Behavioral archives link the chemistry and clonal structure of trembling aspen to the food choice of North American porcupine |
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Authors: | Brandee Diner Dominique Berteaux Jim Fyles Richard L Lindroth |
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Institution: | (1) Canada Research Chair in Conservation of Northern Ecosystems and Centre d’Etudes Nordiques, Université du Québec à Rimouski, 300 Allée des Ursulines, Rimouski, QC, G5L 3A1, Canada;(2) Department of Natural Resource Sciences, McGill University, Macdonald Campus, 21,111 Lakeshore Road, Ste-Anne-de-Bellevue, QC, H9X 1C0, Canada;(3) Department of Entomology, University of Wisconsin, 237 Russel Labs, 1630 Linden Drive, Madison, WI 53706, USA |
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Abstract: | Understanding the links among plant genotype, plant chemistry, and food selection by vertebrate herbivores is critical to
assess the role of herbivores in the evolution of plant secondary chemistry. Some specialized vertebrate herbivores have been
shown to select plants differentially according to plant genotype, but examples from generalists, which constitute the vast
majority of vertebrate herbivores, are few, especially in natural conditions. We examined the relationship between the North
American porcupine (Erethizon dorsatum), a generalist mammalian herbivore, and clonal trembling aspen (Populus tremuloides), a preferred food source of porcupines. We determined preference for certain aspen trees through visual examination of porcupine
climbing scars left on tree bark, and through a controlled feeding experiment. We used genetic and biochemical analyses to
link the behavioral archives (climbing scars) left by porcupines on aspen trunks to the clonal structure and chemical composition
of trees. We show that two phenolic glycosides (tremulacin and salicortin), which are under a high degree of genetic control
and thus vary in concentration across clones, are the chemical variables that most influence (deter) feeding choices by porcupines.
Using behavioral archives left by a wild herbivore on a natural stand of plants thus allowed us to demonstrate that a generalist
vertebrate herbivore can choose plants according to their clonal structure and genetically based chemical composition. Our
results contribute to extending previous findings obtained with generalist herbivores studied in controlled conditions, and
with specialist herbivores studied in the field.
Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. |
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Keywords: | Phenolic glycoside Mammalian herbivory Selective herbivory Plant– animal interactions Defensive chemistry |
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