Jones Anthea S, Lamont Byron B, Fairbanks Meredith M, Rafferty Christine M
Department of Environmental Biology, Curtin University of Technology, GPO Box U1987, Perth, Western Australia 6845, Australia.
J Chem Ecol. 2003 Dec;29(12):2621-35. doi: 10.1023/b:joec.0000008008.91498.62.
Preliminary studies indicate that western grey kangaroos browse seedlings of non-Myrtaceae species rather than Myrtaceae. Seven morphologically-matched species pairs of Myrtaceae/non-Myrtaceae placed at three field sites showed that kangaroos avoided the essential-oil-containing Myrtaceae, but readily consumed the matched essential-oil-lacking non-Myrtaceae. The one exception (Pittosporaceae) had limited herbivory and was later found to possess two essential oils in its leaves. Gas chromatography and mass-spectra showed the seven Myrtaceae plants contain between 2 and 9 essential oils in their leaves, particularly the highly volatile monoterpene, 2,5-dimethyl-3-methylene-1,5-heptadine. Three of the above species pairs were used to gauge their effectiveness as nurse plants for a highly palatable legume. Plants placed beside Myrtaceae nurse plants were less browsed than those placed beside non-Myrtaceae nurse plants. We conclude that western grey kangaroos use olfactory cues to avoid foliage containing potentially toxic essential oils, and that this also has implications for seedling recruitment patterns in regenerating communities.
初步研究表明，西部灰袋鼠啃食非桃金娘科植物的幼苗，而非桃金娘科植物。在三个野外地点放置的七对形态匹配的桃金娘科/非桃金娘科物种表明，袋鼠避开了含精油的桃金娘科植物，但很容易食用与之匹配的不含精油的非桃金娘科植物。唯一的例外（海桐花科）食草情况有限，后来发现其叶子中含有两种精油。气相色谱和质谱分析表明，这七种桃金娘科植物的叶子中含有2至9种精油，尤其是高挥发性单萜2,5-二甲基-3-亚甲基-1,5-庚二烯。上述物种对中有三对被用来评估它们作为一种高度可口豆科植物的护根植物的有效性。与放置在非桃金娘科护根植物旁边的植物相比，放置在桃金娘科护根植物旁边的植物被啃食的较少。我们得出结论，西部灰袋鼠利用嗅觉线索来避开含有潜在有毒精油的树叶，这也对再生群落中的幼苗补充模式有影响。
