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Study

Defensive function of herbivore-induced plant volatile emissions in nature

Kessler, André; Baldwin, Ian T.

Science, 2001

Peer-reviewedfield experimentwild

What they did

Rather than measuring emission and inferring a benefit, individual volatile compounds released by herbivore-damaged wild tobacco were supplied synthetically to undamaged plants in a natural population, and predation on herbivore eggs and larvae was counted on treated and untreated plants.

Studied in
Nicotiana attenuata, Manduca quinquemaculata, Geocoris pallens
Sample size
field plots of wild tobacco with volatile supplementation

What they found

Plants releasing the induced volatiles suffered greater predation of herbivore eggs and larvae by a generalist predatory bug, and lower herbivore numbers overall. One compound also reduced the number of eggs laid on the plant by the moth.

What it means

The authors' reading, and ours. Where they differ, that difference is the point.

How the authors put it

Herbivore-induced volatiles have a demonstrable defensive function in nature, both by attracting predators and by deterring egg-laying.

How NatureHQ reads it

The design is the reason this matters. Almost all volatile work measures what a plant emits and what a wasp does in a laboratory arena, and then assumes the plant benefits. This adds the compound to real plants in a real population and counts what happens to the herbivores, which turns an inference into a measurement — and it does so without requiring the plant to intend anything.

Limitations

  • One plant species and one predator in one desert population.
  • Synthetic supplementation delivers a constant dose, unlike the pulsed release of a real damaged plant.
  • Reduced herbivore numbers were measured, not seed set, so the fitness consequence is one step further on.

The experiment, explained

  • Making an undamaged plant smell attacked

    Damaged plants release volatiles and predators arrive. Does the plant actually benefit, or is that an assumption?

What this study is used for on NatureHQ

One study can inform several subjects. Here is everywhere this one is cited.

Finding the paper

Published by: American Association for the Advancement of SciencePublished in Science or Science Advances (AAAS).

doi.org/10.1126/science.291.5511.2141

This reference was resolved automatically against Crossref on 2026-08-11.

NatureHQ summarises research in its own words and does not reproduce published text. Reviewed 2026-08-10.