Plant- Interactions Student Activities [Recommended year 9 - 12]

Education @ Adelaide Botanic Garden 

Map



Acknowledgments

A publication by:

Education @ Adelaide Botanic Garden and Flinders University.

And developed by:

Kieren Beaumont, Molly Whalen and Duncan Mackay.

In collaboration with:

Steve Meredith, Michael Yeo, Catherine Stone and Tony Kanellos.

Photos:

Kieren Beaumont, Duncan Mackay, Molly Whalen and Adelaide Botanic Gardens unless otherwise indicated.

Student information & activities

1. Brazil nut tree (Bertholletia excelsa)

Large rodents called agoutis are essential for the survival of Brazilnut Guess What trees.Even though they eat Brazil nuts, they help to grow new trees by burying Brazil nuts are the only seed crop seeds. harvested from natural forests and sold all around the world. Pollination

Brazilnut trees grow in the tropical forest of South America. They can reach 50 meters tall and can live for more than 650 years. Brazilnut trees rely on large bees to pollinate their flowers. The large bees are strong enough to force their way between the Agoutis help Brazil nut trees petals of the flower into a chamber, http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co where they are provided with nectar mmons/7/73/Agouti_.jpg and pollinate the flower. Once a flower has been pollinated, it grows into a large woody fruit.

Lost seeds become new trees.



Interactions under threat.

Most Brazil nuts traded today are collected from natural forests and the multi-million dollar industry provides many locals with an income. The ongoing success of the industry depends on healthy forests that support the that Brazilnut trees need and on the sustainable harvesting of the nuts. There is debate as to how much harvesting can be done before populations of Brazilnut trees begin to decline. However, effective management of the Brazil nut industry may promote the conservation of forests as well as provide sustainable benefits to local communities.

Find out more

Can sustainable harvesting of Brazil nuts conserve tropic forests and benefit local people? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HE 6XUcq4g38 http://amazonconservation.org/ourwor k/livelihoods.html 

Things to ponder

1. Describe the fruit of the Brazil nut tree. How has it been opened and how many nuts are inside?

______

______

2. Agoutis are rodents that eat Brazil nuts (seeds). How do you think agoutis break into the fruit to get the nuts contained inside? http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/com ______mons/f/ff/Brazilnut1.jpg

______

______

3. Agoutis save some Brazil nuts to eat later 5. Why might Brazil nut trees only by storing them in the soil. How do you produce nuts when they are growing in think Brazil nut trees benefit from this? their natural environment?

______

______

______

4. What animals use the flowers of Brazil 6. What is the name of another plant nut trees and how do you think they benefit plants within the Brazil nut family? How these plants? do people use those plants?

______

______

______



2. Durians (Durio zibethinus)

Guess what Pollination in the dark

In their native range of south-east Asia, The flowers of durian trees are quite people consider durians to be the ‘king distinctive. They are a creamy-white of fruits’. At the same time, the fruits colour, produce large amounts of are banned from many hotels and nectar and smell like sour milk. Also, public places due to their strong odour. the flowers bloom in clusters on the underside of the branches and open during the evening and night time. The attraction of an unattractive smell

The durian fruit is well known for its offensive smell. Its odour has been likened to rotten onions and gym socks. In 1856, a British naturalist and explorer, Alfred Russel Wallace wrote that the smell of the durian ‘is certainly at first disagreeable’ but described the flavour of the fruit as ‘a rich custard highly flavoured with almonds.’ (http://www.wku.edu/~smithch/wallac e.S027.htm) http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/co mmons/b/b7/Durian_flower_1%2C_Cho_Lac h%2C_Ben_Tre%2C_Viet_Nam.JPG



Things to ponder

1. In the tropical forests of south-east Asia the strong odour of durians helps to attract many animals. What animals do you think could eat durians?

______

______

______A fresh durian ready to be purchased at an Australian market.

2. How do you think animals that eat durians help the durian trees?

______

______

______

4. What animals do you think would be attracted to flowers of the durian tree?

______

5. What other two plants of the ‘Mallow’ family are most important to you and why?

What part of the plants do you use?

Plant 1______

______

______

Plant 2______

______

______



3. Tomatoes (Lycopersicones culentum)

Guess What Rather than introducing European bumblebees, is there an Australian Tomatoes originate from South native bee that can do the job? America. When they were brought to Researchers have found a promising Europe, people thought they were buzz pollinator, the native blue-banded poisonous because many European bee. plants related to the tomato can be toxic. Today, our appetite for To bee or not to bee. tomatoes may be due to a man called Colonel Robert Gibbon Johnson. In Honey bees pollinate about a third of 1820, he stood in front of a large crowd the crop plants that we use for food of people and ate a whole basket of and so, are very important. However, tomatoes. To the crowd’s there is concern that the introduction astonishment, Robert survived. of honey bees to new environments has impacted native plants and pollinating . For example, honey bees can reduce the amount of nectar available Buzz pollination to native bees and can pollinate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ErO invasive plant species. t3hbe8qw There are concerns for the environment Tomatoes are produced after the if another exotic bee were to be flowersof the plants have been ‘buzz introduced to mainland Australia. The pollinated’ by bees. However, not native blue-banded bee is considered every type of bee has the right buzz, an alternative to the European like the common honey bee. bumblebee for use in the pollination of glasshouse tomato plants. In Europe, large bumblebees are used to buzz pollinate tomato plants grown Find out more in glasshouses. These bees do not occur on the Australian mainland, so Discover how blue-banded bees can be people manually pollinate the flowers an alternative to bumblebees for by vibrating the plants with a special pollination of tomato plants. tool. This is a costly process. http://www.aussiebee.com.au/abol- 010.html

