A double-edged sword: what was thought to be a defense mechanism turns out to be an attractive feature (paper 4)
Over the years, plants have adapted many features that act as defense mechanisms and help to protect the plant from harmful predators. In a 2014 study, Kevin D. Kohl et al. observed the efficiency of cactus spines as a defensive mechanism by studying white-throated woodrats, Neotoma albigula. These woodrats are herbivorous rats that are commonly found in the southwestern region of the United States. Kohl et al. studied the collection and feeding preference, as well as feeding manner of woodrats as they react to different cactus types: ‘spiny’ cacti, ‘de-spined’ cacti and ‘non-spiny’ cacti. It was observed that N. albigula demonstrated …show more content…
Plants use many defensive mechanisms such as toxic chemical compounds or structural defenses including spines, thorns, hair, or thicker leaves to protect themselves from predators. On the flip side, as these plants adjust to different situations, their predators are adapting as well. The white-throated woodrat in this experiment strategically slides between cacti needles to be able to consume the flesh of the cactus. After the woodrats are finished, they gather the leftover spines from the cacti and use them to line their nests in an effort to ward off other predators (Gruber 2014). Though the spines were intended to scare off predators to help the cacti survive, the spines were actually found to be somewhat attractive to woodrats and lure them in. Along with this, the white-throated woodrats tend to use the cacti’s defense mechanisms as their own by either bringing the spines back to their nests or building their nests next to the spiney …show more content…
to conclude that their prediction was correct: cacti spines are an ineffective defense mechanism due to the behavioral adaptions of Neotoma albigula. The white-throated woodrat exhibited distinctive behaviors such as clipping cactus spines to get past the structural defenses put up by the plant. It appeared to be that the spines on cacti acted as a signal in attracting woodrats. With this being said, researches proved that N. albigula strongly prefer to collect and consume spiny cactus compared to de-spined cacti. A majority of the woodrats collected spiny cactus and took them back to their home. On the other hand the two woodrats that were born in captivity did not show this behavior. They did however build their nests next to the spiny cacti in the maze. After all experiments were concluded, the data showed that no animals collected the non-spiny cactus pieces at all. After further research, it was determined that spiny cacti were perhaps favored more for having a higher protein content and lower fiber content compared to the non-spiny cacti in the
Over the years, plants have adapted many features that act as defense mechanisms and help to protect the plant from harmful predators. In a 2014 study, Kevin D. Kohl et al. observed the efficiency of cactus spines as a defensive mechanism by studying white-throated woodrats, Neotoma albigula. These woodrats are herbivorous rats that are commonly found in the southwestern region of the United States. Kohl et al. studied the collection and feeding preference, as well as feeding manner of woodrats as they react to different cactus types: ‘spiny’ cacti, ‘de-spined’ cacti and ‘non-spiny’ cacti. It was observed that N. albigula demonstrated …show more content…
Plants use many defensive mechanisms such as toxic chemical compounds or structural defenses including spines, thorns, hair, or thicker leaves to protect themselves from predators. On the flip side, as these plants adjust to different situations, their predators are adapting as well. The white-throated woodrat in this experiment strategically slides between cacti needles to be able to consume the flesh of the cactus. After the woodrats are finished, they gather the leftover spines from the cacti and use them to line their nests in an effort to ward off other predators (Gruber 2014). Though the spines were intended to scare off predators to help the cacti survive, the spines were actually found to be somewhat attractive to woodrats and lure them in. Along with this, the white-throated woodrats tend to use the cacti’s defense mechanisms as their own by either bringing the spines back to their nests or building their nests next to the spiney …show more content…
to conclude that their prediction was correct: cacti spines are an ineffective defense mechanism due to the behavioral adaptions of Neotoma albigula. The white-throated woodrat exhibited distinctive behaviors such as clipping cactus spines to get past the structural defenses put up by the plant. It appeared to be that the spines on cacti acted as a signal in attracting woodrats. With this being said, researches proved that N. albigula strongly prefer to collect and consume spiny cactus compared to de-spined cacti. A majority of the woodrats collected spiny cactus and took them back to their home. On the other hand the two woodrats that were born in captivity did not show this behavior. They did however build their nests next to the spiny cacti in the maze. After all experiments were concluded, the data showed that no animals collected the non-spiny cactus pieces at all. After further research, it was determined that spiny cacti were perhaps favored more for having a higher protein content and lower fiber content compared to the non-spiny cacti in the