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First published online April 13, 2009; doi:10.3732/ajb.0800300 American Journal of Botany 96: 897-903 (2009) © 2009 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

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Leaf herbivory increases floral fragrance in male but not female Cucurbita pepo subsp. texana (Cucurbitaceae) flowers¹

Department of Plant, Soil and Insect Sciences, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts 01003 USA

ABSTRACT

Mutualisms are key interactions that affect population dynamics and structure communities, but the extent to which mutualists can attract potential partners may depend on community context. Many studies have shown that leaf herbivory reduces pollinator visitation and have focused on reduced floral visual display and rewards as potential mechanisms. However, olfactory display plays a critical role in mediating interactions between plants, herbivores, and pollinators. We simulated leaf damage in Cucurbita pepo subsp. texana and measured fragrance emission and other floral characters of both male and female flowers. Contrary to our expectations, damage increased fragrance production, but only in male flowers. Female flowers, which were bigger and produced more fragrance than males, were unaffected by leaf damage. The greatest increase in floral fragrance compounds was in the terpenoids, which we hypothesize could be byproducts of defensively induced cucurbitacins, or they may function defensively themselves. In summary, this study is the first to demonstrate changes in floral fragrance due to leaf damage. Such changes in floral fragrance following herbivory may be a critical and overlooked mechanism mediating interactions between plants, herbivores, and pollinators.

Key Words: Acalymma vittatum • Apis mellifera • Cucurbita pepo subsp. texana • Cucurbitaceae • diabroticite beetles • floral volatiles • generalist • honeybees • Peponapis pruinosa • plant–insect interactions • specialist • squash bees

Received for publication 4 September 2008. Accepted for publication 9 January 2009.

FOOTNOTES

¹ The authors thank J. Normanly for use of her GC-MS and S. T. Petsch for use of his evaporator. J. Hugh, J. Bellino, A. Filshtinsky, and B. Chaney-Ryan helped with plant care and pollen counts. This work was funded by NSF-DEB-0542819 to N.T.

² Author for correspondence (e-mail: ntheis{at}nsm.umass.edu)

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