Abstract
Factors determining the acceptance of Eucalyptus ovata foliage by common ringtail possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) were studied. Bioassay-guided fractionation was used with foliage from both browser-susceptible and browser-resistant trees to identify the chemical components underlying the resistance. In foliage from browser-resistant trees, the deterrent principles were contained in the base-soluble fraction of the chloroform extract. Further fractionation of this material yielded polar and nonpolar fractions that contained acylphloroglucinol derivatives, and from the polar fraction we isolated macrocarpal G. Addition of this compound to an artificial diet at a concentration of 2.1% of dry matter resulted in a 90% reduction of voluntary food intake compared with solvent-treated controls. This is the first time that a specific compound in Eucalyptus has been shown to inhibit feeding of any marsupial folivore.
Similar content being viewed by others
REFERENCES
Betts, T. J. 1978. Koala acceptance of Eucalyptus globulus Labill as food in relation to the proportion of sesquiterpenoids in the leaves, pp. 75–85, in T. J. Bergin (ed.). The Koala. Zoological Parks Board of N.S.W., Sydney.
Boland, D. J., Brophy, J. J., and Fookes, C. J. R. 1992. Jensenone, a ketone from Eucalyptus jensenii. Phytochemistry 31:2178–2179.
Brimer, L., and Dalgaard, L. 1984. Cyanogenic glycosides and cyanohydrins in plant tissues—qualitative and quantitative determination by enzymatic post–column cleavage and electrochemical detection after separation by high performance liquid chromatography. J. Chromatogr. 303:77–88.
Bryant, J. P., Weiland, G. D., Reichardt, P. B., Lewis, V. E., and McCarthy, M. C. 1983. Pinosylvin methyl ether deters snowshoe hare feeding on green alder. Science 222:1023–1025.
Bull, S. D., Carman, R. M., Carrick, F. N., and Klika, K. D. 1993. 7–Hydroxy–1,8–cineole and 7–cineolic acid—2 new possum urinary metabolites. Aust. J. Chem. 46:441–447.
Cardona, L., Fernandez, I. Pedro, J. R., and Vidal, R. 1992. Polyoxygenated terpenes and cyanogenic glucosides from Centaurea aspera var. subinermis. Phytochemistry 31:3507–3509.
Clausen, T. P., Reichardt, P. B., and Bryant, J. P. 1986. Pinosylvin and pinosylvin methyl ether as feeding deterrents in green alder. J. Chem. Ecol. 12:2117–2131.
Coll, J. C., and Bowden, B. F. 1986. The application of vacuum liquid chromatography to the separation of terpene mixtures. J. Nat. Prod. 49:934–936.
Cork, S. J., and Pahl, L. I. 1984. The possible influence of nutritional factors on diet and habitat selection by the ringtail possum, pp. 269–276, in A. P. Smith and I. D. Hume (eds.). Possums and Gliders. Australian Mammal Society, Sydney.
Degabriele, R. 1981. A relative shortage of nitrogenous food in the ecology of the koala. Aust. J. Ecol. 6:139–141.
Edwards, P. B., Wanjura, W. J., and Brown, W. V. 1993. Selective herbivory by Christmas beetles in response to intraspecific variation in Eucalyptus terpenoids. Oecologia 95:551–557.
Foley, W. J. 1992. Nitrogen and energy retention and acid–base status in the common ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus): Evidence of the effects of absorbed allelochemicals. Physiol. Zool. 65:403–421.
Foley, W. J., McLean, S., and Cork, S. J. 1995. The effects of plant allelochemicals on acid–base metabolism; the final common pathway. J. Chem. Ecol. 21:721–743.
Fox, L. R., and Macauley, B. J. 1977. Insect grazing on Eucalyptus in response to variation in leaf tannins and nitrogen. Oecologia 29:145–162.
Geritz, R. 1987. Diet selection in the common ringtail possum Pseudocheirus peregrinus. BSc honours thesis. Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, Monash University, Melbourne.
Ghisalberti, E. L. 1996. Bioactive acylphloroglucinol derivatives from Eucalyptus species. Phytochemistry 41:7–22.
Hindell, M. A., and Lee, A. K. 1987. Habitat use and tree preference of koalas in a mixed eucalypt forest. Aust. Wildl. Res. 14:349–360.
Hume, I. D., and Esson, C. 1993. Nutrients, antinutrients and leaf selection by captive koalas (Phascolarctos cinereus). Aust. J. Zool. 41:379–392.