http://www.aussiebee.com.au/bumble beeharm.html



Things to ponder

1. How many years have tomatoes been grown by people?

______

2. Highlight the fruit and vegetables you have eaten that are likely to have been produced with the help of pollination by bees. Many flowers of our vegetable plants Tomatoes, Apples, Cabbage, hide their pollen in structures called Cherries, Pears, Squash, Plums. anthers. Some bees can ‘buzz’ the anthers so that the pollen falls out for them to collect. 3. What do the European bumblebee and the native blue banded bee have in common?

______

______

______

4. What problems could arise if bumblebees were brought to mainland Australia?

______

______

______

An Australian native, the blue-banded bee 5. How many different types of bees do you ‘buzz pollinates’ the flower of a tomato plant. (Photo: KatjaHogendoorn). think there are that are native to Australia?

15, 150, 500 or 1,500



4.Golden Wattle (Acacia pycnantha)

Interactions under threat Guess What Argentine ants have been accidently introduced to many countries where Botanists estimate that 11,000 plant they have become pest species. Most species produce specialised seeds that native ants cannot live in areas invaded are spread by ants. Ant-dispersed by Argentine ants. plants are particularly common in South Africa and Australia. So what happens to plants that have their seeds dispersed by native ants? An example can be found in South Africa. Unlike native ants, Argentine Seed spreaders ants do not effectively spreadthe Golden wattlesproduce seeds with an seeds. Without native dispersers attachment of ant food. This present, seeds are left on the soil attachment is called an elaiosome and surface where they can be eaten by is very attractive to ants. Ants locate rodents or burnt during bush fires. In the seeds that drop from plants and South Africa, Argentine ant invasion carry them back to their nests. The may lead to the local extinction of ants remove the elaiosomes from the some ant-dispersed plants. seeds and feed them to their larvae. The seeds can remain unharmed inside the ant nests. Find out more

How can non-native ant species be spread to new areas and what damage Ant bodyguards can they do to the environment?

Golden wattle plants have glands on http://www.environment.gov.au/biodi their leaves that provide nectar to versity/threatened/publications/tap/tr ants. In return, the ants may act as ampants.html guards. As guards, they patrol and protect leaves from leaf-eating insects.



Things to ponder

1. Can you see any leaves that have been partly eaten?

______

2. Look closely at the leaves. Can you see a nectar gland on the edge of the leaves and can you see any nectar?

______A young leaf of golden wattle that has

excreted a drop of nectar. 3. Are there any ants on the tree? If so, describe what they are doing?

______

______

4. Describe how you think ants could protect golden wattles from being eaten.

______

______

______Seeds of golden wattle have a piece of ant ______food attached to them called the elaiosome.

5. How could golden wattles benefit from having their seeds spread by ants?

______

______

______

______



5.CoastalBitterbush (Adriana quadripartita)

Butterfly food. Guess What Plants that are food for butterfly larvae are called host plants. The coastal In a single tropical forest, a biologist bitterbush is a host plant for the found 102 plant species that provide Bitterbush Blue butterfly nectar to 30 ant species. (Theclinesthesalbocincta). The Bitterbush Blue lay their eggs on their

host plant. Coastal bitterbush has Ants as bodyguards separate male and female plants. The male plants have longer flower clusters Coastal bitterbush has glands near the than the females and produce large base of their leaves that produce amounts of pollen. The butterfly larvae nectar for ants. These glands are mainly feed on the male flowers of called ‘extrafloral nectaries’ because coastal bitterbush after hatching from they are located outside of flowers. their eggs. While the ants collect the nectar, they can scare off and attack leaf-eating insects. This can reduce the amount of leaves eaten. Interactions under threat Coastal bitterbush grows in coastal habitats of southern Australia. These Seed spreaders habitats are under threat due to the expansion of coastal towns and cities. Coastal bitterbush also uses ants to Populations of coastal bitterbush are spread its seeds. The plant produces being broken up or in some cases dying seeds with fatty food attached that is out as urban areas spread. attractive to ants. Once ants locate a seed, they carry it back to their nest The loss of coastal bitterbush where they eat the food but leave the populations also means that the often buried seed unharmed. interactions that this plant has with animals are also lost. The Bitterbush Blue butterfly is most at risk because its larvae only eat flowers from coastal bitterbush.



