Sunday, August 23, 2009

doesn

close
Loading Image...
ScienceDaily: Your source for the latest research news and science breakthroughs -- updated daily
Science News
Share Blog Cite
Print Email Bookmark
Specialists Are Better At Avoiding Predators

ScienceDaily (Aug. 20, 2009) — Insect herbivore species often specialize on the host plants that they eat, evolving adaptations to use a plant's unique set of resources. However, specialization doesn't come without costs.
See also:
Plants & Animals

* Nature
* Endangered Plants
* Wild Animals

Earth & Climate

* Rainforests
* Ecology
* Grassland

Reference

* Seed predation
* Herbivore
* Plant defense against being eaten
* Omnivore

"A lot of evolutionary ecologists have pondered the advantages of being a specialist, and there are presumably tradeoffs," says Michael Singer of Wesleyan University. "Specialists have a smaller resource base, but they might be better adapted to their niche."

Singer and his colleagues wondered if there could be other advantages to specialization than better utilization of host plants as food. Specialists might also be more adept than generalists, he postulated, at using their host plants for defense or refuge from predation, specifically by birds.

The team tested this idea by excluding birds from experimental plots in a temperate forest in Connecticut and surveying the density of generalist and specialist caterpillar species inside and outside the exclosures. In the exclosures, his team observed a surge in generalist density compared to natural areas. The number of specialists, however, only increased slightly. These results suggest that the bird predators were preferentially targeting generalists.

The difference is likely due to the specialists' ability to take better advantage of their host plants, says Singer. Many specialists use chemicals from their host plant's tissue to make themselves toxic. Others, like Singer's specialist caterpillars, might be more adept at camouflaging themselves by finding the best places to hide or to blend in.

Singer's experiment is the first to quantify bird predation on specialist and generalist herbivores, and he hopes it will spark further research. He says that the interactions among the three trophic levels – plants, herbivores and predators – are the key to understanding the species' ecology and evolution.

"Food webs are complex, and that complexity is fundamental to understanding ecological specialization and diversity in natural ecosystems," he says.

Animals and plants communicate with one another in a variety of ways: behavior, body patterns, and even chemistry. In a series of talks at the Ecological Society of America's annual meeting, to be held August 3-7 in Albuquerque, New Mexico, ecologists explore the myriad adaptations for exchanging information among living things.
Adapted from materials provided by Ecological Society of America, via EurekAlert!, a service of AAAS.
Email or share this story:
| More
Need to cite this story in your essay, paper, or report? Use one of the following formats:
APA

MLA
Ecological Society of America (2009, August 20). Specialists Are Better At Avoiding Predators. ScienceDaily. Retrieved August 23, 2009, from http://www.sciencedaily.com­ /releases/2009/08/090804071402.htm
Ads by Google
Advertise here
Virtual Power Plants
VPP's and commercial operations: Smart Grid White Papers & more
www1.ventyx.com/
Pericole sexuale
Lipsa de informare poate duce la deces. Afla mai mult!
www.informarehpv.ro
Crusher Machines Plant
Crusher mining, quarry, spare parts ROC IMPACT - French Company
www.concasseur.com
Bottled Water Business
Complete systems/components Worldwide customer support
www.norlandintl.com
Save CostaRica Rainforest
You Can Make it from $5 and up Preserve the Costa Rican habitat!
www.aventuraforestal.com
Related Stories
Multiple New Species Of Fruit Flies With Overlapping Niches Discovered (May 21, 2008) — Evidence of physically similar species hidden within plant tissues suggest that diversity of neotropical herbivorous insects may not simply be a function of plant architecture, but may also reflect ... > read more
Why Do Insects Like To Eat Some Plants More Than Others? (Nov. 14, 2006) — Plant-insect ecologists typically attribute the differences to variation in the nutritional quality or defective chemistry of plant tissues. However, the researchers found that cactus-feeding insects ... > read more
Alarm Pheromone Causes Aphids To Sprout Wings (May 19, 2005) — When aphids are attacked by predators such as ladybird beetles, they release an alarm pheromone that has long been known to cause other aphids to walk around or drop from the plant. In a paper soon ... > read more
Milkweed's Evolutionary Approach To Caterpillars: Counter Appetite With Fast Repair (July 24, 2008) — The adage that your enemies know your weaknesses best is especially true in the case of plants and predators that have co-evolved: as the predators evolve new strategies for attack, plants counter ... > read more
Search ScienceDaily
Number of stories in archives: 44,032
Find with keyword(s):

