Tritrophic interactions in plant defense

Ants attracted by the nutritional reward provided by extrafloral nectaries of a Drynaria quercifolia frond participate in a three-part interaction of plant, herbivorous insects, and themselves as predators.

Tritrophic interactions in plant defense against herbivory describe the ecological impacts of three trophic levels on each other: the plant, the herbivore, and its natural enemies. They may also be called multitrophic interactions when further trophic levels, such as soil microbes, endophytes, or hyperparasitoids (higher-order predators) are considered.[1][2] Tritrophic interactions join pollination and seed dispersal as vital biological functions which plants perform via cooperation with animals.[3]

Natural enemies—predators, pathogens, and parasitoids that attack plant-feeding insects—can benefit plants by hindering the feeding behavior of the harmful insect. It is thought that many plant traits have evolved in response to this mutualism to make themselves more attractive to natural enemies. This recruitment of natural enemies functions to protect against excessive herbivory and is considered an indirect plant defense mechanism.[3] Traits attractive to natural enemies can be physical, as in the cases of domatia and nectaries;[1] or chemical, as in the case of induced plant volatile chemicals that help natural enemies pinpoint a food source.[4]

Humans can take advantage of tritrophic interactions in the biological control of insect pests.

  1. ^ a b Price, Peter W. (2011). Insect Ecology : Behavior, Populations and Communities (4th ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-0-521-83488-9.
  2. ^ Lehtonen, Päivi; Helander, Marjo; Wink, Michael; Sporer, Frank; Saikkonen, Kari (12 October 2005). "Transfer of endophyte-origin defensive alkaloids from a grass to a hemiparasitic plant". Ecology Letters. 8 (12): 1256–1263. Bibcode:2005EcolL...8.1256L. doi:10.1111/j.1461-0248.2005.00834.x.
  3. ^ a b Heil, Martin (2008). "Indirect defence via tritrophic interactions". New Phytologist. 178 (1): 41–61. doi:10.1111/j.1469-8137.2007.02330.x. PMID 18086230.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference :0 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).