The effect of inactivating tannins on the intake of Eucalyptus foliage by a specialist Eucalyptus folivore ( Pseudocheirus peregrinus ) and a generalist herbivore ( Trichosurus vulpecula )

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dc.contributor.authorFord (previously Marsh), Karen
dc.contributor.authorWallis, Ian
dc.contributor.authorFoley, William
dc.date.accessioned2015-12-13T23:05:51Z
dc.date.available2015-12-13T23:05:51Z
dc.date.issued2003
dc.date.updated2015-12-12T08:02:33Z
dc.description.abstractThe paucity of evidence on eucalypt browsing by common brushtail and common ringtail possums suggests that ringtails preferentially eat foliage from trees within the subgenus Monocalyptus. In contrast, brushtails eat less eucalypt foliage than do ringtails and prefer trees from the subgenus Symphyomyrtus. Trees from these subgenera differ in their defensive chemicals. Both contain tannins but it appears that only the symphyomyrts synthesise formylated phloroglucinol compounds (FPCs). We fed possums foliage from several individual Eucalyptus rossii and E. consideniana, both monocalypts, to avoid the confounding factor of FPCs, and examined the effects of blocking tannins by dipping foliage in polyethylene glycol (PEG). Ringtails and brushtails differed in their abilities to eat foliage from these eucalypts. The ringtails ate much more than did the brushtails and showed a small (about 10%) but significant increase in feeding in response to PEG. The brushtails were reluctant to eat foliage from either eucalypt species but doubled their intake when leaves were coated with PEG. Even so, they still did not eat enough to meet maintenance requirements for energy and nitrogen. Neither ringtails nor brushtails preferred foliage from any individual E. rossii tree, suggesting that all trees were equally defended. However, brushtails preferred foliage from some E. consideniana to others. Monocalypt tannins are clearly important barriers to feeding in brushtail possums, but further research with higher doses of PEG will confirm whether they are the only deterrent chemicals in monocalypt foliage.
dc.identifier.issn0004-959X
dc.identifier.urihttp://hdl.handle.net/1885/85739
dc.publisherCSIRO Publishing
dc.sourceAustralian Journal of Zoology
dc.subjectKeywords: chemical defense; food intake; food preference; plant defense; plant-herbivore interaction; tannin; Alopias; Animalia; Bassariscus; Bassariscus astutus; Eucalyptus; Peregrinus; Phalangeridae; Pseudocheirus; Pseudocheirus peregrinus; Trichosurus; Trichosur
dc.titleThe effect of inactivating tannins on the intake of Eucalyptus foliage by a specialist Eucalyptus folivore ( Pseudocheirus peregrinus ) and a generalist herbivore ( Trichosurus vulpecula )
dc.typeJournal article
local.bibliographicCitation.lastpage42
local.bibliographicCitation.startpage31
local.contributor.affiliationFord (previously Marsh), Karen, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationWallis, Ian, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.affiliationFoley, William, College of Medicine, Biology and Environment, ANU
local.contributor.authoremailu4011300@anu.edu.au
local.contributor.authoruidFord (previously Marsh), Karen, u4011300
local.contributor.authoruidWallis, Ian, u9802366
local.contributor.authoruidFoley, William, u9616309
local.description.notesImported from ARIES
local.description.refereedYes
local.identifier.absfor060208 - Terrestrial Ecology
local.identifier.absfor060604 - Comparative Physiology
local.identifier.ariespublicationMigratedxPub14372
local.identifier.citationvolume51
local.identifier.doi10.1071/ZO02055
local.identifier.scopusID2-s2.0-0038701742
local.identifier.uidSubmittedByMigrated
local.type.statusPublished Version

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