Sagehen Creek Field Station

20 Aug, 03 AM - 20 Aug, 10 AM

In response to ubiquitous attack by herbivores, plants have evolved a wide variety of defenses. However, the evolutionary response of plant populations to selection for increased defense may be constrained by costs of defense. I will perform artificial selection on several defensive traits of Mimulus guttatus and then measure a variety of traits, in both the greenhouse and the field, to identify potentials costs of defense. Specifically, I will carry out independent, replicated experiments selecting for high and low levels of both iridoid glycosides, a secondary compound toxic to some herbivores, and tolerance to damage by buckeye caterpillars (Junonia coenia). I will then measure several fitness related traits (biomass, flowering time, numbers of flowers and seeds) as well as defensive traits (iridoid glycoside, trichome density, leaf toughness, and tolerance) to identify costs of defense. In addition, I will be using the resulting selection lines in further field experiments measuring natural selection on plant defenses. These experiments will provide insight into the costs of these defenses, potential tradeoffs between different types of defense, and how these cost influence natural selection on plant defenses.

Visit #7866 @Sagehen Creek Field Station

Approved

Under Project # 5669 | Research

Defense against herbivory in Mimulus gutttus

graduate_student - University of California, Davis

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Jon Haloin Aug 20, 2005 (1 days)

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Day Use 1 Aug 20 (7 hours)