Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes

It has long been believed that plant species from the tropics have higher levels of traits associated with resistance to herbivores than do species from higher latitudes. A meta-analysis recently showed that the published literature does not support this theory. However, the idea has never been test...

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Main Authors:	Moles, A., Wallis, I., Foley, W., Warton, D., Stegen, J., Bisigato, A., Cella-Pizarro, L., Clark, C., Cohen, P., Cornwell, W., Edwards, W., Ejrnaes, R., Gonzalez-Ojeda, T., Graae, B., Hay, G., Lumbwe, F., Magana-Rodriquez, B., Moore, B., Peri, P., Poulsen, J., Veldtman, R., von Zeipel, H., Andrew, N., Boulter, S., Borer, E., Fernandez Campon, F., Coll, M., Farji-Brener, A., De Gabriel, J., Jurado, E., Kyhn, L., Low, B., Mulder, C., Reardon-Smith, K., Velazquez-Rodriguez, J., Seabloom, E., Vesk, P., Cauter, A., Waldram, M., Zheng, Z., Blendinger, P., Enquist, B., Facelli, J., Knight, T., Majer, Jonathan, Martinez-Ramos, M., McQuillan, P., Prior, L.
Format:	Journal Article
Published:	Blackwell Science Limited 2011
Online Access:	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13365

