Open AccessLeaf pubescence in buttonwood: Community variation in a putative defense against defoliation
Author(s) -
Thomas W. Schoener
Publication year - 1987
Publication title -
proceedings of the national academy of sciences of the united states of america
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 1091-6490
pISSN - 0027-8424
DOI - 10.1073/pnas.84.22.7992
Subject(s) - herbivore , biology , arboreal locomotion , lizard , predation , predator , ecology , mainland , botany , habitat
Plants have a variety of putative defenses against defoliation by herbivores, among which are pubescent leaves. Buttonwood (Conocarpus erectus ), a Caribbean tree, shows considerable between-individual variation in this trait, and pubescent leaves have less herbivore damage. Surveying 97 island communities, I documented three patterns expected were pubescent individuals more frequent where herbivory is great. (i ) Larger islands have a higher percentage of pubescence (larger islands have more herbivores). (ii ) Islands nearer to a mainland have a higher percentage of pubescence (nearer islands receive more herbivore immigrants). (iii ) Islands having an extremely abundant predator on foliage arthropods, arboreal lizards, have a smaller percentage of pubescence than no-lizard islands. The third effect, though statistically significant, is weak relative to the direct effects of lizards on one category of their prey (spiders) measured in the same system.