Enter a keyword or phrase to search ScienceDaily's archives for related news topics,
the latest news stories, reference articles, science videos, images, and books.
Ads by Google
Advertise here
Hydrogenation Reactor
High performance reactor technology Safe scale-up. Worldwide supply
www.biazzi.com
Int. Diabetes Monitor
A free online review journal on trends in clinical diabetes.
InternationalDiabetesMonitor.com
plants
For The Foam Concrete; And EPS Concrete;
www.coisoimper.com

Just In:
Why Sleep? To Boost Efficiency, Minimize Risk
Ultrathin LEDs: New Class Of Displays
Oxycholesterol: Greatest Heart Disease Risk?
Artificial Life One Step Closer?
New Way To Reproduce A Black Hole?
Aphids Saved From Gruesome Death By Virus
Human Appendix: No Biological 'Remnant'
Bioluminescent 'Green Bombers' From The Deep
Bioluminescent 'Green Bombers' From The Deep
Science Video News
Name That Species
Extremophiles are microbes that have adapted to extreme environments, such as Utah's Great Salt Lake. But new microorganisms can be found in everyday. ... > full story

* Insect Ecologist Spearheads Creation of Oases for Endangered Butterflies
* Electrical Engineers Monitor Environment with Robotic Sensors
* Climatologists Forecast Completely New Climates
* more science videos

Breaking News
... from NewsDaily.com

* Satellites put into orbit for Japan and Australia
* Scientists make "sugar bug" drug for bowel disease
* Gene swap experiment makes altering bugs easier
* Mercury-tainted fish found widely in U.S. streams
* LED display technology gets a twist
* more science news

In Other News ...

* Afghan challenger says election "widely rigged"
* Hundreds flee wildfire burning homes near Athens
* Rival Koreas meet ahead of state funeral
* Australian oil well to gush for nearly two months
* Pakistan Taliban name new leader but doubts remain
* CIA report has new details of prisoner abuse
* Weaker Hurricane Bill moves towards eastern Canada
* North Korea's Kim sends message to South's leader
* more top news

Copyright Reuters 2008. See Restrictions.
Free Subscriptions
... from ScienceDaily
Get the latest science news with our free email newsletters, updated daily and weekly. Or view hourly updated newsfeeds in your RSS reader:

* Email Newsletters
* RSS Newsfeeds

Feedback
... we want to hear from you!
Tell us what you think of the new ScienceDaily -- we welcome both positive and negative comments. Have any problems using the site? Questions?

* Your Name:
* Your Email:
* Comments:
* Click button to submit feedback:

About This Site | Editorial Staff | Awards & Reviews | Contribute News | Advertise With Us | Privacy Policy | Terms of Use
Copyright © 1995-2009 ScienceDaily LLC — All rights reserved — Contact: editor@sciencedaily.com

