Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore
The co-evolved relationship between the chemical composition of plants and herbivory is fundamental in understanding diet selection of herbivores and their impacts on plants and ecosystems. However, the impact of plant secondary chemistry on mammalian herbivory is not fully understood. We investigat...
Published in: | Canadian Journal of Zoology |
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Online Access: | http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 |
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crcansciencepubl:10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 2023-12-17T10:18:03+01:00 Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore Stolter, C. Ball, John P. Julkunen-Tiitto, R. 2013 http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 en eng Canadian Science Publishing http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 91, issue 5, page 338-347 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics journal-article 2013 crcansciencepubl https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 2023-11-19T13:38:27Z The co-evolved relationship between the chemical composition of plants and herbivory is fundamental in understanding diet selection of herbivores and their impacts on plants and ecosystems. However, the impact of plant secondary chemistry on mammalian herbivory is not fully understood. We investigated seasonal influences of phenolics with low molecular weight (e.g., flavonoids, salicylates) and plant morphology of the tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia L.) on moose (Alces alces (L., 1758)) foraging. We analysed the relationship of different phenolic compounds in twigs and browsing in winter, and in leaves and the degree of leaf stripping in summer, and the role of plant morphology. In winter, higher concentrations of phenolics, e.g., myricetin-related compounds (belonging to the flavonoids), had a negative impact on herbivory by moose. This impact was not associated with a single compound but instead seemed to be more a result of synergistic or additive effects of different compounds. In contrast, the models for summer browsing showed a pronounced effect of plant morphology. Our analyses reveal differences in the relative importance of phenolics of low molecular weight and plant morphology on diet selection between seasons. These findings are relevant for understanding feeding decisions and mechanisms deterring mammalian herbivores known for shaping the vegetation on the ecosystem level. Article in Journal/Newspaper Alces alces Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) Canadian Journal of Zoology 91 5 338 347 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Canadian Science Publishing (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crcansciencepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
spellingShingle |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics Stolter, C. Ball, John P. Julkunen-Tiitto, R. Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
topic_facet |
Animal Science and Zoology Ecology, Evolution, Behavior and Systematics |
description |
The co-evolved relationship between the chemical composition of plants and herbivory is fundamental in understanding diet selection of herbivores and their impacts on plants and ecosystems. However, the impact of plant secondary chemistry on mammalian herbivory is not fully understood. We investigated seasonal influences of phenolics with low molecular weight (e.g., flavonoids, salicylates) and plant morphology of the tea-leaved willow (Salix phylicifolia L.) on moose (Alces alces (L., 1758)) foraging. We analysed the relationship of different phenolic compounds in twigs and browsing in winter, and in leaves and the degree of leaf stripping in summer, and the role of plant morphology. In winter, higher concentrations of phenolics, e.g., myricetin-related compounds (belonging to the flavonoids), had a negative impact on herbivory by moose. This impact was not associated with a single compound but instead seemed to be more a result of synergistic or additive effects of different compounds. In contrast, the models for summer browsing showed a pronounced effect of plant morphology. Our analyses reveal differences in the relative importance of phenolics of low molecular weight and plant morphology on diet selection between seasons. These findings are relevant for understanding feeding decisions and mechanisms deterring mammalian herbivores known for shaping the vegetation on the ecosystem level. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Stolter, C. Ball, John P. Julkunen-Tiitto, R. |
author_facet |
Stolter, C. Ball, John P. Julkunen-Tiitto, R. |
author_sort |
Stolter, C. |
title |
Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
title_short |
Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
title_full |
Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
title_fullStr |
Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
title_full_unstemmed |
Seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
title_sort |
seasonal differences in the relative importance of specific phenolics and twig morphology result in contrasting patterns of foraging by a generalist herbivore |
publisher |
Canadian Science Publishing |
publishDate |
2013 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/full-xml/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 |
genre |
Alces alces |
genre_facet |
Alces alces |
op_source |
Canadian Journal of Zoology volume 91, issue 5, page 338-347 ISSN 0008-4301 1480-3283 |
op_rights |
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/page/about/CorporateTextAndDataMining |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1139/cjz-2012-0270 |
container_title |
Canadian Journal of Zoology |
container_volume |
91 |
container_issue |
5 |
container_start_page |
338 |
op_container_end_page |
347 |
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1785539418434568192 |