Summary
Colorado populations of herbaceous perennial lupines show three distinct patterns of amounts, kinds, and individual variability of inflorescence alkaloids. These patterns, interpreted as alternative chemical defense strategies, can be related to the susceptibility of populations to attack by larvae of a small flower-feeding lycaenid butterfly, Glaucopsyche lygdamus.
In situations ecologically unfavorable to G. lygdumus, lupine populations have “low” alkaloidal profiles, accumulating relatively low amounts of single, bicyclic alkaloids in their inflorescences, with little individual alkaloidal variability, Lupine populations which are quite available to G. lygdamus, on the other hand, accumulate much higher amounts of inflorescence alkaloids. Of these alkaloidally “high” populations, those which suffer only minor predation by G. lygdamus have individually variable mixtures of three or four inflorescence alkaloids, which are found to be isomers of lupanine and closely related tetracyclic compounds. In contrast, those which suffer heavy predation by G. lygdamus show a mixture of nine diverse alkaloidal components including lupanine, hydroxylupanine, and hydroxylupanine esters which is quite invariant from individual to individual.
It is hypothesized that individual variability in alkaloids is an anti-specialist chemical defense mechanism. Such individual variability may be advantageous to plant populations by reducing the possibility of selection for strains of specialist herbivores capable of detoxifying or otherwise withstanding plant defensive compounds.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alpin, R., Benn, M., Rotschild, M.: Poisonous alkaloids in the body tissues on the cinnebar moth (Callimorpha jacobacae L.). Nature (Lond.). 219, 747–748 (1968)
Arnold, G., Hill, J.: Chemical factors affecting selection of food plants by ruminants. In: Phytochemical ecology, p. 17–101, J. Harborne, ed. London: Academic Press 1972
Bohlmann, F., Winterfeldt, E., Janiak, B., Schumann, N., Laurent, H.: Notiz über zwei neue Alkaloide aus Lupinen-Arten. Chem. Ber. 96, 2254–2255 (1963)
Braden, A., McDonald, I.: Disorders of grazing animals due to plant constituents. In: Australian grasslands, p. 381–391, R. Moore, ed. Sydney: Australian National University Press 1970
Breedlove, D., Ehrlich, P.: Plant-herbivore coevolution: lupines and lycaenids. Science 162, 671–672 (1968)
Breedlove, D., Ehrlich, P.: Coevolution: patterns of legume predation by a lycaenid butterfly. Oecologia (Berl.) 10, 99–104 (1972)
Brehm, B.: Taxonomic implications of variation in chromatographic pattern components. Brittonia 18, 194–202 (1966)
Brown, A.: Insecticide resistance comes of age. Bull. Entomol. Soc. Amer. 14, 3–9 (1968)
Cho, Y., Martin, R.: 5,6-dehydrolupanine, a new alkaloid, and lupanine from Thermopsis rhombifolia (Nutt.) richards, Canad. J. Chem. 49, 265–270 (1971)
Ehrlich, P., Breedlove, D., Brussard, P., Sharp, M.: Weather and the “regulation” of subalpine populations. Ecology 53, 243–247 (1972)
Ehrlich, P., Raven, P.: Butterflies and plants: a study in coevolution. Evolution 18, 586–608 (1965)
Fraenkel, G.: The raison d'etre of secondary plant substances. Science 129, 1466–1470 (1959)
Gillett, J.: Pest pressure, an underestimated factor in evolution. Syst. Assoc. Pub. 4, 37–46 (1962)
Gourley, D.: Biological responses to drugs. In: Medicinal chemistry, A. Burger, ed. New York: Wiley 1970
Hermann, F.: Notes on Western range forbs, 365 p. USDA (Forest Service) Handbook No 293 (1966)
James, W.: Demonstration of alkaloids in Solanaceous meristems. Nature (Lond.) 158, 377–378 (1946)
