TY - JOUR
T1 - Latitudinal variation in plant defence against herbivory in a marine foundation species does not follow a linear pattern
T2 - The importance of resource availability
AU - Hernán, Gema
AU - Ortega, María J.
AU - Henderson, Jeremy
AU - Alós, Josep
AU - Boyer, Katharyn
AU - Cimon, Stephanie
AU - Combes, Vincent
AU - Cusson, Mathieu
AU - Hereu, Clara M.
AU - Hessing-Lewis, Margot
AU - Hovel, Kevin
AU - Jorgensen, Pablo
AU - Kiriakopolos, Stephanie
AU - Kollars, Nicole
AU - O´Connor, Mary I.
AU - Olsen, Jeanine
AU - Reynolds, Pamela L.
AU - Ruesink, Jennifer
AU - Voigt, Erin
AU - Tomas, Fiona
N1 - Funding Information:
J. Máñez, M. Domínguez, J. Hayduk, A. Dennert, C. Prentice, A. Olson and Z. Monteith helped with fieldwork and sample processing and analyses. GH was supported by the research personnel program co‐funded by the European Social Fund and the Government of the Balearic Islands. This study was supported by grants from RESIGRASS (CGL2014‐58829‐C2‐2‐R), the Ramón y Cajal and the José Castillejo Programs to FT, and in‐kind support from author institutions. JA was supported by a Juan de la Cierva post‐doc grant (ref. IJCI‐2016‐27681). MH‐L was supported by the Tula Foundation. The Hakai Institute Nearshore team supported the work on Calvert Island. This work is part of the Zostera Experimental Network (ZEN). Funding for ZEN was provided by the National Science Foundation (BIO‐OCE 1336905 and 1336206).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2020 John Wiley & Sons Ltd
PY - 2021/1
Y1 - 2021/1
N2 - Aim: Studies on latitudinal patterns in plant defence have traditionally overlooked the potential effect that resource availability may have in shaping plant defence. Likewise, latitudinal patterns of tolerance traits have rarely been studied, yet they can be a critical component of plant defence. Therefore, the aim of our study was to examine latitudinal variation in the production of tolerance and resistance traits against herbivory along a latitudinal range and a natural gradient of resource availability from upwelling conditions. Location: North America (Canada, USA, Mexico). Time period: Summer months of 2015. Major taxa used: The seagrass Zostera marina. Methods: We conducted experiments simulating macroherbivore (e.g., bird, fish) damage on the seagrass Z. marina at 10 sites across the Eastern Pacific coast (Canada–Mexico) and Quebec and analysed several traits related to resistance and tolerance strategies against herbivory. In addition, we examined the effects of potential seagrass changes in defence strategies by performing a series of feeding experiments with mesoherbivores in a subset of sites. Results: We found that eelgrass resistance defences did not follow a linear latitudinal pattern but rather followed a bell-shaped curve which correlated with bottom-up control. In sites with higher nutrient availability, plants allocated resources to tolerance strategies and had lower resistance traits. Furthermore, seagrasses did not respond linearly to increased herbivory pressure; while they tolerated moderate levels of herbivory, they underwent a significant reduction in tolerance and resistance under high herbivory levels, which also made them more susceptible to consumers in feeding experiments. Main conclusions: Our results highlight the importance that nutrient availability has in shaping latitudinal patterns of plant defence against herbivory and show how these defences may not respond linearly to increased herbivory pressure in seagrasses.
AB - Aim: Studies on latitudinal patterns in plant defence have traditionally overlooked the potential effect that resource availability may have in shaping plant defence. Likewise, latitudinal patterns of tolerance traits have rarely been studied, yet they can be a critical component of plant defence. Therefore, the aim of our study was to examine latitudinal variation in the production of tolerance and resistance traits against herbivory along a latitudinal range and a natural gradient of resource availability from upwelling conditions. Location: North America (Canada, USA, Mexico). Time period: Summer months of 2015. Major taxa used: The seagrass Zostera marina. Methods: We conducted experiments simulating macroherbivore (e.g., bird, fish) damage on the seagrass Z. marina at 10 sites across the Eastern Pacific coast (Canada–Mexico) and Quebec and analysed several traits related to resistance and tolerance strategies against herbivory. In addition, we examined the effects of potential seagrass changes in defence strategies by performing a series of feeding experiments with mesoherbivores in a subset of sites. Results: We found that eelgrass resistance defences did not follow a linear latitudinal pattern but rather followed a bell-shaped curve which correlated with bottom-up control. In sites with higher nutrient availability, plants allocated resources to tolerance strategies and had lower resistance traits. Furthermore, seagrasses did not respond linearly to increased herbivory pressure; while they tolerated moderate levels of herbivory, they underwent a significant reduction in tolerance and resistance under high herbivory levels, which also made them more susceptible to consumers in feeding experiments. Main conclusions: Our results highlight the importance that nutrient availability has in shaping latitudinal patterns of plant defence against herbivory and show how these defences may not respond linearly to increased herbivory pressure in seagrasses.
KW - herbivory
KW - latitudinal gradient
KW - limited resource model
KW - nutrients
KW - phenolic compounds
KW - plant–herbivore interactions
KW - resource availability
KW - seagrass
KW - upwelling
KW - Zostera marina
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/85096686281
U2 - 10.1111/geb.13217
DO - 10.1111/geb.13217
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85096686281
SN - 1466-822X
VL - 30
SP - 220
EP - 234
JO - Global Ecology and Biogeography
JF - Global Ecology and Biogeography
IS - 1
ER -