BISC 3461 Syllabus
Plant-Animal Interactions
George Washington University – Fall 2013
Tues/Thurs 2:20-3:35 p.m.
Gelman B02
Instructor: Dr. John Lill
Phone: (202) 994-6989
E-mail: lillj@gwu.edu
Office: Bell 415
Office Hours: Tues/Thurs 3:45-5:00 p.m. or by appointment
Course Materials: Readings will come from assorted texts and from the primary
literature and will be available electronically online through Blackboard. Electronic
copies of the readings will be placed in folders in Bb each week. You will need to read
the material for class discussions as well as exams.
Grading:
Task
Midterm Exam I
Midterm Exam II
Cumulative Final
Term paper
Discussion questions
Total
Points
100
100
150
100 Due December 5 (no late papers accepted)
50 (10 discussions @ 5 points each)
500
Exams:
Midterm I: Tuesday, October 1, in class
Midterm II: Thursday, November 7, in class
Comprehensive Final: As scheduled
Discussion:
There will be ten classes devoted to in-class discussion of assigned readings
(beginning September 12th). On these days, bring to class two typed thoughtful
discussion questions related to the readings. We will split into smaller groups for
discussions.
Learning Goals:
 Apply modern coevolutionary theory to understand the origins of extant plantanimal interactions
 Explain the importance of ecological tradeoffs in shaping evolutionary
ecology of plants
 Synthesize current literature on an existing topic in plant-animal interactions
 Interpret results (graphs, statistics) of multiple experimental studies examining
causes and consequences of interacting populations
Course Outline and Reading Assignments
Tues., August 27
Introduction to course / overview of topics
Reading: Abrahamson, W.G. 1989. Chapter 1. Plant-Animal
Interactions: an Overview
Thurs., August 29
Video: The Private Life of Plants (David Attenborough)
Tues., September 3
Lecture: evolution and coevolution: terminology, theory, and
approaches
Reading: Strauss S.Y., and R. Irwin. 2004. Ecological and
evolutionary consequences of multi-species plant-animal
interactions. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics 35: 435-466.
Reading: Janzen. D.H. 1980. When is it coevolution? Evolution
34: 611-612.
Thurs., September 5 Lecture: case studies in coevolution
Reading: Lankau, R. 2012. Coevolution between invasive and
native plants driven by chemical competition and soil biota.
PNAS. 109: 11240-11245.
Reading: Thompson, J.N., and Cunningham. 2002. Geographic
structure and dynamics of coevolutionary selection. Nature 417:
735-738.
Reading: Benkman, C., T. Parchman, A. Favis, and A. Siepielski.
2003. Reciprocal selection causes a coevolutionary arms race
between crossbills and lodgepole pine. American Naturalist
162(2): 182-194.
Tues., September 10 Lecture: phylogenetic approaches to studies of coevolution
Reading: Mitter, C., B. Farrell and D. J. Futuyma. 1991.
Phylogenetic studies of Insect-Plant Interactions: Insights into the
genesis of diversity. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 6(9): 290293.
Thurs., September 12 Discussion #1: coevolution readings
Reading: Berenbaum, M. 1983. Coumarins and caterpillars: a case
for coevolution. Evolution 37(1): 163-179.
Reading: Edmunds, G.F., and D.N. Alstad. 1978. Coevolution in
insect herbivores and conifers. Science 199: 941-945.
Tues., September 17 Lecture: natural history of plant-pollinator interactions
Reading: Chapters from Barth book (distributed in class)
Thurs., September 19 Discussion #2: pollination biology readings
Reading: Adler & Irwin 2005. Ecological costs and benefits of
defenses in nectar. Ecology 86: 2968-2978.
Reading: Weiss, M. 1991. Floral colour changes as cues for
pollinators. Nature 354: 227-229.
Tues., September 24 Lecture: ecology of plant-pollinator interactions
Reading: Fenster et al. 2004. Pollination syndromes and floral
specialization. Annual Review of Ecology, Evolution and
Systematics 35: 375-403.
Thurs., September 26 Discussion #3: pollination biology readings
Reading: Schemske & Bradshaw 1999. Pollinator preference and
the evolution of floral traits in monkeyflowers (Mimulus). PNAS
96: 11910-11915.
Reading: Temeles, E. J., and W. J. Kress. 2003. Adaptation in a
plant-hummingbird association. Science 300: 630-633.
Tues., October 1
EXAM I
Thurs., October 3
Lecture: frugivory and seed dispersal
Reading: Herrera, Carlos M. 2002. “Seed Dispersal by
Vertebrates.” in Plant-Animal Interactions: an Evolutionary
Approach. Pellmyr, O. and Herrera, C., eds. Blackwell Publishing:
Oxford, UK.
