Navigation Links
Move over predators: Plants can control the food chain too -- from the bottom up
Date:3/25/2010

ITHACA, N.Y. Forget top-to-bottom only. New Cornell University evolutionary biology research shows how plants at the bottom of the food chain have evolved mechanisms that influence ecosystem dynamics as well. (Science, March 26, 2010.)

"The ecology and interactions of most organisms is dictated by their evolutionary history," said Anurag Agrawal, associate professor of ecology and evolutionary biology (EEB), the study's senior author.

In food webs, predators help suppress populations of prey by eating them; that frees species lower in the food chain, such as plants, to flourish, a dynamic called a "trophic cascade." Most trophic cascade studies have focused on the ability of predators to increase plant biomass by eating herbivores. Such studies typically find strong trophic cascades in aquatic environments, where big fish eat minnows, which eat the tiny algae-eating crustaceans called daphnia.

Agrawal, first author Kailen Mooney, who is a former Cornell postdoctoral researcher and now assistant professor at the University of California-Irvine, and colleagues studied trophic cascades in 16 milkweed species, famed for their interactions with monarch butterflies, and also fed upon by aphids.

Plants have evolved three main strategies for increasing their biomass as much as they can against the forces that limit their growth, said the researchers: They grow as quickly as possible; develop direct defenses, such as toxins or prickly leaves, against herbivores; and attract such predators as ladybugs that eat their pests.

But plants do not have the resources to develop all three defenses. Since Darwin, evolutionary biologists have hypothesized that over millions of years of evolution, plant species are subject to trade-offs, developing some defense strategies in lieu of others; a key finding of the new study is that these evolutionary trade-offs drive how modern ecosystems are structured.

In the case of milkweed,
'/>"/>

Contact: Blaine Friedlander
bpf2@cornell.edu
607-254-8093
Cornell University
Source:Eurekalert

0

GOOD

Page: 1 2

Related biology news :

