Articles tagged with Herbivores
The giant panda's temporomandibular joint and premolar teeth evolved to facilitate sideways movement of the jaw, allowing for efficient peeling of bamboo. This adaptation enabled pandas to access an endless source of nutrition in the early Pleistocene.
A new study challenges the idea that early humans hunted prehistoric elephants, mammoths, and mastodonts to extinction. Instead, it suggests that climate change played a significant role in their decline over millions of years.
Research finds herbivores weaken early emergers in California grass species, offsetting advantage of early germination. This discovery highlights the role of herbivory in shaping natural selection and evolutionary responses to global environmental changes.
Grazing by cattle and small herbivores reduces salt marsh erosion, contributing to nature-based coastal defense. Artificial mowing also increases erosion resistance by excluding burying animals from the soil.
Researchers found that plant-eaters diversified quickly after mass extinctions and evolved specialized features like powerful jaws to digest tough plants. This enabled them to thrive in environments with drying conditions and expanded groups of herbivores took over roles by pushing competitors aside.
Researchers found that blow fly larvae fed on carnivores in Indianapolis but herbivores in Yellowstone National Park, indicating competition for food sources. The study suggests that blow flies can serve as sentinels for animal response to climate change and environmental changes.
Researchers analyzed ankylosaurid skeleton from Mongolia's Baruungoyot Formation, finding evidence of adaptations for digging. The discovery sheds light on the behavior and habits of these ancient creatures.
Researchers found that an enzyme from tomato fruitworm caterpillars causes stomatal closure in plants, inhibiting defensive emissions like airborne plant volatiles. This study may yield insights into plant stress tolerance and potential strategies for improving crop resilience to climate change.
A University of Helsinki study reveals how micro-climate shapes insect communities, herbivory rates, and parasitism in the North. Climate change dramatically reshapes northern ecosystems.
A study found that herbivorous insects from lower elevations can alter alpine plant communities when introduced to higher elevations, leading to changes in biomass structure and composition. This disruption can favor the growth of small-stature plant species.
Scientists at UC San Diego have identified a biological switch, or receptor, that sounds an alarm in plants when herbivores attack, enabling plant recognition of danger. The discovery offers new strategies for improving plant health and resistance to crop pest damage.
The study found that singles are more likely to have lower incomes and less education than their romantically minded peers. About half of all singles say they are not interested in heterosexual relationships, with younger Japanese being more likely to express disinterest.
Research found that species-rich plant communities reduce herbivore impacts, supporting natural predators and providing less nutritious food for herbivores. This leads to increased plant biomass per square meter and lower damage from arthropod herbivores.
The study reveals distinct responses of Arabidopsis thaliana to two generalist caterpillar species, the cabbage looper and beet armyworm. Researchers found that plant defense mechanisms differ in response to these caterpillars, suggesting potential strategies for coping with herbivory.
The coconut rhinoceros beetle has shifted its host from coconut trees to Guam's endangered native cycad tree, Cycas microneica, due to the availability of large doses of starch in the cycad stems. This opportunistic host shift is threatening the local extinction of the region's only native gymnosperm.
Researchers analyzed fossilized teeth of ancient herbivores to reveal dietary shifts from woody vegetation to grasses and sedges, around 2.7-2 million years ago. The findings suggest that behavioral dietary changes can precede apparent morphological adaptations in hominins.
The study found that herbivore feces contain varying nutrient profiles depending on their body size. Larger-bodied herbivores leave dung with lower phosphorus and higher nitrogen-to-phosphorus ratios.
Research at the Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology found that strigolactones regulate plant defense against endophytic Trichobaris mucorea larvae by influencing jasmonate and auxin signaling pathways. This enables tobacco plants to produce defensive substances, increasing their tolerance to the weevil's attack.
Fossil records show a shift from mixed feeders to grazers in herbivore diets between 3.6 and 1.05 million years ago. This change coincides with the emergence of Paranthropus and suggests Australopithecus lived in a wooded ecosystem.
A global study by Utah State University researchers suggests that plant-eaters, including megaherbivores, are the most at-risk group for extinction. Human activities have led to the disproportionate extinction of herbivores compared to predators since the late Pleistocene.
