Laboratory of Entomology, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Greenhouse Horticulture, Wageningen University, Wageningen, The Netherlands.
Plant Cell Environ. 2019 Jun;42(6):1882-1896. doi: 10.1111/pce.13520. Epub 2019 Mar 8.
Plant phenotypic plasticity in response to antagonists can affect other community members such as mutualists, conferring potential ecological costs associated with inducible plant defence. For flowering plants, induction of defences to deal with herbivores can lead to disruption of plant-pollinator interactions. Current knowledge on the full extent of herbivore-induced changes in flower traits is limited, and we know little about specificity of induction of flower traits and specificity of effect on flower visitors. We exposed flowering Brassica nigra plants to six insect herbivore species and recorded changes in flower traits (flower abundance, morphology, colour, volatile emission, nectar quantity, and pollen quantity and size) and the behaviour of two pollinating insects. Our results show that herbivory can affect multiple flower traits and pollinator behaviour. Most plastic floral traits were flower morphology, colour, the composition of the volatile blend, and nectar production. Herbivore-induced changes in flower traits resulted in positive, negative, or neutral effects on pollinator behaviour. Effects on flower traits and pollinator behaviour were herbivore species-specific. Flowers show extensive plasticity in response to antagonist herbivores, with contrasting effects on mutualist pollinators. Antagonists can potentially act as agents of selection on flower traits and plant reproduction via plant-mediated interactions with mutualists.
植物对拮抗剂的表型可塑性可以影响其他群落成员，如互惠共生者，从而产生与诱导植物防御相关的潜在生态成本。对于开花植物，诱导防御以应对草食动物可能会破坏植物-传粉者的相互作用。目前关于食草动物诱导的花特征变化的全部知识是有限的，我们对花特征的诱导特异性和对花访客的影响特异性知之甚少。我们将开花的黑芥植物暴露于六种昆虫食草动物中，并记录花特征（花的数量、形态、颜色、挥发性排放、花蜜量以及花粉数量和大小）和两种传粉昆虫的行为变化。我们的结果表明，食草性会影响多种花特征和传粉者行为。大多数可塑性花特征是花的形态、颜色、挥发性混合物的组成和花蜜的产生。食草动物诱导的花特征变化导致对传粉者行为产生积极、消极或中性的影响。对花特征和传粉者行为的影响因食草动物物种而异。花朵对拮抗食草动物表现出广泛的可塑性，对互惠共生的传粉者有相反的影响。通过与互惠共生者的植物介导相互作用，拮抗剂可能成为对花特征和植物繁殖选择的因素。
