Plants often grow spines, thorns, and prickles to defend against animals that feed on them, but why this happens in some places more than others has remained a mystery. Research in New Phytologist shows that plant spininess is shaped by browsing mammals both past and present, together with environmental conditions.
In the study of 2,686 ecologically diverse plants, including both spiny and non-spiny species, and 368 mammalian herbivores, investigators found that current and extinct large herbivores are key predictors of the prevalence of spiny species. Also, dry-season length, soil pH, and temperature shaped the proportion of spiny species both directly and indirectly through their effects on herbivore richness, whereas fire influenced spinescence only indirectly.
Our findings suggest that ecosystems can carry the influence of large herbivores long after they disappear. Many of the fauna that once shaped the evolution of plant defenses are extinct, yet their legacy remains visible in the vegetation we see today."
Rachel Souza Ferreira, PhD, Co–Corresponding Author, German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research
Source:
Journal reference:
Ferreira, S. R., et al. (2026) The complex interaction between mammalian herbivores, climate, soil and fire has shaped the evolution and distribution of plant spinescence across biogeographical realms. New Phytologist. DOI:10.1111/nph.71376. https://nph.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/nph.71376.
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