Johnson, S.N. orcid.org/0000-0002-8388-8345, Waterman, J.M. orcid.org/0000-0003-1782-827X, Hartley, S.E. orcid.org/0000-0002-5117-687X et al. (4 more authors) (2024) Plant silicon defences suppress herbivore performance, but mode of feeding is key. Ecology Letters, 27 (10). e14519. ISSN 1461-023X
Abstract
The performance of herbivorous animals depends on the nutritional and defensive traits of the plants they consume. The uptake and deposition of biogenic silicon in plant tissues is arguably the most basic and ubiquitous anti-herbivore defence used by plants, especially grasses. We conducted meta-analyses of 150 studies reporting how vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores performed when feeding on silicon-rich plants relative to those feeding on low-silicon plants. Silicon levels were 52% higher and 32% more variable in silicon-rich plants compared to plants with low silicon, which resulted in an overall 33% decline in herbivore performance. Fluid-feeding herbivore performance was less adversely impacted (−14%) than tissue-chewing herbivores, including mammals (−45%), chewing arthropods (−33%) and plant-boring arthropods (−39%). Fluid-feeding arthropods with a wide diet breadth or those feeding on perennial plant species were mostly unaffected by silicon defences. Unlike many other plant defences, where diet specialisation often helps herbivores overcome their effects, silicon negatively impacts chewing herbivores regardless of diet breadth. We conclude that silicon defences primarily target chewing herbivores and impact vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores to a similar degree.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2024 The Author(s). Ecology Letters published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. |
Keywords: | grazers; herbivory; insects; mammals; meta‐analysis; plant defence; silica; silicon |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of Sheffield |
Academic Units: | The University of Sheffield > Vice-Chancellor's Office (Sheffield) |
Depositing User: | Symplectic Sheffield |
Date Deposited: | 22 Oct 2024 10:21 |
Last Modified: | 22 Oct 2024 10:21 |
Status: | Published |
Publisher: | Wiley |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/ele.14519 |
Related URLs: | |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:218628 |