Some of Australia’s most pressing conservation problems are found in the arid and semi-arid rangelands where the traditional major land-use is extensive pastoralism. Yet with the emergence of a change in resource values, the rangelands of Australia have started to move away from a strict production land-use towards a multifunctional land-use where pastoralism, tourism and the environment have an influence on one another. With the present mixture of consumption and protection values in the rangelands, ecotourism represents a model for achieving a symbiotic relationship between tourism activity and conservation in a pastoral setting. This study develops a theoretical framework for understanding the relationships between ecotourism, pastoralism and ecological recovery efforts in the Flinders Ranges through employing mixed qualitative and quantitative research techniques to examine the perceptions and practices of tourism operators, local landholders and visitors to the study site. The study finds that while pastoralism and its level of success often remain variable, the strength and stability of tourism is increasing. Because economics is a central component of the concept of sustainability, and because we must manage the environment while accommodating tourists, ecotourism is one way to help reach rangeland sustainability goals, provided that there are adequate levels of agreement amongst the local community and other land users. The results indicate that the vast majority of stakeholders are currently in a state of co-existence with each other rather than one of conflict, suggesting ecotourism has the potential to assist ecological recovery. However, many landholders are constrained in their ability to integrate ecotourism operations and conservation due to economic difficulties and market barriers. There are also conflicting results among visitors who claim to be interested in ecotourism but do not necessarily act accordingly, highlighting the need for a greater focus on environmental education. Ecotourism should be incorporated into a regional sustainability plan where the public are able to assist decision makers through collaborative planning. The thesis concludes that when well-managed, ecotourism can be a business supporting conservation in the Flinders Ranges. It contributes to knowledge of the role that ecotourism can play in encouraging ecological recovery in the rangelands and explores the complex interrelationships involved through consultation with the primary stakeholders of landholders, tourism operators and visitors. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1346333 / Thesis (Ph.D.) - University of Adelaide, School of Social Sciences, 2008

Relatively little published information on cyanoprokaryote (blue-green algal) blooms in the freshwater wetlands in Western Australia is available. There has been little research on the urban lakes and rivers, examining the relationship between environmental conditions and toxin-producing blooms. In this project the ecology, morphology and toxicity of cyanoprokaryota blooms in 27 metropolitan lakes and sumplands, as well as three major rivers, from 2000 to 2003, on the Swan Coastal Plain (SCP) in the southwest of Western Australia were investigated. / A total of 24 species were identified and described, of which nine species had not been previously documented in the area. This included the potentially toxic species Cylindrospermopsis raciborskii, Aphanizomenon ovalisporum and Anabaena bergii var. limnetica. An illustrated guide to the common bloom-forming species was generated using conventional taxonomic criteria. / Microcystis flos-aquae and Microcystis aeruginosa were the dominant bloom-forming cyanoprokaryotes, widespread in their distribution. Anabaena circinalis, A. bergii var. limnetica and Anabaenopsis elenkinii were the common filamentous species. Anabaena circinalis was common to certain freshwater sites, while A. bergii var. limnetica and A. elenkinii occurred in salinity ranging from fresh (< 1ppt) to hyposaline (3-10 ppt). Sites with similar species assemblages were identified using two-way indicator species analysis and clustering analysis. From this, a distinct distribution pattern emerged, which was defined by the main genera observed in the lakes – Microcystis, Anabaena, Aphanizomenon and Anabaenopsis. / The spatial and temporal distribution of the common bloom-forming cyanoprokaryote species was examined in conjunction with spring-summer physico-chemical data using principal component analysis. It was found that pH, water temperature and electrical conductivity/salinity accounted for variations among the lakes, with electrical conductivity the variable explaining the greatest variation. Lakes located on the coast, or further inland at the base of the Darling Scarp, were more hyposaline to saline, and the remaining lakes were fresh. Although the SCP lakes form consanguineous groups based on geochemistry and hydrology, no similarities among them were found in terms of water quality. / The relationship between nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) concentrations (total and dissolved inorganic) and cyanoprokaryote community structure (N-fixing versus non-N-fixing species) was investigated in five selected lakes; Yangebup Lake, Bibra Lake, Blue Gum Lake, Tomato Lake and Emu Lake. The lakes ranged from mesotrophic to eutrophic and supported spring-summer blooms containing multiple species. Overall an inverse relationship between cyanoprokaryote abundance and total ambient nutrient concentrations at the time of the blooms was evident. No transition in dominance in the community was observed in Yangebup Lake, Emu Lake and Bibra Lake, as they were dominated by non-heterocytic species (M. aeruginosa and M. flos-aquae) throughout spring and summer. For Yangebup Lake and Bibra Lake, the abundance of non-heterocytic species decreased concomitantly with decreasing dissolved inorganic N. In contrast, heterocytic species (A. circinalis) dominated the spring community in Tomato Lake, and summer community in Blue Gum Lake, when N and P concentrations were at their highest. / The presence of microcystins in Microcystis dominated blooms was examined using high performance chromatography. A total of 32 natural bloom samples, representing 13 lakes, were analysed for microcystin variants; -LR, -RR and -YR. Twenty-eight samples proved to be toxic with the highest total microcystin concentration from 1645 to 8428.6 µg L[superscript]-1, the lowest concentrations were less than 10 µg L[superscript]-1 with some below the detection limit. Microcystis aeruginosa and M. flos-aquae were associated with these microcystin-containing blooms, although M. flos-aquae appear to be less toxic. The presence of Nodularia spumigena in the Lake Yangebup was associated with high concentrations of nodularin (1664 µg L[superscript]-1). / Employing enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay for microcystins and the brine shrimp (Artemia) bioassays allowed a greater number of lake samples to be analysed and provided a rapid assessment of toxicity. The three methods for cyanotoxin detection verified Yangebup Lake, Herdsman Lake, Hyde Park, Jackadder Lake and Emu Lake as highly toxic sites. Low toxicity was demonstrated in samples from Lake Goollelal, Lake Joondalup, Lake Claremont, Blue Gum Lake and North Lake. These results provided the first evidence of cyanotoxin producing blooms in urban lakes of the SCP. / A comparative study on cyanoprokaryota blooms in Swan River estuary, upper Canning River and upper Serpentine River found that these sites, although hyposaline to saline, contained species that were common in the freshwater lakes. Sampling the river systems showed M. aeruginosa, M. flos-aquae, A. circinalis, A. elenkinii and Planktothrix planctonica to be cosmopolitan in distribution, present in SCP wetlands of varied salinity. Similarities between the upper Canning River and lakes in environmental conditions and species assemblage were demonstrated using multivariate analyses. / Toxin analysis of bloom samples from the Swan River and upper Canning River revealed microcystin concentrations were less than that of the surrounding lakes (1.05-124.16 µg L[superscript]-1). Similarly, nodularin concentrations were higher in Yangebup Lake than the upper Serpentine River. However, the dominance of Anabaena in Canning River samples, and the highly toxic result from the Artemia bioassay suggests microcystin is not the predominant cyanotoxin in this wetland. / This study has produced an overview of the distribution and morphology of cyanotoxin-producing cyanoprokaryotes in the SCP wetlands. The data presented provide the basis for further cyanoprokaryote research in Western Australia, in particular the molecular characterisation of bloom-forming toxic species.

