BIOL208 Lecture Notes - Lecture 23: Volatile Organic Compound, Monarch Butterfly, Chemoreceptor
Document Summary
Oct 27, 2014: herbivore defense, predator avoidance strategies. In herbivory, the plant is in worse shape because there is reduction in fitness, there is selection in plants to develop strategies. There is resistance (traits which prevent damage) and tolerance (how plants recover from being eaten): overcompensation is a really good form of tolerance. Plant defense strategies: mechanical defense (anything prickly, production of latex (milky substance is a physical deterrent the herbivore is unable to eat it, chemical defense chemical compounds produced by plants, the toxic chemical kill, harm and repel. Some of them have learnt to adapt to these plant defenses (toxic compounds) such as monarch butterflies are specialists. Protect oneself; predators: constitutive defense: baseline defense (protect leaves, producing chemicals for protection is expensive, energy is being spent in this instead of growing such as reproduction and growth. There is an increase in trichomes in the leaves. Camouflage: example, snake in sand, seahorse hiding in coral.