A long-term study on cycads in Guam reveals that plant size and habitat traits significantly impact their mortality rate due to invasive species. The research found that larger plants with substantial stored resources are more likely to survive, while smaller plants and those in fragmented forests are more susceptible to damage.
Scientists used mass spectrometry and statistical measures to analyze plant metabolites in response to herbivore attack. The results show that plants regulate their metabolism directionally to produce effective defenses, supporting the theory of optimal defense.
Research on the Great Barrier Reef found severe coral loss is associated with increased biomass and productivity of large, long-living herbivorous fish. However, decreased recycling of this biomass could leave the ecosystem vulnerable to crashing.
Researchers find that introduced herbivores, like Escobar's hippos, restore important ecological traits lost due to human impacts. This is achieved through the introduction of species that share traits with extinct ones, such as giant llamas and semiaquatic habitats.
A new study comparing introduced herbivore species to those of the past reveals that these introductions have restored many important ecological traits that have been lost for thousands of years. Introduced megafauna are now ecologically similar to their extinct relatives, making the world more similar to its pre-extinction state.
Plant defenses against herbivory can impede resilience to elevated temperatures. The interplay between biotic and abiotic stresses suggests that jasmonate responses are enhanced by heat-shock protein HSP90.
A study reveals that predatory lacewing larvae can tolerate the toxic isothiocyanates produced by caterpillars of the diamondback moth, which are unable to detoxify glucosinolates. This difference in detoxification mechanism has no impact on lacewing fitness or prey choice.
Sweet potatoes use a unique terpene compound called DMNT to trigger a defense response in neighboring plants. This single-odor warning system protects the plant from herbivores and reduces the need for pesticides.
Researchers found that herbivores choose friends based on species with informative alarm calls, vigilance, and vulnerability to predators. This complex social world highlights the importance of communication between species for survival and conservation.
New research from Cornell University reveals that plants communicate with each other using airborne chemicals when under attack from pests. This phenomenon, known as open-channel communication, allows neighboring plants to pick up on warning signals and prepare for the perceived threat.
Researchers found that herbivores like cutworm larvae can detect and respond to plant volatiles, triggering an immune response and protecting against parasitoid attacks. This unique ability allows the insects to 'smell' chemicals and counteract, revealing a new mechanism of communication between plants and their enemies.
Researchers found that ants receiving protein from herbivorous arthropods increase their aggression in environments with scarce food supply. This discovery challenges the idea that only carbohydrates are offered by plants to protectants.
Researchers found ancient crocodile relatives had complex teeth indicating herbivory, appearing three to six times in the dataset. The findings suggest a veggie diet arose at least three times and possibly six times in the distant cousins of modern crocodiles shortly after mass extinctions.
Researchers have discovered that multiple ancient groups of crocodyliforms were not the carnivores they are known for, but rather plant-eaters. The study found evidence of herbivory in extinct relatives of modern crocodiles up to six times, suggesting a wide range of dietary ecologies.
Researchers used microscopic images to differentiate between carnivores and herbivores among lepidosauria species. Fine distinctions were made between algae-, fruit-, and mollusk-eating species, pointing towards the discovery of first herbivorous terrestrial vertebrates.
Researchers used nutritional geometry to assess giant pandas' macronutrient mix, revealing a high protein content similar to hypercarnivores. Despite their plant-based diet, pandas' energy intake comes from protein-rich bamboo, blurring the line between herbivore and carnivore.
A recent study reveals that giant pandas' protein and carbohydrate intake resembles a hypercarnivore's diet, with 50% of energy coming from protein. The findings suggest that the transition to an extreme specialized herbivorous diet was not as drastic as previously thought.
A new study finds that abundant herbivores diminish plants' attractiveness to pollinators but increase energy spent on producing offspring through autonomous self-pollination. Plants rapidly evolve defensive traits, like toxic compounds, to ward off herbivores while maintaining floral displays attractive to pollinators.
In a two-year greenhouse experiment, plants pollinated by bumblebees without herbivory evolved more attractive flowers, while those with herbivory had higher concentrations of defensive toxic metabolites. Plants developed a tendency to spontaneously self-pollinate when damaged by caterpillars.
Researchers found that whitefly-infested plants release volatiles that suppress jasmonic acid-dependent defenses and increase salicylic acid levels in neighboring plants. This allows the whiteflies to develop faster and supports their next generation.
