Abstract
Allocation of carbon to chemical defences has often been suggested to be a direct response to browsing or grazing by herbivores. This study quantitatively compares total polyphenol and tannin production in response to simulated browsing of three karoo shrubs in order to test this induced defence hypothesis. The three species studied responded to browsing either by rapid regrowth or by increasing polyphenol production in the remaining tissues. The patterns did not follow any phylogenetic relationships but were weakly associated with the palatability of each species. The highly palatable deciduous species Osteospermum sinuatum, which is capable of rapid regrowth, showed no or very low levels of constitutive and browsing-induced total polyphenols, condensed tannins and protein-precipitating tannins. The evergreen sclerophyllous species Pteronia pallens showed a limited regrowth capacity and had intermediate levels of polyphenols, while the evergreen succulent species Ruschia spinosa showed almost no regrowth over the study period. R. spinosa contained the highest constitutive and browsing-induced levels of polyphenols, condensed tannins and protein-precipitating tannins. In two of the species more than one anti-herbivore defence feature co-occur. P. pallens foliage contains both hepatotoxins and polyphenols while R. spinosa has both structural (spines) and chemical defences. Responses of karoo shrubs to simulated browsing are interpreted as the result of passive alterations in plant chemistry rather than as an active defence response to herbivores.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baas WJ (1989) Secondary plant compounds, their ecological significance and consequences for the carbon budget. In: Lambers H, Cambridge ML, Konings H, Pons TL (eds) Causes and consequences of variation in growth rate and productivity of higher plants. Academic Publishing, The Hague, pp 313–340
Bazzaz FA, Chiariello NR, Coley PD, Pitelka LF (1987) Allocating resources to reproduction and defense. BioScience 37:58–67
Bernays EA, Cooper Driver G, Bilgener M (1989) Herbivores and plant tannins. Adv Ecol Res 19:263–302
Bryant JP, Chapin FS III, Klein DR (1983) Carbon/nutrient balance of boreal plants in relation to vertebrate herbivory. Oikos 40:357–368
Bryant JP, Tuomi J, Niemala P (1988) Environmental constraints and longerm inducible defenses in woody plants. In: K Spencer (ed) Chemical mediation of coevolution. Pergamon, New York, pp 367–389
Bryant JP, Danell K, Provenza FD, Reichardt PB, Clausen TA, Werner RA (1991) Effects of mammal browsing on the chemistry of deciduous woody plants. In: Tallamy DW, Raupp MJ (eds) Phytochemical induction by herbivores. John Wiley & Sons, New York, pp 1–33
Campbell BM (1986) Plant spinescence and herbivory in a nutrient poor ecosystem. Oikos 47:168–172
Clausen TP, Reichardt PB, Bryant JP, Werner RA, Post K, Frisby K (1989) Chemical model for short-term induction in quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) foliage against herbivores. J Chem Ecol 15:2335–2346
Coley PD (1983) Herbivores and defense characteristics of the species in a lowland tropical forest. Ecol Monogr 53:209–213
Coley PD (1988) Effects of plant growth rate and leaf lifetime on the amount and type of anti-herbivore defense. Oecologia 74:531–536
Coley PD, Bryant JP, Chapin S (1985) Resource availability and plant antiherbivore defense. Science 230:895–899
Cooper SM, Owen-Smith N (1985) condensed tannins deter feeding by browsing ruminants in a South African savanna. Oecologia 67:142–146
Coughenour MB, McNaughton SJ, Wallace LL (1985) Responses of an African graminoid (Themeda triandra Forsk.) to frequent defoliation, nitrogen, and water: a limit of adaptation to herbivory. Oecologia 68:105–110
Eriesson A, Hellquist C, Langstrom B, Larson S, Tenow O (1985) Effects on growth of simulated and induced shoot pruning by Tornicus piniperda as related to carbohydrate and nitrogen dynamics in Scots pine. J Appl Ecol 22:105–124
Feeny P (1976) Plant apparency and chemical defense. Recent Adv Phytochem 10:1–40
Freeland WJ, Janzen DH (1974) Strategies in herbivory by mammals: the role of plant secondary compounds. Am Nat 108:269–289
Glyphis JP, Puttick GM (1988) Phenolics in some southern Africa mediterranean shrubland plants. Phytochemistry 27:743–751
Gulmon SL, Mooney HA (1986) Costs of defense and their effects on plant productivity. In: TJ Givnish (ed) On the economy of plant form and function. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 681–698
Hagerman AE (1987) Radial diffusion method for determining tannin in plant extracts. J Chem Ecol 13:437–449
Hagerman AE (1988) Extraction of tannin from fresh and preserved leaves. J Chem Ecol 14:453–461
Hagerman AE, Butler LG (1989) Choosing appropriate methods and standards for assaying tannin. J Chem Ecol 15:1795–1810
Haukioja E (1980) On the role of plant defences in the fluctuation of herbivore populations. Oikos 35:202–213
Karban R, Myers JH (1989) Induced plant responses to herbivory. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 20:331–348
Mattson WJ (1980) Herbivory in relation to plant nitrogen content. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 11:119–161
McNaughton SJ (1983) Compensatory plant growth as a response to herbivory. Oikos 40:329–336
Milton SJ (1991) Plant spinescence in arid southern Africa: does moisture mediate selection by mammals? Oecologia 87:279–287
Milton SJ, Dean WRJ, Kerley GIJ (1992) Tierberg karoo research centre: history, physical environment, flora and fauna. Trans R Soc S Afr 48:15–46
Owen-Smith N, Cooper SM (1987) Palatability of woody plants to browsing ruminants in a South African savanna. Ecology 68:319–331
Price ML, Butler LG (1977) Rapid visual estimation and spectrophotometric determination of tannin content of sorghum grain. J Agr Food Chem 25:1268–1273
Price ML, Van Scoyoc S, Butler LG (1978) A critical evaluation of the vanillin reaction as an assay for tannin in sorghum grain. J Agric Food Chem 26:1214–1218
Prozesky L, Kellerman TS, Welman WG (1986) An ovine hepatoxicosis caused by the plant Pteronia pallens (Asteraceae) L.f. Onderstepoort J Vet Res 53:9–12
Rhoades DF (1979) Evolution of plant chemical defense against herbivores. In: Rosenthal GA, Janzen DH (eds) Herbivores: their interaction with secondary metabolites. Academic Press, New York, pp 3–54
Roux PW, Vorster M (1983) Vegetation change in the Karoo. Proc Grass Soc S Afr 18:25–29
Ruess RW, McNaughton SJ, Coughenour MB (1983) The effects of clipping, nitrogen source and nitrogen uptake of an East African sedge. Oecologia 59:253–261
Swain T (1977) Secondary compounds as protective agents. Annu Rev Plant Phys 28:479–501
Tuomi J, Niemala P, Haukioja E, Siren S, Neuvonen S (1984) Nutrient stress: an explanation for plant anti-herbivore responses to defoliation. Oecologia 61:208–210
Van der Heyden F (1992) Effects of defoliation on regrowth and carbon budgets of three semi-arid karoo shrubs. Ph.D. thesis, University of Cape Town
Williams KS, Myers JH (1984) Previous herbivore attack of red alder may improve food quality for fall sebworm larvae. Oecologia 63:166–170
Zar JH (1984) Biostatistical analysis. Prentice-Hall, Inc, Englewood Cliffs, NJ
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Stock, W.D., Le Roux, D. & Van der Heyden, F. Regrowth and tannin production in woody and succulent karoo shrubs in response to simulated browsing. Oecologia 96, 562–568 (1993). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320514
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00320514