Silicon Concentration of Grasses Growing in Sites With Different Grazing Histories

Brizuela, M. A.; Detling, James K.; Cid, M. S.

doi:10.2307/1939834

Cited by 52 publications

(45 citation statements)

References 6 publications

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“…Some aspects of food quality have been measured with respect to vole population growth (Agrell et al 1995;Klemola et al 2000a), but no studies have examined the effects of silica, the principal defence in their food plants. Although previous studies have found positive correlations between grazing levels and grass silica content (McNaughton & Tarrants 1983, McNaughton et al 1985Brizuela et al 1986;Banuelos & Obeso 2000), we provide the first experimental demonstration that feeding by voles leads directly to dramatic increases in the levels of silica in grass leaves. Hence, this study highlights how silica induction due to grazing could contribute to cyclic dynamics in voles: in years of high population densities, high grazing pressure will lead to induction of silica defences and a subsequent reduction in vole body mass, reproductive outputs and survival.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

Experimental demonstration of the antiherbivore effects of silica in grasses: impacts on foliage digestibility and vole growth rates

2006

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The impact of plant-based factors on the population dynamics of mammalian herbivores has been the subject of much debate in ecology, but the role of antiherbivore defences in grasses has received relatively little attention. Silica has been proposed as the primary defence in grasses and is thought to lead to increased abrasiveness of foliage so deterring feeding, as well as reducing foliage digestibility and herbivore performance. However, at present there is little direct experimental evidence to support these ideas. In this study, we tested the effects of manipulating silica levels on the abrasiveness of grasses and on the feeding preference and growth performance of field voles, specialist grass-feeding herbivores. Elevated silica levels did increase the abrasiveness of grasses and deterred feeding by voles. We also demonstrated, for the first time, that silica reduced the growth rates of both juvenile and mature female voles by reducing the nitrogen they could absorb from the foliage. Furthermore, we found that vole feeding leads to increased levels of silica in leaves, suggesting a dynamic feedback between grasses and their herbivores. We propose that silica induction due to vole grazing reduces vole performance and hence could contribute to cyclic dynamics in vole populations.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 46%

Experimental demonstration of the antiherbivore effects of silica in grasses: impacts on foliage digestibility and vole growth rates

2006

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“…However, among the species they examined only Eustachys paspaloides and Andropogon schirensis showed enhanced silica accumulation with the growth period. Most other authors found lower concentrations of silica in plant leaves grown in the season [45][46][47]49]. We found concentrations depending on the phenological stage.…”

Section: Effect Of Season On Foliar Silica Accumulationsupporting

confidence: 49%

“…Our study indicates that R. cochinchinensis' increased its SiO 2 concentrations from May to September. Increasing SiO 2 concentration with age has already been reported [49][50][51]. Our study examines other leaf parameters.…”

Section: Effect Of Season On Foliar Silica Accumulationmentioning

confidence: 63%

The Effect of Seasonal Variations, Covariations with Minerals and Forage Value on Itchgrass’ Foliar Silicification from Sudanian Benin

Kindomihou

Sinsin

Ambouta

et al. 2015

Silicon

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“…high-crowned) teeth than others not specialized in grass consumption. The reason seems to be that an increase in tooth crown height represents an adaptation against tooth wear resulting from an abrasive diet consisting primarily of grasses with abundant silica-rich phytoliths, which represent 3-5% of dry matter in grass forage species (Van Valen, 1960;Brizuela, Detling & Cid, 1986;Solounias & Dawson-Saunders, 1988;Lucas et al, 2000). In addition, those ungulate species that feed at the ground level in an open habitat often show more hypsodont teeth than those that forage similar amounts of grass in a closed habitat.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?

2007

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Hypsodont (i.e. high-crowned) teeth have been interpreted as an indicator of feeding preferences and habitat selection in ungulates. For this reason, the degree of hypsodonty has been used for estimating the diet of ancient taxa and in palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The goal of this study is to elucidate the relative importance of grass consumption and open habitat foraging in the development of hypsodont teeth, using novel computer techniques of knowledge discovery applied to a dataset of 134 species of artiodactyls and perissodactyls distributed among thirteen families. The results obtained suggest that highcrowned teeth represent an adaptation for feeding in an open habitat, although the minimum threshold of hypsodonty seems to increase with the relative length of the anterior part of the jaw. On the contrary, there is no direct relationship between the degree of hypsodonty and the percentage of grass consumed, except for the correspondence between grazing and dwelling in open habitats. A relatively wide muzzle evidences an adaptation for grass foraging in open and mixed habitats, but there are some non-grazing species from a closed habitat that also show wide muzzles. Thus, the hypsodonty index, combined with the length of the anterior part of the jaw and the width of the muzzle, allows accurate inferences on the ecological preferences of extinct ungulates.

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Silicon Concentration of Grasses Growing in Sites With Different Grazing Histories

Cited by 52 publications

References 6 publications

Experimental demonstration of the antiherbivore effects of silica in grasses: impacts on foliage digestibility and vole growth rates

Experimental demonstration of the antiherbivore effects of silica in grasses: impacts on foliage digestibility and vole growth rates

The Effect of Seasonal Variations, Covariations with Minerals and Forage Value on Itchgrass’ Foliar Silicification from Sudanian Benin

Hypsodonty in ungulates: an adaptation for grass consumption or for foraging in open habitat?

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