Topic
Mimulus bolanderi
About: Mimulus bolanderi is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 2 publications have been published within this topic receiving 33 citations.
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TL;DR: Further germination experiments that elucidate the response of several widespread shrub species whose germination response was not clear are reported and include other species from the Sierra Nevada, which have not previously been included in germination studies.
Abstract: The California chaparral community has a rich flora of species with different mechanisms for cuing germination to postfire conditions. Here we report further germination experiments that elucidate the response of several widespread shrub species whose germination response was not clear and include other species from the Sierra Nevada, which have not previously been included in germination studies. The shrubs Adenostoma fasciculatum and Eriodictyon crassifolium and the postfire annual Mentzelia dispersa exhibited highly significant germination in response to smoke treatments, with some enhanced germination in response to heating as well. The shrubs Fremontodendron californicum and Malacothamnus fremontii were stimulated only by heat-shock treatments. Seeds buried in the soil for one year exhibited substantially higher germination for controls and most treatments. In the case of two postfire annuals, Mimulus bolanderi and M. gracilipes, germination of fresh seed was significantly greater with smoke...
31 citations
TL;DR: 1. Many sticky plants provision mutualistic scavenging arthropod predators with carrion, which in turn protect the plant from insect herbivores, which plants attract these predators and may derive protection.
Abstract: 1. Many sticky plants provision mutualistic scavenging arthropod predators with carrion, which in turn protect the plant from insect herbivores. While insect entrapment is a common trait across plants, which plants attract these predators and may derive protection is still largely unknown.
2. Three conditions were proposed that must be satisfied for observational data to suggest this defensive strategy: (i) the consistent presence of scavenging predators, (ii) positive correlation between predator numbers and carrion, and (iii) suitability of these predators for controlling known herbivores.
3. As a case study, we examined the fire-following annual, Mimulus [Diplacus] bolanderi (Phyrmaceae), which is part of a well-studied radiation of California monkeyflowers. Many monkeyflowers entrap insects, though attraction to predators has not been quantified in this genus.
4. A guild of scavenging arthropod predators on M. bolanderi (condition #1) was found, which correlated positively with carrion abundance (#2) and could consume the primary herbivore (#3), suggesting a carrion-mediated defensive strategy. Lastly, as M. bolanderi is variable in time and space, these interactions are facultative, and these predators are quick to adopt ephemeral carrion resources on novel host plants.
6 citations