James, W.: Alkaloids in plants. Endeavour 12, 76–78 (1953)
Jaminet, F.: La differentiation chimique infraspecifique. Planta med. (Stuttg.) 8, 275–281 (1960)
Jones, D.: Selective eating of the acyanogenic form of the plant Lotus corniculatus L. by various animals. Nature (Lond.) 193, 1109–1110 (1962)
Kapadia, G., Fayez, M.: Peyote constituents: chemistry, biogenesis, and biological effects. J. pharm. Sci. 59, 1699–1727 (1970)
Keeler, R.: Toxic and teratogenic alkaloids of western range plants. J. Agr. Food Chem. 17, 473–483 (1969)
Kircher, H., Heed, W., Russell, J., Grove, J.: Senita cactus alkaloids: their significance to Sonoran desert Drosophila ecology. J. Insect Physiol. 13, 1869–1874 (1967)
Marsh, C., Clawson, A.: Lupines as poisonous plants, 44 p. USDA Bull. No 405 (1968)
McFadden, M.: Observation on feeding and movement of tobacco hornworm larvae. J. Econ. Entomol. 61, 352–356 (1968)
Munsche, D.: Zytologische Untersuchungen zur Biosynthese des Damacenines in Nigella damascena L. 5. Mitteilung über das Damascenin. Flora 154, 317–324 (1964)
Neumann, D., Muller, F.: Intrazellularer Nachweis von Alkaloiden in Pflanzenzellen im licht- und elektronenmikroskopischem Maßstab. Flora 158a, 479–491 (1967)
Raffauf, R.: A handbook of alkaloids and alkaloid-containing plants, 1001p. New York: Wiley 1970
Schratz, E.: Die Bedeutung neuerer Auffassungen des Artbegriffes für die Pharmakognosie. Planta med. (Stuttg.) 8, 282–296 (1960)
Self, L., Guthrie, F., Hodgson, E.: Metabolism of nicotine by tobacco-feeding insects. Nature (Lond.) 204, 300–301 (1964a)
Self, L., Guthrie, F., Hodgson, E.: Adaptation of tobacco hornworms to the ingestion of nicotine. J. Insect Physiol. 10, 907–914 (1964b)
Simons, A., Martin, G.: Relationship of indole alkaloids to palatability of Phalaris arundinacea L. Agron. J. 63, 915–919 (1971)
Smith, B.: Effect of the plant alkaloid sparteine on the distribution of the aphid Acyrthosiphon spartii (Koch.). Nature (Lond.) 212, 213–214 (1966)
Stahl, E.: Pflanzen und Schnecken. Jena Z. Med. u. Naturw. 22, 557–682 (1888)
Sutarman, R.: Some aspects of the cultivation of medicinal plants in Indonesia. Proc. Pac. Sci. Congr. 8th, Pac. Sci. Assoc. 4A, 101–106 (1953)
Taylor, N.: Cinchona in Java, 87 p. New York: Greenberg 1945
Tetenyi, T.: Infraspecific chemical taxa of medicinal plants, 225p. New York: Chemical Publishing Co. 1970
Toczko, M.: Induced lupanine hydroxylase from Pseudomonas lupanini. Biochim. biophys. Acta (Amst.) 128, 570–573 (1966)
Wiewiorowski, M., Bratek, M.: Studies on the structure of a new group of lupin alkaloids. Bull. Acad. pol. Sci., Ser. Sci. Biol. 10, 349–355 (1962)
Williams, M., Barnes, R., Cassady, J.: Characterization of alkaloids in palatable and unpalatable clones of Phalaris arundinacea L. Crop Sci. 11, 213–217 (1971)
Van der Plank, J.: Disease resistance in plants, 206p. New York: Academic Press 1968
Yamamoto, R., Fraenkel, G.: The suitability of tobaccos for the growth of the cigarette beetle, Lasioderma serricorne. J. Econ. Entomol. 53, 381–384 (1960)
Zavarin, E., Lawrence, L., Thomas, M.: Compositional variations of leaf monoterpenes in Cupressus macrocarpa, C. pygmaea, C. goveniana, C. abramsiana and C. sargentii. Phytochemistry 10, 379–393 (1971)
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Dolinger, P.M., Ehrlich, P.R., Fitch, W.L. et al. Alkaloid and predation patterns in colorado lupine populations. Oecologia 13, 191–204 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00360510
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00360510