A study in Panama's rainforest reveals that neighboring trees have different defensive traits and herbivores, impacting growth and survival. This finding suggests that climate change or habitat fragmentation will affect rainforest health.
A new study reveals that protected areas can help large herbivores rapidly recover from war-induced declines. The study found that total biomass has substantially recovered since 1994, but species composition has shifted dramatically, with formerly dominant herbivores now outnumbered by smaller antelopes.
A new study on Mozambique's Gorongosa National Park shows that the loss of top carnivores can have far-reaching consequences for prey and plant populations, turning 'landscapes of fear' into 'landscapes of fearlessness'. However, carnivore restoration in these areas could help reverse any ill effects of human activity.
Researchers discovered that the removal of large carnivores like leopards and hyenas led to an expansion of antelope species into open plains. Reintroducing these predators reversed this effect, causing antelopes to retreat to wooded areas, while plants flourished in their absence.
A study by NC State University found that urbanization and scale-insect abundance, rather than latitudinal warming, are key drivers of tree health in cities. In the Southeast US, cities at mid-latitudes showed poorer tree health due to high volumes of tree-destroying scale insects.
Insect-killing nematodes produce distinctive chemical cues that both plants and insects respond to, enhancing plant defenses and deterring Colorado potato beetle eggs. This discovery offers growers additional benefits from using EPNs for biological control of insect pests.
Research at UTSA finds that stressed plants can release compounds to defend against herbivores, halting growth but allowing recovery after threats subside. This adaptation enables plants to invest metabolic energy in growth again.
Herbivore species lost genes related to triglyceride digestion inhibition and pancreatic enzyme secretion, enabling efficient digestion. Carnivores lost genes linked to appetite regulation, glucose production, and detoxification of plant compounds, indicating reduced gut microbial diversity.
Researchers have identified a methyltransferase enzyme that enables wheat plants to adapt their defense response to different herbivores. The discovery reveals the multifunctional role of benzoxazinoids in regulating defense mechanisms, including the regulation of callose production to block aphid feeding.
A team of scientists found that herbivory has a complex relationship with plant diversity, but is crucial for maintaining biodiversity when dominant species are present. In some grasslands, herbivores help regulate the growth of fast-growing plants and promote smaller, slower-growing species.
The discovery of Lisowicia bojani, a massive four-legged creature from the Late Triassic period, suggests that mammalian ancestors could reach gigantic body sizes and challenge established beliefs about dicynodonts.
Scientists at the University of Plymouth study how seedling defense mechanisms change across large geographical scales. Researchers plan to assess the impact of latitude and altitude on plant resistance by examining snails' preferences for seedlings from various European regions.
A new study reveals that climate change is driving an increase in insect herbivory damage on plants, with warmer winters and urbanization having opposing effects. The research used herbarium specimens to track changes in insect damage over more than a century, providing valuable insights into the impact of climate change.
Researchers found a novel approach combining manual removal and native urchin outplanting effective in reducing invasive macroalgae on Hawaiian coral reefs. The method reduced algae growth by 85% over two years without harming corals or other reef species.
A new study reveals that African savanna herbivores can extract useful information from alarm calls of other species, particularly those with similar predators. The research found that herbivores respond strongly to alarm calls from vulnerable species, but also exhibit an independent effect of acoustic similarity.
A new study reveals that at least 114 plant species from around the world are capable of prolonged dormancy as adult plants, enabling them to survive through difficult times. This behaviour allows them to overcome short-term disadvantages and extend their lives.
A new study suggests that climate change could lead to increased body sizes in certain herbivores as plants become more nutritious. This is because larger herbivores can convert the foliage to energy more efficiently than smaller competitors.
A study published in Nature Communications found that reduced individual plant growth can benefit overall communities by controlling herbivore populations and indirectly supporting pollinators. This counterintuitive effect helps explain the persistence of some plant communities despite theory predicting their extinction.
Researchers found that competition and herbivory provide resilience against invasive species in certain marine protected areas. The study suggests that healthy kelp forests, with high levels of native algae, outcompete invasive species like Sargassum horneri.
A team of researchers found that goldenrod plants can detect a specific chemical compound emitted by gall-inducing flies, triggering a defense response. The plants respond strongly to E,S-conophthorin, a blend of chemicals that attracts females and fertilizes eggs.