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dc.contributor.authorHanley, Mick
dc.contributor.authorLamont, Byron
dc.contributor.authorFairbanks, Meredith
dc.contributor.authorRafferty, Christine
dc.date.accessioned2017-01-30T13:04:22Z
dc.date.available2017-01-30T13:04:22Z
dc.date.created2009-03-05T00:57:11Z
dc.date.issued2007
dc.identifier.citationHanley, Mick and Lamont, Byron and Fairbanks, Meredith and Rafferty, Christine. 2007. Plant structural traits and their role in anti-herbivore defence. Perspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics. 8 (4): pp. 157-178.
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/28328
dc.identifier.doi10.1016/j.ppees.2007.01.001
dc.description.abstract

We consider the role that key structural traits, such as spinescence, pubescence, sclerophylly and raphides, play in protecting plants from herbivore attack. Despite the likelihood that many of these morphological characteristics may have evolved as responses to other environmental stimuli, we show that each provides an important defence against herbivore attack in both terrestrial and aquatic ecosystems. We conclude that leaf-mass–area is a robust index of sclerophylly as a surrogate for more rigorous mechanical properties used in herbivory studies. We also examine herbivore counter-adaptations to plant structural defence and illustrate how herbivore attack can induce the deployment of intensified defensive measures. Although there have been few studies detailing how plant defences vary with age, we show that allocation to structural defences is related to plant ontogeny. Age-related changes in the deployment of structural defences plus a paucity of appropriate studies are two reasons why relationships with other plant fitness characteristics may be obscured, although we describe studies where trade-offs between structural defence and plant growth, reproduction, and chemical defences have been demonstrated. We also show how resource availability influences the expression of structural defences and demonstrate how poorly our understanding of plant structural defence fits into contemporary plant defence theory. Finally, we suggest how a better understanding of plant structural defence, particularly within the context of plant defence syndromes, would not only improve our understanding of plant defence theory, but enable us to predict how plant morphological responses to climate change might influence interactions at the individual (plant growth trade-offs), species (competition), and ecosystem (pollination and herbivory) levels.

dc.publisherElsevier
dc.titlePlant structural traits and their role in anti-herbivore defence
dc.typeJournal Article
dcterms.source.volume8
dcterms.source.number4
dcterms.source.startPage157
dcterms.source.endPage178
dcterms.source.issn14338319
dcterms.source.titlePerspectives in Plant Ecology, Evolution and Systematics
curtin.note

The link to the journal's home page is: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/701793/description#description

curtin.note

Copyright © 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved

curtin.departmentDepartment of Environmental Biology
curtin.accessStatusFulltext not available
curtin.facultyCentre for Ecosystem Diversity and Dynamics
curtin.facultySchool of Agriculture and Environment
curtin.facultyFaculty of Science and Engineering


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