![]() ![]() ![]() Here, we test hypotheses about herbivore host selection by extensively characterizing defenses of a speciose genus of trees co-occurring at one site, and by comparing phylogenies for both trophic groups. The Ehrlich and Raven model, and many subsequent studies, consider macroevolutionary processes across genera and families ( 7, 8). At these levels, phylogeny may be a good proxy for shared traits, and many resource acquisition traits show a phylogenetic signal. However, recent work at the species level suggests that herbivores have selected for divergence in defenses in closely related host species. Specifically, studies within several plant genera have found a poor pattern of congruence between their phylogenetic histories and the expression of defenses ( 3, 5, 6, 9, 10). Furthermore, within a community, neighboring plants are more likely to differ in defenses than expected by chance even if they are closely related ( 3, 5, 6). Following the notion that herbivores track or “chase” host defenses and not host species per se ( 11, 12), we would expect host choice at the level of plant species to mirror host defenses more than host phylogeny, a pattern that would diminish the role of plant phylogenetic relationships in the origin and structure of herbivore communities.Īt Los Amigos, we characterized the defensive traits of expanding leaves for 33 species of Inga. We focused on expanding leaves as the majority of leaf damage occurs during this short window before leaves toughen ( 14). We included multiple classes of antiherbivore traits to capture as complete an understanding of the entire defensive profile as possible. We recorded the presence of defensive compounds, particularly several different classes of flavonoids, tannins, saponins, and metabolites containing amines. Total production of secondary metabolites in Inga comprises about 40–50% of leaf dry weight ( 15).
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