Get tough, get toxic or get a bodyguard: how root herbivores shape grass defences

在澳大利亚的牧场上，以根为食的甲虫的重量可能超过绵羊，并可能导致生产力的显著损失。草类使用坚韧(身体防御)、毒性(化学防御)和保镖(招募食草动物的敌人)来反击地上食草动物。然而，人们对地下防御知之甚少，但草依靠根重新生长，因此良好的根防御似乎是必不可少的。这项研究将应用最优防御理论来考虑这三种防御措施，以对抗一系列草本植物的地下食草性疾病。该项目将询问驯化是否解除了草类物种的武装，以及光合作用途径之间的防御特征是否有所不同，然后用根食性食草动物种群对这些模式进行实地测试。

The weight of root-feeding beetles can exceed that of sheep on Australian pastures and can result in significant losses in productivity. Grasses fight back against aboveground herbivores using toughness (physical defence), toxicity (chemical defence) and bodyguards (recruitment of the herbivore’s enemies). Little is known about belowground defences however, but grasses depend on roots for re-growth so good root defences seem essential. This study will apply optimal defence theory to consider these three defences against belowground herbivory across a range of grasses. The project will ask whether domestication has disarmed grass species and if defensive traits differ between photosynthetic pathways, before field-testing these patterns with root herbivore populations.