Chemical communication is ubiquitous. The identification of conserved structural elements in visual and acoustic communication is well established, but comparable information on chemical communication displays (CCDs) is lacking. We assessed the phenotypic integration of CCDs in a meta-analysis to characterize patterns of covariation in CCDs and identified functional or biosynthetically constrained modules. Poorly integrated plant CCDs (i.e. low covariation between scent compounds) support the notion that plants often utilize one or few key compounds to repel antagonists or to attract pollinators and enemies of herbivores. Animal CCDs (mostly insect pheromones) were usually more integrated than those of plants (i.e. stronger covariation), suggesting that animals communicate via fixed proportions among compounds. Both plant and animal CCDs were composed of modules, which are groups of strongly covarying compounds. Biosynthetic similarity of compounds revealed biosynthetic constraints in the covariation patterns of plant CCDs. We provide a novel perspective on chemical communication and a basis for future investigations on structural properties of CCDs. This will facilitate identifying modules and biosynthetic constraints that may affect the outcome of selection and thus provide a predictive framework for evolutionary trajectories of CCDs in plants and animals.
Herbivory induces various responses in plants, thus altering the plants ' phenotype in chemical and morphological traits. Herbivore-induced changes in vegetative plant parts, plant-physiological mechanisms, and eff ects on plant-animal interactions have been intensively studied from species to community level. In contrast, we are just beginning to examine herbivore-induced eff ects on reproductive plant parts and fl ower -visitor interactions, especially in a community context. We investigated the eff ect of herbivory at diff erent plant developmental stages on plant growth, fl oral and vegetative phenotype and reproduction in Sinapis arvensis (Brassicaceae). Additionally, we tested how herbivore-induced plant responses aff ect fl ower -visitor interactions and plant reproduction in species-rich communities. Our results indicate that the timing of herbivory aff ects the magnitude of changes in plant traits. Herbivory in early but not in late development accelerated the plant ' s fl owering phenology, reduced vegetative growth, increased stem trichome density and altered fl oral morphology and scent. Th ese fi ndings suggest age-dependent tradeoff s between growth, defense and reproduction. Herbivore-induced changes in fl ower traits also aff ected fl ower -visitor interactions in a community context with eff ects on the structure of fl ower -visitor networks. However, changes in the network structure had neglectable eff ects on plant reproduction, i.e. plants were able to compensate altered fl ower visitor behavior. Th us, herbivory is a source of intraspecifi c variation in reproductive traits, which can be behaviorally relevant for potential pollinators. However, plants were capable to maintain reproductive success suggesting a tolerance against herbivory. We conclude that in our study system induced direct or indirect defenses that have often been shown to decrease negative eff ects of herbivores on vegetative plant parts come at no costs for plant reproduction.
Abstract. Detailed data on land use and land cover constitute important information for Earth system models, environmental monitoring and ecosystem services research. Global land cover products are evolving rapidly; however, there is still a lack of information particularly for heterogeneous agricultural landscapes. We censused land use and land cover field by field in the agricultural mosaic catchment Haean in South Korea. We recorded the land cover types with additional information on agricultural practice. In this paper we introduce the data, their collection and the post-processing protocol. Furthermore, because it is important to quantitatively evaluate available land use and land cover products, we compared our data with the MODIS Land Cover Type product (MCD12Q1). During the studied period, a large portion of dry fields was converted to perennial crops. Compared to our data, the forested area was underrepresented and the agricultural area overrepresented in MCD12Q1. In addition, linear landscape elements such as waterbodies were missing in the MODIS product due to its coarse spatial resolution. The data presented here can be useful for earth science and ecosystem services research. The data are available at the public repository Pangaea
Plants communicate with animals by means of multimodal displays and reward mutualistic partners with resources such as nectar. Floral nectar is a key resource for pollinators, whereas extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) support indirect plant defense. Animalpollinated flowers advertise their rewards using modalities such as scent, color and morphology. In EFNs the role of olfactory and visual traits is less well understood. Herbivory has been shown to induce changes in the multimodal display and in resource related characteristics of flowers and EFNs. This may consequently affect the behavior of nectar consumers such as pollinators that occasionally feed on extrafloral nectar in addition to floral nectar. We tested the effect of herbivory (simulated by jasmonic acid treatment) on olfactory, visual and resource related floral and EFN traits in Vicia faba, tracked alterations in bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) preference and evaluated potential outcomes for plant reproduction. In control plants, flowers and EFNs differed in olfactory and visual cues and also in nectar quantity and quality and pollinators clearly preferred to forage on flowers. After jasmonic acid treatment (JA), linalool emissions of EFNs increased in a large proportion of plants, the visual display of EFNs became more salient and nectar volumes increased. In flowers of JA-treated plants we found lower emissions of cinnamic aldehyde and lower sugar concentration in nectar, however visual cues were unaffected. Potentially because of these phenotypic changes bumblebees no longer preferred flowers over EFNs in JA-treated plants. Consequently, this may negatively affect reproductive success in V. faba, which is highly dependent on floral visitation for fruit set. Our study adds another aspect to the complexity of plant-pollinator interactions and reveals how herbivory may interfere with plant-pollinator communication. Our findings emphasize that the foraging behavior of
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