ENVS 3040 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: List Of Feeding Behaviours, Herbivore, Chemical Ecology
18 Oct 2017
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Allomones are plant-defensive compounds, and kairomones are plant-produced compounds used by insects to located and select plants for feeding and egg-laying. Differentiate between primary and secondary plant chemicals and their role in plant feeding by insects. Describe the different types of allomones which plants use to protect themselves from herbivores. Define and distinguish among mono-, oligo-, and polyphagous insects. Outline methods by which insects can overcome plant defenses. Discuss the ways in which semiochemicals mediate tri-trophic interactions. Discuss the evolution of semiochemicals that govern tri-trophic interactions (dicke, 2000) chemical ecology of host-plant selection by herbivorous arthropods. Primary plant metabolites provide insects with nutrients when feeding; secondary metabolites influence whether or not a plant is an acceptable food source for the insect. Secondary metabolites are the ones that act as allomones or kairomones. Information on the biotic environmental conditions is often available through chemical cues that can consist of various mixtures of compounds.
