Mentor/s
Dr. LaTina Steele
Participation Type
Poster
Abstract
Eutrophication may alter plant allocation to chemical defenses, affecting interactions with herbivores and invasive species dynamics. We explored the effects of eutrophication on growth and chemical defenses in native and invasive aquatic plants, hypothesizing that plants would shift resources away from chemical defenses under nutrient enrichment and that grazers would consume more nutrient-enriched than unenriched tissue. We grew fragments of each species under ambient and enriched nutrient conditions in the lab for two weeks and measured their growth, phenolics, and condensed tannin content. Growth was similar across species and nutrient status. Both native and invasive plants relaxed their chemical defense production under nutrient enrichment, although the plants differed in their levels of phenolics and condensed tannins. Invasive Myriophyllum spicatum had higher phenolic levels and lower condensed tannin levels than native Ceratophyllum demersum under ambient nutrients. Nutrient enrichment reduced phenolic levels in M. spicatum and reduced condensed tannin levels in C. demersum. A no-choice feeding experiment with amphipods showed similar grazing on both plants, regardless of nutrient enrichment. These results show that both invasive M. spicatum and native C. demersum may relax their chemical defenses in eutrophic conditions, but effects on herbivory and invasion dynamics remain uncertain.
College and Major available
Biology
Academic Level
Undergraduate student
Location
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Start Day/Time
4-25-2025 12:00 PM
End Day/Time
4-25-2025 2:00 PM
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Prize Categories
Most Scholarly Impact or Potential, Best Visuals, Best Writing
Nutrient Enrichment Alters Resource Allocation to Chemical Defenses in Invasive and Native Aquatic Plants
Digital Commons & West Campus West Building University Commons
Eutrophication may alter plant allocation to chemical defenses, affecting interactions with herbivores and invasive species dynamics. We explored the effects of eutrophication on growth and chemical defenses in native and invasive aquatic plants, hypothesizing that plants would shift resources away from chemical defenses under nutrient enrichment and that grazers would consume more nutrient-enriched than unenriched tissue. We grew fragments of each species under ambient and enriched nutrient conditions in the lab for two weeks and measured their growth, phenolics, and condensed tannin content. Growth was similar across species and nutrient status. Both native and invasive plants relaxed their chemical defense production under nutrient enrichment, although the plants differed in their levels of phenolics and condensed tannins. Invasive Myriophyllum spicatum had higher phenolic levels and lower condensed tannin levels than native Ceratophyllum demersum under ambient nutrients. Nutrient enrichment reduced phenolic levels in M. spicatum and reduced condensed tannin levels in C. demersum. A no-choice feeding experiment with amphipods showed similar grazing on both plants, regardless of nutrient enrichment. These results show that both invasive M. spicatum and native C. demersum may relax their chemical defenses in eutrophic conditions, but effects on herbivory and invasion dynamics remain uncertain.
Students' Information
Paul Joseph Sampino, Biology, Honors, 2025