Among‐population variation in resistance traits of a nettle and its relationship with deer habitat use frequency

Shikata, Megumi; Kato, Teiko; Shibata, Ei'ichi; Sato, H.

doi:10.1007/s11284-012-1007-8

Cited by 7 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 32 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…These results confirm the hypothesis that nettles with high stinging-hair densities in Nara Park evolved under natural selection imposed by intense deer browsing, as previous studies suggested (Pollard and Briggs 1982, 1984a, b, Pullin and Gilbert 1989, Tuberville et al 1996, Kato et al 2007, Shikata et al 2013. Dense stinging hairs were found along the stems as well as on leaves in nettles of Nara Park (data not shown), preventing the whole plant from being consumed by the ungulate.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

“…Our previous studies supported the hypothesis that a much higher density of stinging hairs on nettles of Nara Park had evolved as a defense against sika deer (Kato et al 2007;Shikata et al 2013). To confirm this hypothesis, we needed to address at least two problems: whether stinging hairs serve as defenses against insect herbivores and the degree to which stinging hairs deter sika deer.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

“…We cannot categorically deny the possibility, but it is unlikely because nettles with almost hairless leaves grow naturally on the campus (Shikata et al 2013). We cannot categorically deny the possibility, but it is unlikely because nettles with almost hairless leaves grow naturally on the campus (Shikata et al 2013).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…On the campus, nettles with few stinging hairs on leaves grow naturally (Shikata et al 2013). On the campus, nettles with few stinging hairs on leaves grow naturally (Shikata et al 2013).…”

Section: Oviposition Preference In Indian Red Admiralmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Stinging hairs on the Japanese nettleUrtica thunbergianahave a defensive function against mammalian but not insect herbivores

Iwamoto

Horikawa

Shikata

et al. 2014

Ecological Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Thorns and hairs of plants can serve as defenses against herbivores, although they may not have evolved under selection by herbivory. Japanese nettles, Urtica thunbergiana, in Nara Park, Nara Prefecture, Japan, where sika deer have been protected for 1200 years, bear many more stinging hairs than those in areas with few or no deer. Previous studies suggested that such hairy nettles evolved under natural selection imposed by intense deer browsing, because stinging hairs deterred deer browsing and because among‐population variation in hair density was associated with deer abundance. To confirm this hypothesis, we examined (1) whether stinging hairs affected oviposition and feeding preferences of herbivorous insects and (2) the degree to which they deterred deer via laboratory and field experiments with hairy nettles from Nara Park and with almost‐hairless nettles from another area. A specialist butterfly, Indian red admiral, showed no oviposition or larval feeding preferences for either hairy or hairless nettles. Insect damage levels did not significantly differ between the two variants. In contrast, deer browsed hairless nettles more heavily than hairy ones. In hairy nettles, however, the level of deer browsing was not proportional to stinging‐hair density, presumably because the hairy nettle population had reached a plateau for resistance as a result of long‐term strong directional selection for stinging hairs. These results corroborate the hypothesis that hairy nettles in Nara Park evolved through natural selection under intense deer browsing.

show abstract

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 89%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 91%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 98%

“…On the campus, nettles with few stinging hairs on leaves grow naturally (Shikata et al 2013). On the campus, nettles with few stinging hairs on leaves grow naturally (Shikata et al 2013).…”

Section: Oviposition Preference In Indian Red Admiralmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Stinging hairs on the Japanese nettleUrtica thunbergianahave a defensive function against mammalian but not insect herbivores

Iwamoto

Horikawa

Shikata

et al. 2014

Ecological Research

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…, Shikata et al. ). Such change in the hair density could impact the preference or performance of other animals feeding on the same nettles.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Differential butterfly performance on host plant variants from populations under intense vs. low mammalian herbivory

et al. 2017

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Abstract. Evolutionary interactions between a pair of species can be modified by the presence of another species that interacts with either or both species. However, only a few studies have demonstrated such complex interactions. Here, we report a case where a population of the red admiral butterfly (Vanessa indica) is assumed to change fitness traits in response to an evolutionary change in its major host plant, the Japanese stinging nettle (Urtica thunbergiana), caused by intense browsing pressure from sika deer (Cervus nippon). Nara Park (NP) in Japan has been home to several hundred protected sika deer for approximately 1200 yr, and their intense browsing pressure is assumed to have selected for heavily haired nettles that are more resistant to deer browsing compared to normal lightly haired nettles occurring in areas with low densities of sika deer. We found that the water and nitrogen contents of leaves are lower and the specific leaf mass is higher in heavily haired nettles at NP compared to the lightly haired nettles at the Takatori Castle Site (TCS) 30 km south of NP. Feeding experiments showed that V. indica larvae from NP reared on heavily haired nettles reach a greater adult body mass and relative abdomen mass than those from TCS, suggesting the possibility that the NP V. indica population has adapted to the heavily haired, nutritionally poorer variant. Analysis of the nucleotide sequence of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I gene of V. indica from NP and nearby locations including TCS found one haplotype exclusive to NP, suggesting that movement of this butterfly is somewhat restricted. However, analysis using amplified fragment length polymorphism markers showed no genetic differentiation between the seven V. indica populations including the NP and TCS populations. These results suggest that adaptation of the NP population to the heavily haired nettle occurred in a relatively short period. Our study demonstrates a rare example of an indirect evolutionary impact of one herbivore (sika deer) on another herbivore (red admiral butterfly) through an evolutionary change in their shared food plant (Japanese nettle).

show abstract

Long-term deer exclosure alters soil properties, plant traits, understory plant community and insect herbivory, but not the functional relationships among them

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Evidence of the indirect effects of increasing global deer populations on other trophic levels is increasing. However, it remains unknown if excluding deer alters ecosystem functional relationships. We investigated how sika deer exclosure after 18 years changed soil conditions, the understory plant community, the traits of a dominant understory plant (Sasa palmata), herbivory by three insect-feeding guilds, and the functional relationships between these properties. Deer absence decreased understory plant diversity, but increased soil organic matter and ammonium concentrations. When deer were absent, S. palmata plants grew taller, with more, larger, and tougher leaves with higher polyphenol concentrations. Deer absence led to higher leaf area consumed by all insect guilds, but lower insect herbivory per plant due to increased resource abundance (i.e., a dilution effect). This indicates that deer presence strengthened insect herbivory per plant, while in deer absence plants compensated losses with growth. Because plant defenses increased in the absence of deer, higher insect abundances in deer absence may have outweighed lower consumption rates. A path model revealed that the functional relationships between the measured properties were similar between deer absence versus presence. Taken together, deer altered the abiotic and biotic environment, thereby changing insect herbivory, which might impact upon nutrient cycling and primary productivity. These results provide evidence that deer can alter interactions between trophic levels, but that functional relationships between certain ecosystem components may remain constant. These findings highlight the need to consider how increasing global deer populations can have cascade effects that might alter ecosystem dynamics.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00442-017-3895-3) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

show abstract

Among‐population variation in resistance traits of a nettle and its relationship with deer habitat use frequency

Cited by 7 publications

References 32 publications

Stinging hairs on the Japanese nettleUrtica thunbergianahave a defensive function against mammalian but not insect herbivores

Stinging hairs on the Japanese nettleUrtica thunbergianahave a defensive function against mammalian but not insect herbivores

Differential butterfly performance on host plant variants from populations under intense vs. low mammalian herbivory

Long-term deer exclosure alters soil properties, plant traits, understory plant community and insect herbivory, but not the functional relationships among them

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About