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Nitrogen-fixing and non-fixing trees differ in leaf chemistry and defence but not herbivory in a lowland Costa Rican rain forest

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  27 August 2019

Benton N. Taylor Open the ORCID record for Benton N. Taylor [Opens in a new window]  and
Laura R. Ostrowsky
Benton N. Taylor*
Affiliation:
Smithsonian Environmental Research Center, 647 Contees Wharf Rd., Edgewater, MD, USA21037
Laura R. Ostrowsky
Affiliation:
Yale University, School of Forestry & Environmental Studies, 195 Prospect St., New Haven, CT, USA06511
*
*Author for correspondence: Benton N. Taylor, Email: bentonneiltaylor@gmail.com
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Abstract

Nitrogen-fixing plants provide critical nitrogen inputs that support the high productivity of tropical forests, but our understanding of the ecology of nitrogen fixers – and especially their interactions with herbivores – remains incomplete. Herbivores may interact differently with nitrogen fixers vs. non-fixers due to differences in leaf nitrogen content and herbivore defence strategies. To examine these potential differences, our study compared leaf carbon, nitrogen, toughness, chemical defence and herbivory for four nitrogen-fixing tree species (Inga oerstediana, Inga sapindoides, Inga thibaudiana and Pentaclethra macroloba) and three non-fixing species (Anaxagorea crassipetala, Casearia arborea and Dipteryx panamensis) in a lowland tropical rain forest. Leaf chemical defence, not nutritional content, was the primary driver of herbivore damage among our species. Even though nitrogen fixers exhibited 21.1% higher leaf nitrogen content, 20.1% lower C:N ratios and 15.4% lower leaf toughness than non-fixers, we found no differences in herbivory or chemical defence between these two plant groups. Our results do not support the common hypotheses that nitrogen fixers experience preferential herbivory or that they produce more nitrogen-rich defensive compounds than non-fixers. Rather, these findings suggest strong species-specific differences in plant–herbivore relationships among both nitrogen-fixing and non-fixing tropical trees.

Keywords

Chemical leaf defenceherbivoryIngaleaf toughnessnitrogen fixationPentaclethra
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 35 , Issue 6 , November 2019 , pp. 270 - 279
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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