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author	Moles, A. Wallis, I. Foley, W. Warton, D. Stegen, J. Bisigato, A. Cella-Pizarro, L. Clark, C. Cohen, P. Cornwell, W. Edwards, W. Ejrnaes, R. Gonzalez-Ojeda, T. Graae, B. Hay, G. Lumbwe, F. Magana-Rodriquez, B. Moore, B. Peri, P. Poulsen, J. Veldtman, R. von Zeipel, H. Andrew, N. Boulter, S. Borer, E. Fernandez Campon, F. Coll, M. Farji-Brener, A. De Gabriel, J. Jurado, E. Kyhn, L. Low, B. Mulder, C. Reardon-Smith, K. Velazquez-Rodriguez, J. Seabloom, E. Vesk, P. Cauter, A. Waldram, M. Zheng, Z. Blendinger, P. Enquist, B. Facelli, J. Knight, T. Majer, Jonathan Martinez-Ramos, M. McQuillan, P. Prior, L.
author_facet	Moles, A. Wallis, I. Foley, W. Warton, D. Stegen, J. Bisigato, A. Cella-Pizarro, L. Clark, C. Cohen, P. Cornwell, W. Edwards, W. Ejrnaes, R. Gonzalez-Ojeda, T. Graae, B. Hay, G. Lumbwe, F. Magana-Rodriquez, B. Moore, B. Peri, P. Poulsen, J. Veldtman, R. von Zeipel, H. Andrew, N. Boulter, S. Borer, E. Fernandez Campon, F. Coll, M. Farji-Brener, A. De Gabriel, J. Jurado, E. Kyhn, L. Low, B. Mulder, C. Reardon-Smith, K. Velazquez-Rodriguez, J. Seabloom, E. Vesk, P. Cauter, A. Waldram, M. Zheng, Z. Blendinger, P. Enquist, B. Facelli, J. Knight, T. Majer, Jonathan Martinez-Ramos, M. McQuillan, P. Prior, L.
author_sort	Moles, A.
building	Curtin Institutional Repository
collection	Online Access
description	It has long been believed that plant species from the tropics have higher levels of traits associated with resistance to herbivores than do species from higher latitudes. A meta-analysis recently showed that the published literature does not support this theory. However, the idea has never been tested using data gathered with consistent methods from a wide range of latitudes. We quantified the relationship between latitude and a broad range of chemical and physical traits across 301 species from 75 sites world-wide. Six putative resistance traits, including tannins, the concentration of lipids (an indicator of oils, waxes and resins), and leaf toughness were greater in high-latitude species. Six traits, including cyanide production and the presence of spines, were unrelated to latitude. Only ash content (an indicator of inorganic substances such as calcium oxalates and phytoliths) and the properties of species with delayed greening were higher in the tropics. Our results do not support the hypothesis that tropical plants have higher levels of resistance traits than do plants from higher latitudes. If anything, plants have higher resistance toward the poles. The greater resistance traits of high-latitude species might be explained by the greater cost of losing a given amount of leaf tissue in low-productivity environments.
first_indexed	2025-11-14T07:03:18Z
format	Journal Article
id	curtin-20.500.11937-13365
institution	Curtin University Malaysia
institution_category	Local University
last_indexed	2025-11-14T07:03:18Z
publishDate	2011
publisher	Blackwell Science Limited
recordtype	eprints
repository_type	Digital Repository
spelling	curtin-20.500.11937-133652017-09-13T14:58:12Z Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes Moles, A. Wallis, I. Foley, W. Warton, D. Stegen, J. Bisigato, A. Cella-Pizarro, L. Clark, C. Cohen, P. Cornwell, W. Edwards, W. Ejrnaes, R. Gonzalez-Ojeda, T. Graae, B. Hay, G. Lumbwe, F. Magana-Rodriquez, B. Moore, B. Peri, P. Poulsen, J. Veldtman, R. von Zeipel, H. Andrew, N. Boulter, S. Borer, E. Fernandez Campon, F. Coll, M. Farji-Brener, A. De Gabriel, J. Jurado, E. Kyhn, L. Low, B. Mulder, C. Reardon-Smith, K. Velazquez-Rodriguez, J. Seabloom, E. Vesk, P. Cauter, A. Waldram, M. Zheng, Z. Blendinger, P. Enquist, B. Facelli, J. Knight, T. Majer, Jonathan Martinez-Ramos, M. McQuillan, P. Prior, L. It has long been believed that plant species from the tropics have higher levels of traits associated with resistance to herbivores than do species from higher latitudes. A meta-analysis recently showed that the published literature does not support this theory. However, the idea has never been tested using data gathered with consistent methods from a wide range of latitudes. We quantified the relationship between latitude and a broad range of chemical and physical traits across 301 species from 75 sites world-wide. Six putative resistance traits, including tannins, the concentration of lipids (an indicator of oils, waxes and resins), and leaf toughness were greater in high-latitude species. Six traits, including cyanide production and the presence of spines, were unrelated to latitude. Only ash content (an indicator of inorganic substances such as calcium oxalates and phytoliths) and the properties of species with delayed greening were higher in the tropics. Our results do not support the hypothesis that tropical plants have higher levels of resistance traits than do plants from higher latitudes. If anything, plants have higher resistance toward the poles. The greater resistance traits of high-latitude species might be explained by the greater cost of losing a given amount of leaf tissue in low-productivity environments. 2011 Journal Article http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13365 10.1111/j.1469-8137.2011.03732.x Blackwell Science Limited unknown
spellingShingle	Moles, A. Wallis, I. Foley, W. Warton, D. Stegen, J. Bisigato, A. Cella-Pizarro, L. Clark, C. Cohen, P. Cornwell, W. Edwards, W. Ejrnaes, R. Gonzalez-Ojeda, T. Graae, B. Hay, G. Lumbwe, F. Magana-Rodriquez, B. Moore, B. Peri, P. Poulsen, J. Veldtman, R. von Zeipel, H. Andrew, N. Boulter, S. Borer, E. Fernandez Campon, F. Coll, M. Farji-Brener, A. De Gabriel, J. Jurado, E. Kyhn, L. Low, B. Mulder, C. Reardon-Smith, K. Velazquez-Rodriguez, J. Seabloom, E. Vesk, P. Cauter, A. Waldram, M. Zheng, Z. Blendinger, P. Enquist, B. Facelli, J. Knight, T. Majer, Jonathan Martinez-Ramos, M. McQuillan, P. Prior, L. Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
title	Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
title_full	Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
title_fullStr	Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
title_full_unstemmed	Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
title_short	Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
title_sort	putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes
url	http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/13365

Putting plant resistance traits on the map: a test of the idea that plants are better defended at lower latitudes

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