Monocot Leaves are Eaten Less than Dicot Leaves in Tropical Lowland Rain Forests: Correlations with Toughness and Leaf Presentation

Grubb, P. J.; Jackson, Robyn V.; Barberis, Ignacio M.; Bee, Jennie N.; Coomes, David A.; Dominy, Nathaniel J.; Fuente, Marie Ann S. De La; Lucas, Peter W.; Metcalfe, D.; Svenning, Jens‐Christian; Turner, I. M.; Vargas, Orlando

doi:10.1093/aob/mcn047

Cited by 46 publications

(42 citation statements)

References 17 publications

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“…The results of this study strongly suggest that tissue‐level leaf toughness is the essence of the link between structure‐level leaf toughness and the ecological performance of juvenile trees. The same conclusion was reached by Grubb et al. (2008) in their reanalysis of the 46‐species dataset of Coley (1983), as well as in a study of young seedlings of eight Panamanian tree species by Alvarez‐Clare & Kitajima (2007).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Tissue‐level leaf toughness, but not lamina thickness, predicts sapling leaf lifespan and shade tolerance of tropical tree species

2010

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Summary• Leaf toughness is thought to enhance physical defense and leaf lifespan. Here, we evaluated the relative importance of tissue-level leaf traits vs lamina thickness, as well as their ontogenetic changes, for structure-level leaf toughness and regeneration ecology of 19 tropical tree species.• We measured the fracture toughness of the laminas and veins of sapling leaves with shearing tests, and used principal component analysis and structural equation modeling to evaluate the multivariate relationships among traits that contribute to leaf toughness and their links to ecological performance traits.• Tissue traits (density and fracture toughness of lamina and vein) were correlated positively with each other, but independent of lamina thickness. The tissue traits and lamina thickness contributed additively to the structure-level toughness (leaf mass per area and work-to-shear). Species with dense and tough leaves as saplings also had dense and tough leaves as seedlings and adults. The patterns of ontogenetic change in trait values differed between the seedling-to-sapling and sapling-to-adult transitions.• The fracture toughness and tissue density of laminas and veins, but not the lamina thickness, were correlated positively with leaf lifespan and sapling survival, and negatively with herbivory rate and sapling regeneration light requirements, indicating the importance of tissue-level leaf traits.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 67%

Tissue‐level leaf toughness, but not lamina thickness, predicts sapling leaf lifespan and shade tolerance of tropical tree species

2010

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“…For example, lower leaf herbivory in monocots compared to dicots is attributed to greater leaf toughness, the presence of silica and growth features such as keeping young leaves rolled to reduce access by herbivores [29,47]. Low rates of leaf herbivory and weak selection on gymnosperms are likely due to tough needle tissue and the presence of terpenoid resins [48].…”

Section: (B) Leaf Herbivory Among Major Plant Lineagesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Macroecological and macroevolutionary patterns of leaf herbivory across vascular plants

et al. 2014

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The consumption of plants by animals underlies important evolutionary and ecological processes in nature. Arthropod herbivory evolved approximately 415 Ma and the ensuing coevolution between plants and herbivores is credited with generating much of the macroscopic diversity on the Earth. In contemporary ecosystems, herbivory provides the major conduit of energy from primary producers to consumers. Here, we show that when averaged across all major lineages of vascular plants, herbivores consume 5.3% of the leaf tissue produced annually by plants, whereas previous estimates are up to 3.8Â higher. This result suggests that for many plant species, leaf herbivory may play a smaller role in energy and nutrient flow than currently thought. Comparative analyses of a diverse global sample of 1058 species across 2085 populations reveal that models of stabilizing selection best describe rates of leaf consumption, and that rates vary substantially within and among major plant lineages. A key determinant of this variation is plant growth form, where woody plant species experience 64% higher leaf herbivory than non-woody plants. Higher leaf herbivory in woody species supports a key prediction of the plant apparency theory. Our study provides insight into how a long history of coevolution has shaped the ecological and evolutionary relationships between plants and herbivores.

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“…Phenotypic plasticity of toughness‐related traits in response to light environment and leaf age also remains unexplored. It is well known that young expanding leaves are less tough than mature leaves (Coley, 1983; Choong, 1996; Grubb et al. , 2008), but leaf age effects after full expansion are unknown even though leaf lifespan may be exceedingly long for juveniles of shade‐tolerant trees.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How cellulose‐based leaf toughness and lamina density contribute to long leaf lifespans of shade‐tolerant species

et al. 2012

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Summary• Cell wall fibre and lamina density may interactively affect leaf toughness and leaf lifespan. Here, we tested this with seedlings of 24 neotropical tree species differing in shade tolerance and leaf lifespan under standardized field conditions (140-867 d in gaps; longer in shade). We quantified toughness with a cutting test, explicitly seeking a mechanistic linkage to fibre.• Lamina density, but not fracture toughness, exhibited a plastic response to gaps vs shade, while neither trait was affected by leaf age. Toughness corrected for lamina density, a recently recognized indicator of material strength per unit mass, was linearly correlated with cellulose content per unit dry mass.• Leaf lifespan was positively correlated with cellulose and toughness in shade-tolerant species but only weakly in gap-dependent species. Leaf lifespan was uncorrelated with lamina thickness, phenolics and tannin concentrations. In path analysis including all species, leaf lifespan was directly enhanced by density and toughness, and indirectly by cellulose via its effect on toughness. Different suites of leaf traits were correlated with early seedling survival in gaps vs shade.• In conclusion, cellulose and lamina density jointly enhance leaf fracture toughness, and these carbon-based physical traits, rather than phenolic-based defence, explain species differences in herbivory, leaf lifespan and shade survival.

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Monocot Leaves are Eaten Less than Dicot Leaves in Tropical Lowland Rain Forests: Correlations with Toughness and Leaf Presentation

Cited by 46 publications

References 17 publications

Tissue‐level leaf toughness, but not lamina thickness, predicts sapling leaf lifespan and shade tolerance of tropical tree species

Tissue‐level leaf toughness, but not lamina thickness, predicts sapling leaf lifespan and shade tolerance of tropical tree species

Macroecological and macroevolutionary patterns of leaf herbivory across vascular plants

How cellulose‐based leaf toughness and lamina density contribute to long leaf lifespans of shade‐tolerant species

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