Red leaves, insects and coevolution: a red herring?
W.D. (Bill) Hamilton proposed that coevolution between plants and herbivorous insects explains the bright autumnal colouration of leaves. Accordingly, plants invest in bright signals to reduce their herbivore load, whereas insects use these bright signals to identify less-defended hosts more efficiently. Archetti and Brown have recently revisited this theory by explaining its basic predictions and providing new research perspectives. Their work presents an important basis to our understanding of non-green leaf colouration, provided that alternative adaptive explanations on the photoprotective and antioxidant role of leaf pigments, or their possible function in crypsis to herbivores are incorporated into future research.
Schaefer
H Martin
HM
Institute for Biology 1, Albert Ludwigs-Universität, Hauptstr. 1, 79104 Freiburg, Germany. martin.schaefer@biologie.uni-freiburg.de
Wilkinson
David M
DM