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Impacts of a Seed Predator on Sundial Lupine

Shimola, Jennifer
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1372089475

Abstract Details

2013, Master of Science (MS), Bowling Green State University, Biological Sciences.
Sundial lupine, Lupinus perennis (L.), is a perennial flowering legume integral to maintaining reproductive populations of the federally endangered Karner Blue butterfly. The seed coats of L. perennis are polymorphic, with variable amounts of dark speckling ranging from light to heavily speckled against a white to gray background. In this legume species, darker seeds may contain secondary metabolites like tannins and anthocyanins, which may be associated with deterring seed predation. Other studies have found lighter colored seeds to have weaker seed coats, be more digestible, and have higher nutritional value than darker seeds. The chemical and physical traits of lighter seed coats could make this seed type more desirable for seed predators as well as agriculturalists. The seeds of L. perennis are a known food source of ant-mimicking alydid insects, Megalotomus quinquespinosus and Alydus spp. This study explored whether alydids have a preference for seed coat color variants of L. perennis and simultaneously determined the relative abundance of this seed predator and the frequency of L. perennis seed colors in field surveys of ten populations. We expected to find that 1) alydids would be found at greater frequencies when lighter seeds were present and 2) the most amount of time during a seed choice experiment will be spent interacting with lighter seeds. We also measured environmental characteristics to determine whether other factors may be playing a role in the distribution of L. perennis seed color or alydids. We expected soil characteristics to camouflage seeds, canopy cover and litter depth would influence site productivity, and that greater food availability would increase alydid abundance. Populations of L. perennis were surveyed for seed color frequencies, alydid frequencies, environmental variables, and the presence of other legume species. Sites were confirmed to differ in the amount of speckling and proportion of seeds with speckling present. Seed speckling was impacted by soil characteristics, canopy cover, and pod abundance. Alydid abundance was impacted by food availability (pod abundance and the presence of other legumes), soil characteristics, and the amount of speckling. Fewer alydids were found in populations with darker speckled seeds. A multiple choice behavioral experiment was performed on adult M. quinquespinosus to clarify findings of the population survey. There was no significant difference in alydid behavior with different seed colors, though we observed a trend of greater time interacting, a greater proportion of time, and more frequent visits to darker seeds. Based on the findings of our population survey and behavioral experiment, alydids did not have a strong preference for lighter seed colors in L. perennis. Some explanations for the differences in seed color abundance among sites are that seed color is random or undergoing selective pressures that we did not consider such as post-dispersal seed predators, the attraction of beneficial microbes, maintaining non-synchronous germination, or pleiotropic effects. Understanding whether this seed color polymorphism is important to L. perennis fitness may be important in future management decisions and should be further studied.
Helen Michaels, Dr. (Advisor)
Randy Mitchell, Dr. (Committee Member)
Daniel Pavuk, Dr. (Committee Member)
Daniel Wiegmann, Dr. (Committee Member)
80 p.
Biology; Ecology
seed predation; plant insect interactions; seed color; alydids

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Shimola, J. (2013). Impacts of a Seed Predator on Sundial Lupine [Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1372089475

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Shimola, Jennifer. Impacts of a Seed Predator on Sundial Lupine. 2013. Bowling Green State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1372089475.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Shimola, Jennifer. "Impacts of a Seed Predator on Sundial Lupine." Master's thesis, Bowling Green State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=bgsu1372089475

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

bgsu1372089475
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© 2013, all rights reserved.
This open access ETD is published by Bowling Green State University and OhioLINK.