| Response of two prairie forbs to repeated vole herbivory. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 21053018 Owner: NLM Status: Publisher |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Vertebrate herbivores as diverse as ungulates, geese, and rabbits preferentially feed on plants that have previously experienced herbivory. Here we ask whether smaller grassland "cryptic consumers" such as voles (Microtus ochrogaster and M. pennsylvanicus) preferentially clip (cut stems for access to leaves or seeds) or avoid previously clipped individuals of two tallgrass prairie species (Desmanthus illinoensis and Echinacea purpurea) within a growing season. Further, we ask how these plants respond to repeated clipping within a growing season, and whether the effects of this herbivory last into the subsequent growing season. Voles preferentially clipped stems of D. illinoensis and E. purpurea plants that had been previously clipped. The exception was indiscriminant clipping stems of E. purpurea late in the growing season when its achenes, a favorite vole food, ripened. For D. illinoensis, repeated clipping resulted in a 59% reduction in biomass, a 42% lower ratio of reproductive:vegetative biomass, and 57% fewer seeds produced per plant compared with unclipped plants. These effects lasted into the following growing season, during which plants were protected from voles. In contrast, the only effect of repeated clipping for E. purpurea was that the number of achenes per plant was substantially reduced with three episodes of clipping. This effect did not carry over to the next growing season. Such differences in D. illinoensis and E. purpurea response to repeated stem clipping by voles offer insights into how these small rodents can effect major changes in composition and dominance in grassland communities. |
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Authors:
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Amy T Sullivan; Henry F Howe |
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Publication Detail:
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Type: JOURNAL ARTICLE Date: 2010-11-4 |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Oecologia Volume: - ISSN: 1432-1939 ISO Abbreviation: - Publication Date: 2010 Nov |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2010-11-5 Completed Date: - Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0150372 Medline TA: Oecologia Country: - |
Other Details:
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Languages: ENG Pagination: - Citation Subset: - |
Affiliation:
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Department of Biological Sciences, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, 60607, USA, asulli1@uic.edu. |
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From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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