ArticleAnnals of botany2013
Understanding ontogenetic trajectories of indirect defence: ecological and anatomical constraints in the production of extrafloral nectaries.
Article in Annals of botany, 2013. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 15 papers.
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15 citing papers in PubMed.
- Extrafloral Nectaries in Woody Plants: Toward an Integrated Framework for Ant-Mediated Plant Defense.Plants (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Review
- Patterns of Extrafloral Nectar Production inmicroPublication biology · 2025Article
- Ultrastructural changes during nectar secretion from extrafloral nectaries of Pithecellobium dulce Benth.Protoplasma · 2023Article
- Developmental constraints and resource environment shape early emergence and investment in spines in saplings.Annals of botany · 2020Article
- Ontogenetic trajectories of direct and indirect defenses of myrmecophytic plants colonized either by mutualistic or opportunistic ant species.Oecologia · 2019Article
- Testing the Distraction Hypothesis: Do extrafloral nectaries reduce ant-pollinator conflict?The Journal of ecology · 2019Article
- Ant species richness and interactions in canopies of two distinct successional stages in a tropical dry forest.Die Naturwissenschaften · 2019Article
- Risk of herbivore attack and heritability of ontogenetic trajectories in plant defense.Oecologia · 2018Article
- Ant-Pollinator Conflict Results in Pollinator Deterrence but no Nectar Trade-Offs.Frontiers in plant science · 2018Article
- Plant defence as a complex and changing phenotype throughout ontogeny.Annals of botany · 2015Article
- Floral volatiles interfere with plant attraction of parasitoids: ontogeny-dependent infochemical dynamics in Brassica rapa.BMC ecology · 2015Article
- Below-ground herbivory limits induction of extrafloral nectar by above-ground herbivores.Annals of botany · 2015Article
- Individual-based ant-plant networks: diurnal-nocturnal structure and species-area relationship.PloS one · 2014Article
- Specificity of extrafloral nectar induction by herbivores differs among native and invasive populations of tallow tree.Annals of botany · 2013Article
- Seedling-herbivore interactions: insights into plant defence and regeneration patterns.Annals of botany · 2013Review
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3 authors.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND AND
aimsEarly ontogenetic stages of myrmecophytic plants are infrequently associated with ants, probably due to constraints on the production of rewards. This study reports for the first time the anatomical and histological limitations constraining the production of extrafloral nectar in young plants, and the implications that the absence of protective ants imposes for plants early during their ontogeny are discussed.
methodsJuvenile, pre-reproductive and reproductive plants of Turnera velutina were selected in a natural population and their extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) per leaf were quantified. The anatomical and morphological changes in EFNs during plant ontogeny were studied using scanning electron and light microscopy. Extrafloral nectar volume and sugar concentration were determined as well as the number of patrolling ants. KEY
resultsJuvenile plants were unable to secrete or contain nectar. Pre-reproductive plants secreted and contained nectar drops, but the highest production was achieved at the reproductive stage when the gland is fully cup-shaped and the secretory epidermis duplicates. No ants were observed in juvenile plants, and reproductive individuals received greater ant patrolling than pre-reproductive individuals. The issue of the mechanism of extrafloral nectar release in T. velutina was solved given that we found an anatomical, transcuticular pore that forms a channel-like structure and allows nectar to flow outward from the gland.
conclusionsJuvenile stages had no ant protection against herbivores probably due to resource limitation but also due to anatomical constraints. The results are consistent with the growth-differentiation balance hypothesis. As plants age, they increase in size and have larger nutrient-acquiring, photosynthetic and storage capacity, so they are able to invest in defence via specialized organs, such as EFNs. Hence, the more vulnerable juvenile stage should rely on other defensive strategies to reduce the negative impacts of herbivory.
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