Wound-induced changes in plants and their defensive role against insect herbivores
Wound-induced changes in plants and their defensive role against insect herbivores
Wound-induced changes in plants are changes in concentrations of chemicals, upon damage, which are thought to possess anti-herbivore properties. However, their precise defensive role is unclear. The aim of this project was to test the theory that wound-induced changes cause herbivores to feed away from the topmost, youngest leaves and hence make the plant a better competitor for light. Wound-induced changes, as detected in terms of a reduction in grazing levels, were found in a range of plant species. The characteristics of these changes were explored and in particular an image analysis technique was developed which allowed for precise measurement of the effect of damage on spatial and temporal grazing patterns. Behavioural studies of herbivores on damaged and control plants produced inconsistent results. The herbivores appeared to move on and leave damaged plants more frequently than on controls. However, there was little supporting evidence for the theory that herbivores were forced down damaged plants leading to a reduction in grazing levels on the topmost leaves. It was concluded that wound-induced changes can reduce herbivore grazing levels and may influence herbivore behaviour but that further research is required to elucidate the precise defensive role and ecological significance of these changes.
University of Southampton
1990
Croxford, Andrew Charles
(1990)
Wound-induced changes in plants and their defensive role against insect herbivores.
University of Southampton, Doctoral Thesis.
Record type:
Thesis
(Doctoral)
Abstract
Wound-induced changes in plants are changes in concentrations of chemicals, upon damage, which are thought to possess anti-herbivore properties. However, their precise defensive role is unclear. The aim of this project was to test the theory that wound-induced changes cause herbivores to feed away from the topmost, youngest leaves and hence make the plant a better competitor for light. Wound-induced changes, as detected in terms of a reduction in grazing levels, were found in a range of plant species. The characteristics of these changes were explored and in particular an image analysis technique was developed which allowed for precise measurement of the effect of damage on spatial and temporal grazing patterns. Behavioural studies of herbivores on damaged and control plants produced inconsistent results. The herbivores appeared to move on and leave damaged plants more frequently than on controls. However, there was little supporting evidence for the theory that herbivores were forced down damaged plants leading to a reduction in grazing levels on the topmost leaves. It was concluded that wound-induced changes can reduce herbivore grazing levels and may influence herbivore behaviour but that further research is required to elucidate the precise defensive role and ecological significance of these changes.
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Published date: 1990
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Local EPrints ID: 462028
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/462028
PURE UUID: 8938dee4-7f5b-4e78-801e-d7d47f8b215a
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Date deposited: 04 Jul 2022 19:00
Last modified: 04 Jul 2022 19:00
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Author:
Andrew Charles Croxford
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