Tues., October 8
Lecture frugivory and seed dispersal
Reading: Hansen et al. 2008. Seed dispersal and establishment of
endangered plants on oceanic islands: the Janzen-Connell model,
and the use of ecological analogues. PloSOne 3: 1-9.
Thurs., October 10
Discussion #4: seed dispersal readings
Reading: Tewskbury et al. 2008. Evolutionary ecology of
pungency in wild chiles. PNAS 105: 11808-11811
Reading: VanderWall, Steven. 2002. Masting in animal-dispersed
pines facilitates seed dispersal. Ecology 83: 3508-3516.
Tues., October 15
Lecture: Introduction to plant-herbivore interactions
Reading: Strauss, S. and A. Zangerl. 2002. Chapter 3 in
Herrera and Pellmyr. Plant-insect interactions in terrestrial
ecosystems. Pp. 77-92. Read ONLY through section 3.6
Thurs., October 17
Reading: Bernays, E.A. 1991. Evolution of insect morphology in
relation to plants. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. London B. 333:257-264.
Tues., October 22
Discussion #5: herbivory readings
Reading: Coley, P.D. et al. 1985. Resource availability and
plant antiherbivore defense. Science 230: 895-899.
Reading: Fine, P. V. A., I. Mesones, and P. Coley. 2004.
Herbivores promote habitat specialization by trees in Amazonian
forests. Science 305: 663-665.
Reading: Anderson et al. 2013. Larval host plant experience
modulates both mate finding and oviposition choice in a moth.
Animal Behaviour 85: 1169-1175.
Thurs., October 24
Lecture: plant-insect herbivore interactions
Reading: Marquis, R.J. 1992. Chapter in Fritz and Simms, Plant
Resistance to Herbivore and Pathogens.
Tues., October 29
Discussion #6: herbivory readings
Reading: Agrawal, A. A., S. Y. Strauss, and M. J. Stout. 1999.
Costs of induced responses and tolerance to herbivory in male and
female fitness components of wild radish. Evolution 53(4): 10931104.
Reading: Singer, M. S. et al. 2004. Disentangling food quality
from resistance against parasitoids: diet choice by a generalist
caterpillar. American Naturalist 164: 423-429.
Thurs., October 31
Happy Halloween! Lecture: mammalian herbivory
Reading: McNaughton, S.J. 1979. Grazing as an
optimization process: grass-ungulate relationships in the Serengeti.
American Naturalist 113: 691-703.
Tues., November 5
Discussion #7: herbivory readings
Reading: Paige, K.N. and T.G. Whitham. 1987.
Overcompensation in response to mammalian herbivory: the
advantage of being eaten. American Naturalist 129: 407-416.
Reading: Bergelson, J., T. Juenger, and M. Crawley. 1996.
Regrowth following herbivory in Ipomopsis aggregata:
compensation but not overcompensation. American Naturalist
148(4): 744-755.
Thurs., November 7 EXAM II
Tues., November 12 Lecture: Ant-plant interactions
Reading: Keeler chapter in Abrahamson book (will be distributed
in class)
Thurs., November 14 Discussion #8: ant-plant readings
Reading: Letourneau, D.K. 1998. Ants, stem-borers, and
fungal pathogens: experimental tests of a fitness advantage in Piper
ant-plants. Ecology 79: 593-603.
Reading: Palmer et al. 2008. Breakdown of a an ant-plant
mutualism follows the loss of large herbivores from an African
savannah. Science 319: 192-195.
Tues., November 19 Lecture: biotechnology and plant-herbivore interactions
Reading: Visit web-site:
http://www.cls.casa.colostate.edu/TransgenicCrops/what.html
Thurs., November 21 Discussion #9: genetic engineering in agriculture
Reading: Marvier M., McCreedy C., Regetz J., and Kareiva P.
2007. A meta-analysis of effects of Bt cotton and maize on
nontarget invertebrates. Science 316 (5830):1475-1477.
Reading: Romeis et al 2008. Assessment of risk of insect-resistant
transgenic crops to nontarget arthropods. Nature Biotechnology
203-208.
Tues., November 26 Lecture: carnivorous plants and phytotelmata
(no background reading)
Thurs., November 28 THANKSGIVING BREAK
Tues., December 3
Make up day NO CLASS
Thurs., December 5
LAST DAY OF CLASS **TERM PAPER DUE**
Discussion #10: carnivorous plant readings.
Reading: Zamora, R. et al. 1998. Fitness responses of a
carnivorous plant in contrasting ecological scenarios. Ecology 79:
1630-1644.
Reading: Moran, J. A. 1996. Pitcher dimorphism, prey
composition and the mechanisms of prey attraction in the pitcher
plant Nepenthes rafflesiana in Borneo. J. Animal Ecology 84: 515525.
FINAL EXAM:
TBA