of the annual plant biomass production, both in temperate and tropical forests. This makes herbivory a fundamental process for the energy flow between food webs (Agrawal, 2011; Cyr & Pace, 1993). Herbivore pressure has allowed the development of different types of plant defenses, which have influenced their palatability to insects (Marquis, 2012). Herbivory may positively affect plants, most often it causes negative effects, slowing their development and their ability to reproduce and survive in natural communities (Boege & Marquis, 2005; Coley & Barone, 1996). Different plant characteristics can both directly or indirectly influence leaf damage rates by insects, such as leaf age and size, light, seasonality, spatial distribution, abundance, and certain particular characteristics of each species (Ballaré, 2014; Engelkes et al, 2016; Gonçalves-Alvim et al, 2010; Karolewski et al, 2013; Lowman, 1985; Silva & Neves, 2014)

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