Things to ponder

1. Look closely at the plant. Where are the nectar glands located?

______

2. How do coastal bitterbush plants benefit from providing nectar to ants?

______An ant inspecting the elaiosome of a coastal ______bitterbush seed.

______

3. What characteristics of ants might make them effective bodyguards of coastal bitterbush plants?

______

______

______

4. What could you do to help the declining Twoextrafloral nectaries of the coastal populations of bitterbush plants? bitterbush.

______

______Find out more

______Discover how to attract butterflies to your garden and what types of ______butterflies could be living near you?

______http://www.butterflygardening.net.au/i ndex.html

http://www.backyards4wildlife.com.au /index.php?page=attracting-wildlife-to- your-garden

http://sabutterflies.org.au/ 

6.Cluster Figs (Ficus racemosa)

Interactions under threat Guess What Fruit-eating animals such as birds, bats and monkeys help to recreate tropical The flowers of fig trees are not easily forests that have been destroyed; seen. The flowers are actually inside however,these seed dispersers do need the figs. encouragement. Replanting cleared areas of forest with particular plants can attract seed-dispersing animals that Pollination in return for a bring seeds from healthy forest into degraded areas, which can help the home forests regrow.

Even though the flowers are hidden inside the figs, they can be pollinated. Fig trees and tiny wasps have a special partnership. The figs provide the wasps with a home to breed in and in return the wasps pollinate the flowers. One type of fig tree usually relies on only one type of wasp for pollination. These partnerships are obligate because the figs and the wasps would not survive without each other. Find out more. Fruit for all How do fig trees and fig wasps gain benefits from the relationship they Fig trees are a very important source of have with each other? food for many animals in tropical forests. Different types of fig trees fruit http://www.esa.org/esablog/field/the- at different times of a year and at story-of-the-fig-and-its-wasp/ times can be one of the only fruit http://www.figweb.org/Interaction available to animals. One biologist observed a single fig tree over a period of 21 days and recorded 44 different types of birds and monkeys eating the figs.



Things to ponder

1. Where are the figs growing on the tree? How could this help the cluster fig spread its seeds?

______

______

2. What kind of animals do you think could Fruit growing from the trunk of a cluster fig eat the figs in the garden and help the fig tree. tree spread their seeds?

______

______

3. Draw a cluster fig and show where you think a wasp can enter the fig. What size do you think the wasp would be?

______

______

Common figs (Ficuscarica) are favored and enjoyed by people. 4. Find some other types of fig trees in the garden. How are they different to the cluster fig tree? Find out more.

______How do fig trees and fig wasps gain ______benefits from the relationship they have with each other? ______http://www.esa.org/esablog/field/the- story-of-the-fig-and-its-wasp/

http://www.figweb.org/Interaction



7. Tree ()

Guess What Butterfly Migration

Many plants produce unpleasant tasting Caper White butterflies migrate and sometimes even poisonous hundreds of kilometres from central chemicals to protect their leaves from and eastern Australia where being eaten by herbivorous animals. populations of the tree caper grow. Every few years, Caper White butterflies can be seen in Adelaide. Protection from leaf eaters Many butterflies find their way to the Adelaide Botanic Gardens where they The tree caper cannot run away from lay eggs on the tree caper. insects that eat it, but it can defend itself against attack. It produces chemicals calledglucosinolates that act Interactions under threat as a defence against leaf-eating insects. When an chews a leaf, The interactions between plants and it triggers a chemical reaction. The butterflies are now taking place in a glucosinolate chemicals are changed rapidly changing environment. Two into new chemicals that the insects can major threats are habitat destruction smell and taste. These chemicals can and climate change. The survival of be toxic to insects or can deter them interactions between plants and from eating too much of the plant. butterflies depends on how well they cope with their changing environments.

Biologists have found that the Butterfly food butterflies suffering most are those that lay their eggs on a small number of The larvae of one insect, the Caper plant species and are unable to fly long White butterfly ( java distances. Habitat destruction reduces teutonia), specialise on tree caper. the number of plants that butterflies The butterfly larvae hatch from the need. Also, habitat destruction creates eggs and feed on the leaves. The small isolated patches that butterflies glucosinolate chemicals do not harm may not be able to fly between. the butterfly larvae. Female Climate change can make existing butterflies may use the smell of the habitat unfavourable, and so, if tree to find the plants and lay butterflies cannot find new habitat their eggs. they can become locally extinct. 

Things to ponder

1. Can you see any butterflies in the garden? If so, record what they are doing?

______

2. What senses do think Caper White butterflies rely on most to find their host plant, the tree caper?

Touch, Sight, Smell or Hearing.

3. Describe how butterflies can help and hinder plants.

Butterflies help plants______

______

Butterflies hinder plants______

______

4. Can you describe some reasons why butterflies are sensitive to changes in their environment?

______

______

______

______

A Caper White butterfly laying her egg on a tree caper. 

Caper White butterfly larvae have hatched from their eggs and feed on the leaves of the tree caper.

Find out more

How can studying butterflies tell us about changes to the environment? http://www.bc-europe.org http://www.ukbms.org/indicators.aspx