Ecological study on the adaptive significance of autumn leaf colouration

两个假说解释的适应意义的秋叶颜色（协同进化假说：颜色是一个诚实的警告信号，树木防御草食动物，三营养相互作用假说：颜色吸引myrmecophilous蚜虫在秋季和明年春天蚂蚁参加蚜虫保卫树木从草食动物）进行了测试，在现场使用3个树种的4个网站。这两种假设都没有得到支持。但两个树种秋季叶色与对植食性昆虫的抗性之间存在显著相关。通过对150多种植物春、秋季新老叶颜色的比较，发现许多植物春、秋季新老叶颜色不同，说明自然选择对春、秋季叶色的作用不同。

Two hypotheses explaining the adaptive significance of autumn leaf colors (coevolution hypothesis: the color is an honest warning signal of tree defence against herbivores, tritrophic interaction hypothesis: the color attracts myrmecophilous aphids in autumn and in next spring ants attending the aphids defend trees from herbivores) were tested in the field using three tree species of four sites. Neither hypotheses were supported. However, in two tree species, there was significant correlation between autumn leaf colors and resistance against herbivorous insects. The comparison of colors of new spring leaves with those of old autumn leaves in more than 150 plant species revealed that in many species the colors of new leaves were different from those of old leaves, suggesting different natural selection acting on leaf colors between in spring and in autumn.