The indument and its impacts on herbivory in the leaves of two shruby plant species in the Biological Reserve of Duas Bocas, Cariacica, Espírito Santo

Abstract

Plants and herbivore insects have established complex relationships throughout their evolutionary histories, ranging from evolutionary adaptations to trophic relationships. Studies indicate that plants have developed a variety of mechanical and chemical defenses that, in a greater or lesser extent, limit the activity of herbivores and pathogens. The expression of these plant defensive characteristics can directly affect their quality as food resources, and in this context, this study aimed to test if there would be differences in leaf herbivory between plants with hairy leaves, taking as model the leaves of Croton sp (Euphorbiaceae) and glabrous leaves, taking as model Piper lhotzkianum Kunth. (Piperaceae), found along the Trail of The Old Dam at Duas Bocas Biological Reserve - REBIO de Duas Bocas, Cariacica, ES. A total of 100 leaves were collected and photographed for each pattern, distributed among 10 leaves in each one of 10 individual that were marked, and obtaining measurements of leaf area and leaf area consumed using the Image Tool software for image analysis. According to the statistical t-test applied, there was a highly significant difference between the herbivory found in the hairy leaves in relation to that found in the glabrous ones (p=0.0026), and leaf consumption was significantly higher in the glabrous leaves. There was no significant difference between the leaf area among the studied cases (p=0.1505), indicating that leaf size was not a factor influencing the data. It was concluded that the presence of indumentum in the leaf surfaces affected negatively herbivory in leaves.