BIOA02H3 Lecture Notes - Lecture 12: Kalahari Desert, Lithops, Herbivore

• School: UTSC
• Department: Biological Sciences
• Course: BIOA02H3
• Professor: Ivana Stehlik

Document Summary

All non-plants depend directly or indirectly on plants for food. Herbivory is the most common plant/insect interaction insect mostly try to eat plants at night. Primary compounds = products of photosynthesis, protein synthesis (production is used in basic plant processes) Secondary compounds = products w/ no direct function w/ metabolism. Typically used for chemical warfar against herbivores. Herbivore species typically only have chemicals specialized to overcome one plant species, not a a diverse amount of them. Defense can always be present systemic. Defense can be induced by heribovre attacks. Physical defense is mostly systemic, chemical is mostly induced. Trichomes: umbrellas for shilelding from sunlight, providing micro-climate also make it harder for herbivores to access the plant leaf. Passive hiding: eg. lithops (pebble plants) in the kalahari desert are always hiding rarely ever get eaten b/c hide w/i rocks. Active hiding: eg. touching leaves within seconds of touching the leaves, they begin to fold triggered by electrical impulses.