Olfactory misinformation provides refuge to palatable plants from mammalian browsing
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Date
Authors
Finnerty, Patrick B.
Possell, Malcolm
Banks, Peter
Orlando, Cristian Gabriel
Price, Catherine J.
Shrader, A.M. (Adrian)
McArthur, Clare
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Nature Research
Abstract
Mammalian herbivores browse palatable plants of ecological and
economical value. Undesirable neighbours can reduce browsing to these
plants by providing ‘associational refuge’, but they can also compete for
resources. Here we recreated the informative odour emitted by undesirable
plants. We then tested whether this odour could act as virtual neighbours,
providing browsing refuge to palatable eucalyptus tree seedlings. We found
that protection using this method was equivalent to protection provided by
real plants. Palatable seedlings were 17–20 times more likely to be eaten by
herbivores without virtual, or real, neighbours. Because many herbivores
use plant odour to forage, virtual neighbours could provide a useful
practical management approach to help protect valued plants.
Description
DATA AVAILABILITY : The datasets generated during and/or analysed during the current
study are available in the Sydney eScholarship Repository27 (https://
hdl.handle.net/2123/31657). Supplementary Data 1 provides a complete
odour profile from odour headspace sampling undertaken.
Keywords
Mammalian herbivores, Plants, Economical value, Associational refuge, SDG-15: Life on land
Sustainable Development Goals
SDG-15:Life on land
Citation
Finnerty, P.B., Possell, M., Banks, P.B. et al. 2024, 'Olfactory misinformation provides refuge to palatable plants from mammalian browsing', Nature Ecology and Evolution, vol. 8, pp. 645-650. https://DOI.org/10.1038/s41559-024-02330-x.