Leaf damage decreases fitness and constrains phenotypic plasticity to drought of a perennial herb

Gianoli, Ernesto; Quezada, Iván M.; Suárez, Lorena H.

doi:10.1016/j.actao.2009.08.002

Cited by 15 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 31 publications

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“…In view of this, and considering that shoot : root ratio decreased dramatically under drought conditions, it is suggested that functional responses to reduced soil moisture in C. demissus mainly occur via increased growth of roots, as has been shown for other species (Malik et al 1979;Sharp & Davies 1979;Blum 1996). There is also evidence that the study species is not consistently responsive to drought in terms of reducing leaf area (Quezada & Gianoli 2006;Gianoli et al 2009). Therefore, the hypothetical beneficial effect of herbivory on plants under drought conditions via the reduction of transpiring leaf surface (see Introduction) is unlikely for this species.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Counteractive biomass allocation responses to drought and damage in the perennial herb Convolvulus demissus

Quezada

Gianoli

2010

Austral Ecology

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Herbivory and water shortage are key ecological factors affecting plant performance. While plant compensatory responses to herbivory include reallocation of biomass from below-ground to above-ground structures, plant responses to reduced soil moisture involve increased biomass allocation to roots and a reduction in the number and size of leaves. In a greenhouse study we evaluated the effects of experimental drought and leaf damage on biomass allocation in Convolvulus demissus (Convolvulaceae), a perennial herb distributed in central Chile, where it experiences summer drought typical of Mediterranean ecosystems and defoliation by leaf beetles and livestock. The number of leaves and internode length were unaffected by the experimental treatments.The rest of plant traits showed interaction of effects. We detected that drought counteracted some plant responses to damage. Thus, only in the control watering environment was it observed that damaged plants produced more stems, even after correcting for main stem length (index of architecture). In the cases of shoot : root ratio, relative shoot biomass and relative root biomass we found that the damage treatment counteracted plant responses to drought. Thus, while undamaged plants under water shortage showed a significant increase in root relative biomass and a significant reduction in both shoot : root ratio and relative shoot biomass, none of these responses to drought was observed in damaged plants. Total plant biomass increased in response to simulated herbivory, apparently due to greater shoot size, and in response to drought, presumably due to greater root size. However, damaged plants under experimental drought had the same total biomass as control plants. Overall, our results showed counteractive biomass allocation responses to drought and damage in C. demissus. Further research must address the fitness consequences under field conditions of the patterns found. This would be of particular importance because both current and expected climatic trends for central Chile indicate increased aridity.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 92%

Counteractive biomass allocation responses to drought and damage in the perennial herb Convolvulus demissus

Quezada

Gianoli

2010

Austral Ecology

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“…; Gianoli et al. ). There are several reports on the interactive effects of herbivory and drought on plant fitness with equivocal findings (Hawkes and Sullivan ; Wise and Abrahamson ; Gonzales et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…A recent experimental study by Gianoli et al. () demonstrated that leaf damage reduced the capacity of seedlings to respond plastically to reduced soil moisture. Specifically, in water‐stressed seedlings, herbivory resulted in a lesser increase in water‐use efficiency and root‐shoot ratio and impacted changes in water potential, reducing drought tolerance, which resulted in lower survivorship of plants experiencing both drought and leaf damage (Gianoli et al.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Rainfall seasonality and pest pressure as determinants of tropical tree species' distributions

Baltzer

Davies

2012

Ecology and Evolution

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Drought and pests are primary abiotic and biotic factors proposed as selective filters acting on species distributions along rainfall gradients in tropical forests and may contribute importantly to species distributional limits, performance, and diversity gradients. Recent research demonstrates linkages between species distributions along rainfall gradients and physiological drought tolerance; corresponding experimental examinations of the contribution of pest pressure to distributional limits and potential interactions between drought and herbivory are limited. This study aims to quantitate differential performance and herbivory as a function of species range limits across a climatic and floristic transition in Southeast Asia. Khao Chong Botanical Garden, Thailand and Pasoh Forest Reserve, Malaysia straddle the Kangar-Pattani Line. A reciprocal transplantation across a seasonality gradient was established using two groups of species (“widespread” taxa whose distributions include seasonally dry forests and “aseasonal” taxa whose distributions are limited to aseasonal forests). Growth, biomass allocation, survival, and herbivory were monitored for 19 months. Systematic differences in performance were a function of species distribution in relation to rainfall seasonality. In aseasonal Pasoh, aseasonal species had both greater growth and survivorship than widespread species. These differences were not a function of differential herbivory as widespread and aseasonal species experienced similar damage in the aseasonal forest. In seasonally dry Khao Chong, widespread species showed higher survivorship than aseasonal species, but these differences were only apparent during drought. We link this differential performance to physiological mechanisms as well as differential tolerance of biotic pressure during drought stress. Systematic decreases in seedling survival in aseasonal taxa during drought corresponded with previously documented physiological differences and may be exacerbated by herbivore damage. These results have important implications for tropical diversity and community composition in light of predicted increases in the frequency and severity of drought in hyperdiverse tropical forests.

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“…Also, it has been demonstrated that herbivore damage in plants may modify their reaction norms to the abiotic environment (Gianoli et al . ).…”

Section: Incorporating Phenotypic Plasticity Into Models Of Species Dmentioning

confidence: 97%

The effects of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation on forecasts of species range shifts under climate change

et al. 2014

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Species are the unit of analysis in many global change and conservation biology studies; however, species are not uniform entities but are composed of different, sometimes locally adapted, populations differing in plasticity. We examined how intraspecific variation in thermal niches and phenotypic plasticity will affect species distributions in a warming climate. We first developed a conceptual model linking plasticity and niche breadth, providing five alternative intraspecific scenarios that are consistent with existing literature. Secondly, we used ecological niche-modeling techniques to quantify the impact of each intraspecific scenario on the distribution of a virtual species across a geographically realistic setting. Finally, we performed an analogous modeling exercise using real data on the climatic niches of different tree provenances. We show that when population differentiation is accounted for and dispersal is restricted, forecasts of species range shifts under climate change are even more pessimistic than those using the conventional assumption of homogeneously high plasticity across a species' range. Suitable population-level data are not available for most species so identifying general patterns of population differentiation could fill this gap. However, the literature review revealed contrasting patterns among species, urging greater levels of integration among empirical, modeling and theoretical research on intraspecific phenotypic variation.

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Leaf damage decreases fitness and constrains phenotypic plasticity to drought of a perennial herb

Cited by 15 publications

References 31 publications

Counteractive biomass allocation responses to drought and damage in the perennial herb Convolvulus demissus

Counteractive biomass allocation responses to drought and damage in the perennial herb Convolvulus demissus

Rainfall seasonality and pest pressure as determinants of tropical tree species' distributions

The effects of phenotypic plasticity and local adaptation on forecasts of species range shifts under climate change

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