1. Slippery or sticky? Functional diversity in the trapping strategy of Nepenthes carnivorous plants
- Author
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Vincent Bonhomme, Laurence Gaume, Yoël Forterre, Hervé Pelloux-Prayer, Emmanuelle Jousselin, Jean-Jacques Labat, Botanique et Modélisation de l'Architecture des Plantes et des Végétations (UMR AMAP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), Centre de Biologie pour la Gestion des Populations (UMR CBGP), Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre international d'études supérieures en sciences agronomiques (Montpellier SupAgro)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud])-Institut national d’études supérieures agronomiques de Montpellier (Montpellier SupAgro), Institut universitaire des systèmes thermiques industriels (IUSTI), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Montpellier (UM)-Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA)-Centre de Coopération Internationale en Recherche Agronomique pour le Développement (Cirad)-Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD [France-Sud]), and Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)-Institut national d'enseignement supérieur pour l'agriculture, l'alimentation et l'environnement (Institut Agro)
- Subjects
0106 biological sciences ,Nepenthes rafflesiana ,Insecta ,Biological trade-off ,Physiology ,media_common.quotation_subject ,Leaf wax ,Caryophyllaceae ,Plant Science ,Insect ,Trapping ,Biology ,010603 evolutionary biology ,01 natural sciences ,Functional diversity ,Botany ,Animals ,Carnivorous pitcher plant ,media_common ,Nepenthes ,Trapping strategy ,Wax ,Ants ,Viscosity ,Ecology ,Diptera ,Viscoelasticity ,Digestive fluid ,biology.organism_classification ,Retention efficiency ,Plant Leaves ,Logistic Models ,Predatory Behavior ,Waxes ,visual_art ,visual_art.visual_art_medium ,[SDE.BE]Environmental Sciences/Biodiversity and Ecology ,010606 plant biology & botany - Abstract
ACL-11-48; International audience; The pitcher-shaped leaves of Nepenthes carnivorous plants have been considered as pitfall traps that essentially rely on slippery surfaces to capture insects. But a recent study of Nepenthes rafflesiana has shown that the viscoelasticity of the digestive fluid inside the pitchers plays a key role. Here, we investigated whether Nepenthes species exhibit diverse trapping strategies. We measured the amount of slippery wax on the pitcher walls of 23 taxa and the viscoelasticity of their digestive liquid and compared their retention efficiency on ants and flies. The amount of wax was shown to vary greatly between species. Most mountain species exhibited viscoelastic digestive fluids while water-like fluids were predominant in lowland species. Both characteristics contributed to insect trapping but wax was more efficient at trapping ants while viscoelasticity was key in trapping insects and was even more efficient than wax on flies. Trap waxiness and fluid viscoelasticity were inversely related, suggesting the possibility of an investment trade-off for the plants. Therefore Nepenthes pitcher plants do not solely employ slippery devices to trap insects but often employ a viscoelastic strategy. The entomofauna specific to the plant's habitat may exert selective pressures, favouring one trapping strategy at the expense of the other.
- Published
- 2011
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