1. Layered approach may yield stronger, more successful bone implants
2. Clever plants chat over their own network
3. Plants can be used to study how and why people respond differently to drugs
4. Book on weeds and invasive plants discusses how to manage them using ecological approaches
5. A greenhouse in order to study the impact of climate change on plants
6. Agent that triggers immune response in plants is uncovered
7. Scientists ramp up ability of poplar plants to disarm toxic pollutants
8. A new baseline of invasive plants in Isabela
9. Hungry microbes share out the carbon in the roots of plants
10. Scientists warn that species extinction could reduce productivity of plants on Earth by half
11. Cell transplants may improve severe urinary incontinence
Post Your Comments:
*Name:
*Comment:
*Email:
(Date:5/21/2013)... Mass. , May 21, 2013 Royal ... CX50 xMATRIX, the world,s first portable ultrasound with Philips, ... Echo (ICE) capability. The CX50 xMATRIX with available Live ... Paris at the EuroPCR, official meeting ... May 21-24. Since its launch in 2012, ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... University of Minnesota Medical School researchers from the ... the University,s Brain Tumor Program, have developed a new ... that allow them to discover new genes and gene ... was published this week in the journal Nature ... researchers in the lab of David Largaespada, Ph.D., professor ...
(Date:5/20/2013)... New research suggests that a compound abundant in ... escape death. , By altering a very specific ... cells into normal cells that die as scheduled. , ... a process that would cause them to die on ... This study in cells, led by Ohio State University ...
Breaking Biology News(10 mins):Philips CX50 xMATRIX now offers world-class interventional and diagnostic features on single portable system 2U of M researchers develop model for better testing, targeting of MPNST 2The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal' 2The compound in the Mediterranean diet that makes cancer cells 'mortal' 3
... expert in the design of low-rise buildings for ... at the Annual Conference of Construction Specifications Canada ... Taher, a university lecturer in NJIT,s College of ... engineer, http://www.njit.edu/news/experts/taher.php . Construction Specifications Canada ...
... release is available in German . ... the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) is to establish ... the appropriate Grants Committee in Bonn. The new institutions will ... years, during which time they will receive total funding of ...
... 19 May 2011. The research vessel Polarstern of the ... the Helmholtz Association will arrive back at its homeport ... May. Nearly 200 researchers from institutes in 15 countries ... conducted measurements showing that warming of the water in ...
Cached Biology News:Better buildings for extreme climates will be focus of researcher's talk 2DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 2DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 3DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 4DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 5DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 6DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 7DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 8DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 9DFG establishes 18 new research training groups 10Research ship Polarstern returns from Antartica 2Research ship Polarstern returns from Antartica 3
(Date:5/22/2013)... (PRWEB) May 22, 2013 Mold remediation could ... said that there is a way to cut down the ... on its latest post the details of a method ... money. , Mold could be prevented, My Cleaning Products said. ... company stated that a mold remediation must then be promptly ...
(Date:5/22/2013)... May 22, 2013 The ability ... deciphering the information they encode. There are now ... (deep sequencing of ribosome protected fragments) that dramatically ... , Keynote speakers include Dr. Jonathan Weissman, an ... the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, who will present ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... (PRWEB) May 21, 2013 Custom ... to reporting eLearning solution using Tin Can API ... dashboard tool. CLD is a leading developer of ... medical device companies worldwide. , Tin Can ... that helps learners and trainers more accurately measure ...
(Date:5/21/2013)... May 21, 2013 Savoury Systems International ... appointed Dale Braddy to Southeastern USA Sales Broker. Braddy’s ... sales muscle in the Southeast. , In ... brokerage and supplier to food processors and industrial manufacturers. ... in the food industry and has over 25 years ...
Breaking Biology Technology:How to Kill Mold While Saving Thousands of Dollars on Mold Remediation Projects Explained by My Cleaning Products 2Monitoring Protein Synthesis One Codon at a Time Through Ribosome Profiling, a Webinar Hosted by Xtalks 2CLD Integrates Tin CAN API with its eLearning Solutions and Launches its Excelerometer Tracking Statement Dashboard 2CLD Integrates Tin CAN API with its eLearning Solutions and Launches its Excelerometer Tracking Statement Dashboard 3
... Sciences presented their latest biological results supporting the ... compound for the treatment of solid tumors at ... British Columbia. The presentation highlighted advances in the ... piperazines demonstrate potent antiproliferative activity against a variety ...
... Gene Therapy in Cardiac Disease (CUPID Trial) Demonstrated ... Using Gene TransferSAN DIEGO, April 8 Celladon ... a Phase 1/2 trial of MYDICAR(R) (AAV1/SERCA2a), a ... failure, in the April 2009 issue of the ...
... DNA sequencing technology company, announced a definitive agreement ... investment in the company. Prompting its decision was ... reversible terminator chemistry, Lightning Terminators (TM), for ... chemistry as reagent kits to the market as ...
Cached Biology Technology:ImQuest Presentation at Keystone Symposium Focuses on Advancements in Their Cancer Research and Development Program 2The Journal of Cardiac Failure Publishes Results From Celladon Corporation's First-in-Human Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial in Advanced Heart Failure 2The Journal of Cardiac Failure Publishes Results From Celladon Corporation's First-in-Human Phase 1/2 Clinical Trial in Advanced Heart Failure 3SeqWright to Invest in LaserGen's Novel Lightning Terminators(TM) 2
Monoclonal mouse antibody for immunihistology, clone AD12, Isotype IgG 1, purified, specific for rat pyruvatekinase type L, no cross-reactivities with other pyruvate kinase isoenzymes have been obser...
Control primers and template for 5kb and 15 kb products....
The Lambda Control Kit contains lambda DNA and two 25mer primers, which can be used to amplify a 500bp fragment. The lambda DNA is purified by CsCl gradient centrifugation and organic extraction foll...
... Klein Taq is a derivative of Taq ... truncated Thermus aquaticus DNA polymerase. Expressed from ... initiates at Met236, bypassing the 5'-3' exonuclease ... enzyme reveals a highly active and even ...
Biology Products: