Correlations between leaf toughness and phenolics among species in contrasting environments of Australia and New Caledonia

Read, Jennifer; Sanson, Gordon Drummond; Caldwell, Elizabeth Anne; Clissold, Fiona J.; Chatain, Alexanda Sarah-Jane; Peeters, Paula J.; Lamont, Byron B.; Garine‐Wichatitsky, Michel De; Jaffré, Tanguy; Kerr, Stuart

doi:10.1093/aob/mcn246

Cited by 62 publications

(60 citation statements)

References 77 publications

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“…Similar correlations have been des cribed for terrestrial plants, suggesting that there has been a parallel selection among species for a combination of certain traits both in terrestrial and aquatic environments (Pérez-Harguindeguy et al 2003, Read & Stokes 2006, Read et al 2009, Molinari & Knight 2010. The correlations reflect a mixture of direct and indirect causal relationships between leaf traits (Wright et al 2004), as C is the main building element of supporting tissue.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Leaf-fracture properties correlated with nutritional traits in nine Australian seagrass species: implications for susceptibility to herbivory

Santos

Brun²,

Onoda³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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Seagrasses are exposed to the constant risk of structural damage due to abiotic factors, such as waves and currents, and biotic factors, e.g. herbivory. Leaf mechanical resistance is therefore essential in protecting plants from structural failure and may also have ecological consequences. For example, mechanical traits of seagrass leaves may play an important role in plant− herbivore interactions and food-preferences of herbivores in these ecosystems, as widely reported for terrestrial plants. However, little is known about leaf mechanical resistance against structural damage in seagrasses and how it varies with other traits such as their nutritional value. We analysed the correlation between fracture properties relevant to herbivory and the nutritional value of seagrass leaves, testing the general assumption that species that invest heavily in mechanical resistance (toughening of the leaves) will present low nitrogen and high carbon and fibre contents. Direct measurements of leaf traits were conducted on 9 seagrass species from south-western Australia: (1) leaf-fracture properties from shearing and tearing tests, (2) nutritional values (carbon to nitrogen ratio and fibre content) and (3) morphological and structural traits (specific leaf area and leaf thickness). Results showed that leaf-fracture properties in seagrasses were tightly correlated to their C:N ratio, which reflects their nutritional value, thus supporting the general assumption that C investment is inversely correlated to N content. This close correlation suggested that patterns of seagrass consumption may be influenced not only by the C:N ratio but also by the leaf-fracture properties. Among co-existing seagrasses, we found a continuous spectrum of mechanical and nutritional traits across species, which provides fundamental information about species assembly, herbivore behaviour and ecosystem functions.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 66%

Leaf-fracture properties correlated with nutritional traits in nine Australian seagrass species: implications for susceptibility to herbivory

Santos

Brun²,

Onoda³

et al. 2012

Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser.

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“…This is evident by the presence of sclerophyllous fossil leaves aged at 50-60 Ma, covered in epiphyllous rainforest fungi (indicative of moist environments), lacking xerophyllous adaptations (Hill 1998;Hill and Brodribb 2001). Selection for sclerophylly occurred under mesic conditions, as a consequence of excessive accumulation of carbon from nutrient poor soils (Read et al 2009). Only afterwards did sclerophylly become an exaptation to aridity.…”

Section: Ocbil Theorymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Concerning individual organisms, long-term survival on old, stable, infertile environments places strong selection pressures on strategies for persistence. Acquisition of biomass is so difficult that all sorts of mechanisms to retain it should evolve (Orians and Milewski 2007;Read et al 2009). It is no coincidence that the concept of the persistence niche arose from workers based in the Greater Cape (Bond and Midgley 2001).…”

Section: Accentuated Persistence-old Lineages (Gondwananmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, mechanical and chemical defences of plant parts will be accentuated in OCBILs, given the scarcity of essential nutrients in impoverished soils (Orians and Milewski 2007;Read et al 2009). Deciduous leaves are rarely seen for the same reason in the Southwest Australian Floristic Region, where infertility is greatest (Dallman 1998).…”

Section: Nutritional and Other Biological Specialisationmentioning

confidence: 99%

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OCBIL theory: towards an integrated understanding of the evolution, ecology and conservation of biodiversity on old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes

2009

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OCBIL theory aims to develop an integrated series of hypotheses explaining the evolution and ecology of, and best conservation practices for, biota on very old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes (OCBILs). Conventional theory for ecology and evolutionary and conservation biology has developed primarily from data on species and communities from young, often disturbed, fertile landscapes (YODFELs)

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“…For example, if sand-binding roots occur in both early-diverging and more recent lineages from old tropical or wet temperate environments with year-round rainfall, this would suggest against the hypothesis that drought avoidance was the major selection pressure for their origin in the species concerned, and point towards a function dealing with nutrient deficiency or other functions as more likely selective causes. This is a comparable situation to that pertaining to distinguishing sclerophylly from xeromorphy (Seddon 1974;Beadle 1966), elegantly achieved for Banksia by Hill (1998;Hill and Brodribb 2001) who established that sclerophyll leaves appeared in fossils of Eocene age when moist rainforest conditions prevailed across a mosaic of soils including those that were nutrient deficient (Read et al 2009), whereas features such as sunken stomata appeared later in the Neogene, following the onset of major aridity in Australia, and were therefore likely to be xeromorphic adaptations.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 53%

Sand-binding roots in Haemodoraceae: global survey and morphology in a phylogenetic context

2011

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Aims To illustrate the morphology of sand-binding roots of Haemodoraceae, to conduct a comprehensive survey of the trait, spanning different climates across four continents, and to explore evolutionary hypotheses within a molecular phylogenetic framework. Methods Sand-binding roots in Haemodoraceae were examined, measured and photographed in the field and on herbarium specimens. Photomicrographs were taken of southwest Australian species. The presence and absence of the sand-binding trait was mapped onto previously published phylogenies and an ancestral state reconstruction was performed. Results Sand grains were very tightly bound to the root surface by persistent root hairs in Haemodoraceae. The majority of genera and species were found to possess sand-binding roots and only 2 of the 14 genera, Conostylis and Tribonanthes, had sister taxa with and without the trait. The trait was recorded in tropical, sub-tropical and wet temperate species, but mainly in semi-arid species. Sand-binding roots were likely to have been present in the ancestor of the family and both sub-families.Conclusions The presence of sand-binding roots is the probable ancestral condition for Haemodoraceae, associated with a high degree of phylogenetic conservatism and some secondary loss, notably in Conostylis. Experimental studies are needed to understand the ecological and evolutionary forces at work.

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Correlations between leaf toughness and phenolics among species in contrasting environments of Australia and New Caledonia

Abstract: Positive correlations between toughness and phenolics in vegetation on infertile soils suggest that additive investment in carbon-based mechanical and chemical defences is advantageous and cost-effective in these nutrient-deficient environments where carbohydrate may be in surplus.

Cited by 62 publications

References 77 publications

Leaf-fracture properties correlated with nutritional traits in nine Australian seagrass species: implications for susceptibility to herbivory

Leaf-fracture properties correlated with nutritional traits in nine Australian seagrass species: implications for susceptibility to herbivory

OCBIL theory: towards an integrated understanding of the evolution, ecology and conservation of biodiversity on old, climatically buffered, infertile landscapes

Sand-binding roots in Haemodoraceae: global survey and morphology in a phylogenetic context

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