The role of plant chemical defences in the population ecology of mammal herbivores

植物化学防御在哺乳动物食草动物种群生态中的作用

• 批准号: DP0449621
• 负责人: Prof Christopher Johnson
• 金额: $ 18.8万
• 依托单位: James Cook University
• 依托单位国家: 澳大利亚
• 项目类别: Discovery Projects
• 财政年份: 2004
• 资助国家: 澳大利亚
• 起止时间: 2004-01-01 至 2006-12-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://dataportal.arc.gov.au/RGS/Web/Grants/DP0449621
• 关键词: role; plant; chemical; defences; population

Plants defend themselves against herbivores by producing toxic compounds in their leaves. Many studies show that such compounds influence diet selection by mammal herbivores, but we understand much less about their effects on populations of such species. This project will investigate how concentrations of leaf toxins in eucalypts affect reproductive success, distribution and abundance of the marsupials that feed on them. The knowledge gained by this study will be important in modelling populations of these marsupial species and predicting their responses to environmental change.

植物通过在叶子中产生有毒化合物来保护自己免受食草动物的伤害。许多研究表明，这些化合物会影响哺乳动物食草动物的饮食选择，但我们对它们对这类物种种群的影响知之甚少。这个项目将调查桉树叶毒素的浓度如何影响以桉树为食的有袋类动物的繁殖成功、分布和丰度。通过这项研究获得的知识将对这些有袋类物种的种群建模和预测它们对环境变化的反应具有重要意义。