Plants mount a variety of responses to herbivory, and many of these are thought to have significant physiological and ecological costs. Physiological costs result from a reallocation of resources from growth to defense, while ecological costs result from changes in flower morphology that lower pollination success. The goal of this project is to quantify these two fitness costs. The investigator proposes a series of manipulative laboratory and field experiments with native Solanum species to measure plant morphological, metabolic and reproductive responses to leaf herbivory. The data collected will test two main hypotheses: first, that herbivore-induced changes reduce the quality of the 'reward' to pollinators and second, that plants compensate for reduced pollinator attraction by increasing the extent of inbreeding and reducing pollen competition. The research focuses on herbivore-induced morphological and metabolic changes in flowers and the consequences of those changes for the pollination of two wild tomato species, the facultative outcrosser Solanum chmielewski and the selfer S. neorickii, both native to the Peruvian Andes.

This integrative research will evaluate the role and impact of herbivore-induced plant responses on the composition of arthropod communities and plant fitness and identify costs of induced plant responses. It will evaluate the role of phenotypic plasticity in plant-insect coevolution and in compensating for major physiological and ecological costs, thereby expanding our understanding of the ecological importance of phenotypic plasticity. The data collected will contribute substantially to the sustainable utilization of plant defenses in agriculture. The project is part of a larger integrative research network (ECO-SOL) under the umbrella of the Solanaceae Genome Project to close the knowledge gap around the natural history and ecology of the wild relatives of domesticated tomato. The investigator's multidisciplinary approach will provide solid training and education for a postdoctoral researcher, graduate and undergraduate students, and middle school students.

Agency
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Institute
Division of Environmental Biology (DEB)
Type
Standard Grant (Standard)
Application #
0717139
Program Officer
Saran Twombly
Project Start
Project End
Budget Start
2007-09-01
Budget End
2010-08-31
Support Year
Fiscal Year
2007
Total Cost
$120,000
Indirect Cost
Name
Cornell Univ - State: Awds Made Prior May 2010
Department
Type
DUNS #
City
Ithica
State
NY
Country
United States
Zip Code
14850