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Spinescence and Total Phenolic Content Do Not Influence Diet Preference of a Critically Endangered Megaherbivore, but the Mix of Compounds Does

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Abstract

In contrast to understanding spinescence in savanna woody species, little is known about the functions of plant secondary metabolites (PSM). Negative effects of PSMs on individual animal performance potentially translate into negative effects on herbivore population growth. Hence, understanding PSM functions is important for the conservation of savanna megafauna. We tested the view that black rhinoceros (Diceros bicornis) diet preference is not affected by spinescence or total phenolic abundance. We hypothesized that the composition of phenolic mixtures, however, would affect preference. Furthermore, we tested our data from 71 woody species for a trade-off between structural and chemical defenses. Spinescence type, and spinescence generally, did not deter black rhino feeding. Using eco-metabolomic data, we found that total abundance of phenolics did not affect preference, but mixture composition did and that the probability of spinescence trading off against phenolics depended on the mixture. We note that our study was restricted to black rhino and that diet preferences of other mammal herbivores might be influenced by subtle differences in phenolic mixtures. However, our results did support a previous, more detailed study of phenolic profiles of six species showing the same patterns in relation to preference generalised across mammal herbivore species in savannas. Our results represent substantial advancement in the understanding of the roles of PSMs, especially flavonoid compounds, in the functioning of savanna ecosystems, and highlight the need to dig deeper into broad groups of traits such as spinescence or total phenolics to improve understanding of woody plant defenses in savannas.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful for the contributions of Keryn Adcock and colleagues at the African Rhino Specialist Group and Riitta Julkunen-Tiitto whose lab facilities at the University of Eastern Finland were used for the HPLC analyses.

Funding

DH was supported by Grant 48494 of the National Research Foundation’s (NRF) Sweden-South Africa Programme. Any opinions, findings and conclusions, or recommendations expressed in this material are those of the authors and therefore the NRF does not accept any liability in regard thereto.

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  1. School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    Peter F. Scogings & Stuart Demmer

  2. Centre for Functional Biodiversity, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Scottsville, South Africa

    Stuart Demmer

  3. Department of Biological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch, South Africa

    Dawood Hattas

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  1. Peter F. Scogings
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All authors contributed to conceptualization. DH collected the data. SD analyzed the data. PFS wrote the first draft. DH and SD contributed to all drafts.

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Correspondence to Peter F. Scogings.

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Scogings, P.F., Demmer, S. & Hattas, D. Spinescence and Total Phenolic Content Do Not Influence Diet Preference of a Critically Endangered Megaherbivore, but the Mix of Compounds Does. J Chem Ecol 47, 322–333 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10886-021-01258-x

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