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Turning the tables all over again : herbivory in a carnivorous plant
Carmickle, Rachel Nicole,author.
Carmickle, Rachel Nicole,author.
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2017
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Abstract
Carnivorous plants inhabit nutrient-poor environments and supplement nutrient uptake by trapping and digesting prey, usually insects. Carnivorous plants are not immune to herbivory, though herbivory in carnivorous plants has not been well studied. Herbivory by the specialist herbivore Exyra semicrocea on the pitcher plant Sarracenia alata results in loss of nutrients and photosynthetic tissue (direct losses) and decreases prey capture (indirect losses). Because prey capture is responsible for the resources used in floral production and next season pitcher production, we hypothesized that herbivory by E. semicrocea would have a negative effect on fitness as estimated by plant growth. Furthermore, we hypothesized the combined effect of direct and indirect losses would be greater than the effects of either direct or indirect losses alone. After performing a field manipulation experiment, we found that the combination of direct and indirect losses has a significant negative effect on plant growth (fitness ) in S. alata.
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1 online resource (v, 25 pages) :
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Biology