Am. J. Bot. Join BSA Today!
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (3)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Agrawal, A. A.
Right arrow Articles by Spiller, D. A.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by Agrawal, A. A.
Right arrow Articles by Spiller, D. A.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by Agrawal, A. A.
Right arrow Articles by Spiller, D. A.
(American Journal of Botany. 2004;91:1990-1997.)
© 2004 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Ecology

Polymorphic buttonwood: effects of disturbance on resistance to herbivores in green and silver morphs of a Bahamian shrub1

Anurag A. Agrawal2,4,5 and David A. Spiller3

2Department of Botany, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario M5S 3B2, Canada; 3Section of Evolution and Ecology and Center for Population Biology, One Shields Avenue, University of California, Davis, California 95616 USA; 4Current address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Cornell University, Corson Hall, Ithaca, New York 14853 USA

We studied consequences of storm damage on buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus) shrubs and their herbivores in the Bahamian islands. Buttonwood is polymorphic, with green shrubs producing few leaf trichomes and silver shrubs covered in dense trichomes. We first characterize traits of green vs. silver shrubs relevant for herbivores, and then assay damage by two prominent insects. Next, on replicated islands, we experimentally address how different types of storm damage (simulated hurricane surge damage vs. simulated intense wind) affected phenotypic traits of both buttonwood morphs and subsequent herbivory over a one-year sampling period. Our results show that although leaves produced by green shrubs are 21% tougher than leaves produced by silver shrubs, green leaves have 16% higher nitrogen concentrations and greater levels of herbivory. Consistent with previous observational studies of a natural hurricane at our study site, we found stronger effects of simulated surge damage than simulated wind damage. Experimental pruning of shrubs resulted in reduced toughness, higher nitrogen concentration, fewer trichomes, and greater herbivory compared to controls and compared to shrubs with their leaves stripped. The results were stronger for the silver compared to the green morph. Morph differences in buttonwood have strong consequences for herbivores, and these effects are modified by disturbance.

Key Words: Biopsyche thoracica • Combretaceae • Conocarpus erectus • Great Exuma Bahamas • herbivory • hurricane disturbance • leaf nitrogen content • plant-insect interactions • polymorphism • sprouting • trichomes






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2004 by the Botanical Society of America, Inc.