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Forests
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Ecology of Plant-Herbivore Interactions
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Ecology of Plant-Herbivore Interactions

A special issue of Forests (ISSN 1999-4907). This special issue belongs to the section "Forest Ecophysiology and Biology".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 February 2022) | Viewed by 14148

Special Issue Editor

Dr. Sonia Saïd

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
French Office for Biodiversity (OFB), Direction Recherche et Appui Scientifique, "Montfort", 01330 Birieux, France
Interests: plant-animal interactions; habitat selection; movement; herbivory; forest regeneration; trophic cascades

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleague,

This Special Issue deals with the question of how plant and herbivores interact. Indeed, ecologists have long underestimated the importance of plant–herbivore interactions, owing to the diversity of herbivores, plant defensive strategies and ecological systems. Therefore, in this Special Issue, we focused on herbivores, who have a major impact on forests and/or plants. Indeed, the interactions between plants and herbivores are among the most important ecological interactions in nature. As primary producers, almost all plants inevitably avoid being eaten by herbivores. These relationships have affected, among other things, the tolerance mechanisms that decrease the impact of herbivores’ (ungulates, insects, galliformes, etc.) damages, and escape strategies that reduce the probability of plants to be found by herbivores, and resistance traits that reduce the amount of damage received, including physical, chemical, and biotic traits. In this Issue, research articles may focus on any aspect of interaction between plant and herbivores, including experimentation (exclosure–control). Studies dealing with the effects of herbivores on forest regeneration are also welcome. In this Issue, both theoretical and empirical papers on plant–herbivore interactions are welcome, but combinations are particularly sought.

Dr. Sonia Saïd
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Forests is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • herbivore
  • plant–animal interaction
  • resistant
  • browsing
  • habitat selection
  • movement

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Published Papers (4 papers)