Kavanagh, R. P., and Lambert, M. J. 1990. Food selection by the greater glider, Petauroides volans—is foliar nitrogen a determinant of habitat quality. Aust. Wildl. Res. 17:285–289.
Kozuka, M., Sawada, T., Mizuta, E., Kasahara, F., Amano, T., Komiya, T., and Goto, M. 1982a. The granulation–inhibiting principles from Eucalyptus globulus Labill. III. The structures of Euglobal–III,–IVb, and–VII. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 30:1964–1973.
Kozuka, M., Sawada, T., Kasahara, F., Mizuta, E., Amano, T., Komiya, T., and Goto, M. 1982b. The granulation–inhibiting principles from Eucalyptus globulus Labill. II. The structures of euglobal–Ia1,–Ia2,–Ib,–Ic,–IIa,–IIb,–IIc. Chem. Pharm. Bull. 30:1952–1963.
Krockenberger, A. 1988. Metabolic cost of detoxification of 1,8–cineole (eucalyptol) in two arboreal folivores, the ringtail possum (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) and the brushtail possum (Trichosurus vulpecula). BSc honours thesis. School of Biological Sciences, University of Sydney.
Lambert, J. L., Ramasamy, J., and Paukstelis, J. V. 1975. Stable reagents for the colorimetric determination of cyanide by modified Konig reactions. Anal. Chem. 47:916–918.
Landsberg, J., and Cork, S. J. 1997. Herbivory: interactions between eucalypts and the vertebrates and invertebrates that feed on them, pp. 342–372, in J. E. Williams and J. C. Z. Woinarski (eds.). Eucalypt Ecology: Individuals to Ecosystems. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK.
Morrow, P. A., and Fox, L. R. 1980. Effects of variation in Eucalyptus essential oil yield on insect growth and grazing. Oecologia 45:209–219.
Nishizawa, M., Emura, M., Kan, Y., Yamada, H., Ogawa, K., and Hamanaka, N. 1992. Macrocarpals—HIV–Rtase inhibitors of Eucalyptus globulus. Tetrahedron Lett. 33:2983–2986.
Osawa, R. 1992. Dietary preference of koalas, Phascolarctos cinereus Marsupialia: (Phascolarctidae) for Eucalyptus spp with a specific reference to their simple sugar contents. Austr. Mammal. 16:85–87.
Pahl, L. I. 1987. Feeding behaviour and diet of the common ringtail possum, Pseudocheirus peregrinus in Eucalyptus woodlands and Leptospermum thickets in southern Victoria. Aust. J. Zool. 35:487–506.
Qi, C., and Snyder, J. K. 1991. Two new phloroglucinol derivatives with phosphodiesterase inhibitory activity from the leaves of Eucalyptus robusta. Z. Naturforsch. Sec. B 46:1275–1277.
Reichardt, P. B., Bryant, J. P., Clausen, T. P., and Weiland, G. D. 1984. Defense of winter–dormant paper birch against snowshoe hares. Oecologia 65:58–69.
Reichardt, P. B., Bryant, J. P., Anderson, B. J., Phillips, D. Clausen, T. P., Meyer, M., and Frisby, K. 1990. Germacrone defends Labrador tea from browsing by snowshoe hares. J. Chem. Ecol. 16:1941–1959.
Sinclair, A. R. E., Jogia, M. K., and Andersen, R. J. 1988. Camphor from juvenile white spruce as an antifeedant for snowshoe hares. J. Chem. Ecol. 14:1505–1514.
Southwell, I. A. 1978. Essential oil content of koala food trees, pp. 62–74, in T. J. Bergin (ed.). The Koala. Zoological Parks Board of N.S.W., Sydney.
Yamakoshi, Y., Murata, M., Shimizu, A., and Homma, S. 1992. Isolation and characterization of macrocarpal–B, macrocarpal–G antibacterial compounds from Eucalyptus macrocarpa. Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 56:1570–1576.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Pass, D.M., Foley, W.J. & Bowden, B. Vertebrate Herbivory on Eucalyptus—Identification of Specific Feeding Deterrents for Common Ringtail Possums (Pseudocheirus peregrinus) by Bioassay-Guided Fractionation of Eucalyptus ovata Foliage. J Chem Ecol 24, 1513–1527 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020911800847
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1020911800847