| The effects of plant defensive chemistry on nutrient availability predict reproductive success in a mammal. | |
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MedLine Citation:
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PMID: 19341141 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
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Plants contain a variety of chemical defenses that strongly affect feeding rates in captive mammals, but their effects on the fitness of wild herbivores are largely unknown. This is because the complexity of defensive compounds, and herbivores' counteradaptations to them, make their effects in the wild difficult to measure. We show how tannins interact with protein to produce spatial variation in the nutritional quality of eucalypt foliage, which is related to demography in a wild population of a marsupial folivore, the common brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula Kerr). Tannins reduced the digestibility of nitrogen (N) in vitro, creating variation in available N concentrations among the home ranges of individual possums in an otherwise homogeneous habitat. This was strongly correlated with reproductive success: females with better quality trees in their home range reproduced more often and had faster-growing offspring. These results demonstrate a powerful mechanism by which spatial variation in plant chemistry may control herbivore population dynamics in nature. |
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Authors:
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Jane L DeGabriel; Ben D Moore; William J Foley; Christopher N Johnson |
Publication Detail:
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Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't |
Journal Detail:
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Title: Ecology Volume: 90 ISSN: 0012-9658 ISO Abbreviation: Ecology Publication Date: 2009 Mar |
Date Detail:
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Created Date: 2009-04-03 Completed Date: 2009-05-26 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
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Nlm Unique ID: 0043541 Medline TA: Ecology Country: United States |
Other Details:
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Languages: eng Pagination: 711-9 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
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School of Biological Sciences, University of Aberdeen, Tillydrone Avenue, Aberdeen, Aberdeenshire AB24 2TZ, UK. j.degabriel@abdn.ac.uk |
Export Citation:
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APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
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Analysis of Variance Animal Nutritional Physiological Phenomena Animals Demography Digestion Eating Ecosystem Eucalyptus / chemistry* Feeding Behavior / physiology* Female Male Marsupialia / physiology* Nitrogen / metabolism Plant Poisoning / veterinary Population Dynamics Reproduction / physiology* Tannins / adverse effects* Trichosurus / physiology* |
| Chemical | |
Reg. No./Substance:
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0/Tannins; 7727-37-9/Nitrogen |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
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