* Health & Medicine
o Allergy
o Alternative Medicine
o Bird Flu
o Birth Control
o Breast Cancer
o Cancer
o Diabetes
o Diet and Weight Loss
o Diseases and Conditions
o Fitness
o Gene Therapy
o Heart Disease
o HIV and AIDS
o Lung Cancer
o Men's Health
o Nutrition
o Obesity
o Pharmacology
o Pregnancy and Childbirth
o Sexual Health
o Skin Care
o Stem Cells
o Women's Health
o ... more topics
* Mind & Brain
o ADD and ADHD
o Addiction
o Alzheimer's
o Anxiety
o Autism
o Depression
o Gender Difference
o Headaches
o Insomnia
o Intelligence
o Language Acquisition
o Parkinson's
o Perception
o Psychology
o Relationships
o Schizophrenia
o Social Psychology
o ... more topics
* Plants & Animals
o Agriculture and Food
o Animals
o Behavior
o Biology
o Biotechnology
o Cell Biology
o Cloning
o Developmental Biology
o Dogs
o Dolphins and Whales
o Endangered Animals
o Extinction
o Frogs and Reptiles
o Genetically Modified
o Marine Biology
o Microbes and More
o Nature
o New Species
o Pests and Parasites
o Spiders
o Zoology
o ... more topics
* Earth & Climate
o Air Quality
o Climate
o Coral Reefs
o Earthquakes
o Ecology
o Environmental Science
o Geography
o Geology
o Global Warming
o Hurricanes and Cyclones
o Ice Ages
o Oceanography
o Ozone Holes
o Pollution
o Renewable Energy
o Tsunamis
o Weather
o Wildfires
o ... more topics
* Space & Time
o Astronomy
o Astrophysics
o Big Bang
o Black Holes
o Dark Matter
o ESA
o Extrasolar Planets
o Mars
o Moon
o NASA
o Pluto
o Saturn
o Solar System
o Space Missions
o Space Station
o Space Telescopes
o Stars
o Sun
o ... more topics
* Matter & Energy
o Alternative Fuels
o Aviation
o Biochemistry
o Biometric
o Chemistry
o Detectors
o Electronics
o Energy Technology
o Forensics
o Fossil Fuels
o Inorganic Chemistry
o Nanotechnology
o Organic Chemistry
o Physics
o Quantum Physics
o Solar Energy
o Technology
o Wind Energy
o ... more topics
* Computers & Math
o Artificial Intelligence
o Communications
o Computer Graphics
o Computer Modeling
o Computer Science
o Encryption
o Hacking
o Mathematics
o Quantum Computers
o Robotics
o Software
o Statistics
o Video Games
o Virtual Reality
o ... more topics
* Fossils & Ruins
o Ancient Civilizations
o Anthropology
o Archaeology
o Dinosaurs
o Early Climate
o Early Humans
o Early Mammals
o Evolution
o Human Evolution
o Lost Treasures
o Origin of Life
o Paleontology
o Tyrannosaurus Rex
o ... more topics



* News
o Front Page
o Today's Summaries
o Latest Headlines
o Search Archives
o Email Newsletters
o RSS Newsfeeds
o News Sections
o Health & Medicine
o Mind & Brain
o Plants & Animals
o Space & Time
o Earth & Climate
o Matter & Energy
o Computers & Math
o Fossils & Ruins
* Articles
o Health & Medicine
o Mind & Brain
o Plants & Animals
o Space & Time
o Earth & Climate
o Matter & Energy
o Computers & Math
o Fossils & Ruins
* Videos
o Health & Medicine
o Mind & Brain
o Plants & Animals
o Space & Time
o Earth & Climate
o Matter & Energy
o Computers & Math
o Fossils & Ruins
* Images
o Health & Medicine
o Mind & Brain
o Plants & Animals
o Space & Time
o Earth & Climate
o Matter & Energy
o Computers & Math
o Fossils & Ruins
* Books
o Health & Medicine
o Mind & Brain
o Plants & Animals
o Space & Time
o Earth & Climate
o Matter & Energy
o Computers & Math
o Fossils & Ruins

Post this page to your favorite social bookmarking site:
close

* del.icio.us
* Digg
* Furl
* Netscape
* Yahoo! My Web
* StumbleUpon
* Google Bookmarks
* Technorati
* BlinkList
* Newsvine
* ma.gnolia
* reddit
* Facebook
* Tailrank
* Slashdot
* Fark

Include this item in your blog or web site:
close

* Title:
* Link:
* Summary:
* Click button to copy above text for pasting into your site:

Cite this article in your essay, paper, or report:
close

* APA style:
* MLA style:
* Click button to copy above text for pasting into your document:

Email this page's link to a friend or colleague:
close

* To Email:
* Your Name:
* Your Email:
* cc to self

Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.roAm vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro
Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.ro
Am vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.roAm vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.roAm vazut multe ceasuri superbe pe www.topceas.roImi doresc un HTC MagicHTC Magic