| Title: | Unpalatable plants induce a species-specific associational effect on neighboring communities |
| Author(s): | Erfanian MB; Memariani F; Atashgahi Z; Mesdaghi M; Saeedi M; Darrudi M; Hamedian M; Hosseini S; Ejtehadi H; |
| Address: | "Quantitative Plant Ecology and Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, PO BOX 9177948974, Mashhad, Iran. Herbarium FUMH, Department of Botany, Research Center for Plant Sciences, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. Department of Range and Watershed Management, Faculty of Natural Resources and Environment, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, Mashhad, Iran. Quantitative Plant Ecology and Biodiversity Research Laboratory, Department of Biology, Faculty of Science, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad, PO BOX 9177948974, Mashhad, Iran. hejtehadi@um.ac.ir" |
| DOI: | 10.1038/s41598-021-93698-4 |
| ISSN/ISBN: | 2045-2322 (Electronic) 2045-2322 (Linking) |
| Abstract: | "In grazing conditions, unpalatable species may induce either associational defense or neighbor contrast susceptibility in neighboring communities. Using surveys from eight grasslands, we tested whether various unpalatable species have the same impacts on neighboring communities in response to grazing. The studied unpalatable species were: Phlomis cancellata (an unpalatable nonpoisonous plant), Euphorbia boissieriana, E. microsciadia (poisonous plants), and Seseli transcaucasicum (a highly poisonous plant). Our results showed that, in the ungrazed grasslands, communities containing P. cancellata had lower biodiversity than communities without it. In the moderately- and heavily grazed grasslands, P. cancellata induced associational defense in the neighboring communities. In heavily grazed grasslands, both Euphorbia species promoted neighbor contrast susceptibility in the neighboring communities. Similarly, S. transcaucasicum in a heavily grazed grassland, induced neighbor contrast susceptibility. Different responses of plant community vulnerability among the studied unpalatable plants might be due to herbivore different foraging decisions. Accordingly, grazers selectively choose from other patches when facing P. cancellata and other plant individuals when there is a poisonous plant in a patch. Our results suggested that grazing intensity may not substantially affect the foraging decisions of sheep and goats in response to unpalatable species. We recommend monitoring the abundance of poisonous species to maintain the sustainable use of grasslands" |
| Keywords: | Agriculture Animals *Biodiversity *Ecosystem Euphorbia/*physiology Feeding Behavior/*physiology *Grassland Herbivory/*physiology Iran Phylogeny Poaceae Principal Component Analysis Sheep Species Specificity; |
| Notes: | "MedlineErfanian, Mohammad Bagher Memariani, Farshid Atashgahi, Zohreh Mesdaghi, Mansour Saeedi, Maliheh Darrudi, Mojtaba Hamedian, Maliheh Hosseini, Saeede Ejtehadi, Hamid eng Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't England 2021/07/15 Sci Rep. 2021 Jul 13; 11(1):14380. doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93698-4" |