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Research

8 pages, 1312 KiB  
Communication
Plant Tannins and Essential Oils Have an Additive Deterrent Effect on Diet Choice by Kangaroos
by Christine Rafferty and Byron B. Lamont
Forests 2021, 12(12), 1639; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12121639 - 26 Nov 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2158
Abstract
Tannins and essential oils are well recognised as antiherbivore compounds. We investigated the relative effectiveness of the polyphenol, tannin, and the essential oils, 1,8-cineole and pine oil, as feeding deterrents against western grey kangaroos. Both groups of secondary metabolites are naturally abundant in [...] Read more.
Tannins and essential oils are well recognised as antiherbivore compounds. We investigated the relative effectiveness of the polyphenol, tannin, and the essential oils, 1,8-cineole and pine oil, as feeding deterrents against western grey kangaroos. Both groups of secondary metabolites are naturally abundant in many Australian plants. These three metabolite groups were incorporated separately or together into standard pellets for presentation to kangaroos, and their behaviour (sequence of food choice and feeding time) and amounts consumed were observed. The control (with no secondary metabolites) was much preferred. There was a sharp reduction in the ingestion of pellets containing tannins, 1,8-cineole or pine oil. Combinations of the metabolites resulted in almost no consumption. In association with tannin, pellets containing either 1,8-cineole or pine oil were as effective deterrents as both combined. There was a strong correlation between time spent feeding on the different diets and the amount of food consumed, although the rate of intake was markedly slower when secondary metabolites were present. Behavioural observations showed that the amount of food ingested is initially guided by the presence/absence of essential oils, apparently detected by smell, and later by the presence/absence of tannins, by taste. Both groups of secondary metabolites work in concert by stimulating different senses that minimise herbivory by marsupials, such as the western grey kangaroo, and help to explain their abundance in the Australian flora. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Herbivore Interactions)
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17 pages, 987 KiB  
Article
Mycophagy of White-Tailed Deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) in the Boreal Forest
by Myriam Cadotte, Julien H. Richard, Jean A. Bérubé and Steeve D. Côté
Forests 2021, 12(9), 1247; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091247 - 14 Sep 2021
Viewed by 3878
Abstract
Mushrooms are a little known source of food for large herbivores, but are of high quality because of their high protein content and digestibility. Approximately 50 epigeous and hypogeous mushroom and lichen species have been identified in the diet of cervids so far [...] Read more.
Mushrooms are a little known source of food for large herbivores, but are of high quality because of their high protein content and digestibility. Approximately 50 epigeous and hypogeous mushroom and lichen species have been identified in the diet of cervids so far using macro remains. Our main objective was to determine which mushroom species are consumed by white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus Zimmermann) using a molecular approach. We collected 114 fecal samples from deer harvested in 2014 and 2015 on Anticosti Island (Québec, Canada), extracted total DNA from feces, and amplified fungal DNA specifically via polymerase chain reaction. Amplified fungi DNA was then sequenced with the Illumina method to identify mushroom species consumed by deer. Our results revealed that deer harvested consumed up to 4979 fungal species, including 580 species that appeared to be consumed directly. Adults tended to consume a higher mushroom diversity than juveniles, and mushroom diversity consumed by deer was much higher in 2015 than 2014. Adult females consumed a higher mushroom diversity than males, especially lactating females. Our results contribute to the understanding of the role of mushrooms and their large diversity in white-tailed deer diet. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Herbivore Interactions)
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9 pages, 1694 KiB  
Communication
Electroantennographic Responses of Cerambyx welensii Küster to Host-Related Volatiles
by Israel Sánchez-Osorio, Raúl Tapias, Luis Domínguez, Gloria López-Pantoja and María del Mar González
Forests 2021, 12(9), 1168; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12091168 - 28 Aug 2021
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1963
Abstract
Wood-boring insects, such as Cerambyx welensii Küster, are involved in oak decline in Mediterranean areas. To advance our understanding of the olfactory perception of C. welensii, we recorded electroantennographic (EAG) responses from male and female antennae to 32 tree volatile organic compounds [...] Read more.
Wood-boring insects, such as Cerambyx welensii Küster, are involved in oak decline in Mediterranean areas. To advance our understanding of the olfactory perception of C. welensii, we recorded electroantennographic (EAG) responses from male and female antennae to 32 tree volatile organic compounds typical of emissions from its main Quercus L. hosts, and also analysed the dose-dependent response. Cerambyx welensii antennae responded to 24 chemicals. Eight odorants elicited the highest EAG responses (normalized values of over 98%): 1,8-cineole, limonene-type blend, β-pinene, pinene-type blend, sabinene, α-pinene, turpentine and (E)-2-hexenal. Cerambyx welensii exhibits a broad sensitivity to common tree volatiles. The high EAG responses to both limonene- and pinene-type blends suggest the detection of specific blends of the main foliar monoterpenes emitted by Q. suber L. and Q. ilex L. (limonene, α- and β-pinene, sabinene and myrcene), which could influence the intraspecific host choice by C. welensii, and in particular, females may be able to detect oak trees with a limonene-type chemotype. In addition, C. welensii showed high antennal activity to some odorants that characterize emissions from non-host tree species (1,8-cineole, β-pinene, α-pinene, turpentine, δ3-carene and camphene). The results obtained may be applicable to optimize monitoring and mass-trapping programmes in an integrated pest management context. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Herbivore Interactions)
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31 pages, 4585 KiB  
Article
Determining Statistically Robust Changes in Ungulate Browsing Pressure as a Basis for Adaptive Wildlife Management
by Kai Bödeker, Christian Ammer, Thomas Knoke and Marco Heurich
Forests 2021, 12(8), 1030; https://doi.org/10.3390/f12081030 - 3 Aug 2021
Cited by 10 | Viewed by 5275
Abstract
Ungulate browsing has a major impact on the composition and structure of forests. Repeatedly conducted, large-scale regeneration inventories can monitor the extent of browsing pressure and its impacts on forest regeneration development. Based on the respective results, the necessity and extent of wildlife [...] Read more.
Ungulate browsing has a major impact on the composition and structure of forests. Repeatedly conducted, large-scale regeneration inventories can monitor the extent of browsing pressure and its impacts on forest regeneration development. Based on the respective results, the necessity and extent of wildlife management activities such as hunting, fencing, etc., can be identified at a landscape scale. However, such inventories have rarely been integrated into wildlife management decision making. In this article, we evaluate a regeneration inventory method which was carried out in the Bavarian Forest National Park between 2007 and 2018. We predict the browsing impact by calculating browsing probabilities using a logistic mixed effect model. To provide wildlife managers with feedback on their activities, we developed a test which can assess significant changes in browsing probability between different inventory periods. To find the minimum observable browsing probability change, we simulated ungulate browsing based on the data of a potential browsing indicator species (Sorbus aucuparia) in the National Park. Sorbus aucuparia is evenly distributed, commonly found, selectively browsed and meets the ecosystem development objectives in our study area. We were able to verify a browsing probability change down to ±5 percentage points with a sample size of about 1,000 observations per inventory run. In view of the size of the National Park and the annual fluctuations in browsing pressure, this estimation accuracy seems sufficient. In seeking the maximal cost-efficiency, we were able to reduce this sample size in a sensitivity analysis by about two thirds without severe loss of information for wildlife management. Based on our findings, the presented inventory method combined with our evaluation tool has the potential to be a robust and efficient instrument to assess the impact of herbivores that are in the National Park and other regions. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Ecology of Plant-Herbivore Interactions)
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