[Truncated abstract] This study investigated the organisational role of environmental stability on the fish communities that inhabit the Fortescue River, an intermittent and variable system in north-Western Australia. It did so by examining the relationships between pool stability (measured by persistence of water through time, and variation in maximum pool depth through time) and the number and type of species within pools, temporal fluctuations in total fish abundance and intra-specific abundance, population size frequency distributions, and growth rate. It also examined the association between life history traits and the stability of the environments occupied within the river, and the stability of the river at large. The results indicated that environmental stability was the major factor structuring the fish communities. Among-pool comparisons revealed that unstable pools contained fewer species, a greater fraction of juvenile size classes, and underwent greater fluctuations in total and intra-specific numerical abundance through time, than stable pools . . . Stability affected community structure by determining (or describing) the probability that a pool would undergo periods of extreme shrinkage, that is, the likelihood that fish will be exposed to extreme physico-chemical fluctuations and complete eradication. While the physical environment (acting through stability) primarily structured the fish communities of the Fortescue River there was indirect evidence that even within this variable river system, biological interactions played a role, albeit minor. Future investigations into the role of environmental stability will benefit from the use of accepted and quantitative methods by all stream ecologists.

Thesis (MA (History))--University of Stellenbosch, 2009. / Although the environment is of obvious and primary importance in agriculture, the historical relationship between agriculture and the environment has not been widely researched. A socio-environmental paradigm provides a useful, inter-disciplinary framework for writing history. It takes into account the fact that ‘natural disasters’ are not merely happening to farmers, governments and communities, subsequently disturbing economic growth-patterns and reverberating amongst policy-makers and politicians. The relationship is much more reciprocal. The environment is not perceived as a player that sometimes disrupts the historical narrative, forcing the plot in a certain direction before returning to the wings. It is rather percieved as an agent within agricultural history. The social-cultural as well as material relationships between people (in this case white farmers), state and the environment are explored as an ecosystem. The thesis focuses on a time period after the First World War to just after the Second World War (c.1920 – c.1950). It asks questions: whom and what has informed the ideas of the state with regards to agriculture and to what extent did it filtered through to the farming communities themselves? The motives behind these approaches are explored. The thesis will also look at how officials translated the policies, legislation and education into what was perceived as functional for the farmers and effective for the environment, tracing how it changed over time. The shifting perception of the farmers about the environment and themselves, and the role of the state played in ‘management’ of the environment are analysed, using press correspondence, marketing campaigns and popular texts. Two themes that garnered much debate in the agricultural sector at the state, farmer and environment interface, include the ‘disasters’ of soil erosion and locust plagues. On the level of ‘scientific agriculture,’ the shift from Europe as a point of reference to the United States is discussed. This is done against the backdrop of South Africa’s semi-arid landscape and how farmers came to grips with this ostensibly hostile environment in an era where mechanisation and urbanisation are thought to have radically altered the conceptualisation of the natural environment.

The phenomenon of climate change exists in a liminal state between denial and acceptance, past and future, theory and reality, problem and catastrophe, unfolding in the spaces between apparently stable forms. This thesis considers different temporalities emerging within this transition through a creative exploration of extreme weather and climatic events that seeks to foreground the idea of change itself. Research centers around the Florida Keys, a low lying archipelago that is widely expected to become uninhabitable in the next half century due to sea level rise, but only if the islands do not suffer a similar fate much sooner with the sudden arrival of a catastrophic hurricane. While most Keys residents are unconcerned about the growing reality of sea level rise, hurricanes are a constant threat generating a palpable atmosphere of anticipation and corresponding precaution. In resonance with this regular storm activity in the Florida Keys, the project also reflects on the coincidental occurrence of Hurricanes Irene (2011) and Sandy (2012), two errant and devastating storms that visited the northeastern United States over the course of this project and personally affected the author. Thus, extreme weather provides a material entry point into the complex and far-reaching event of climate change, offering an opportunity to theorize transition and to reflect on what might be creatively recuperated from cross currents of climate and catastrophe. In conclusion, the thesis proposes an ontology inspired by the unique reproductive strategy of the mangrove plant that has thickly and extensively colonized the coastline of southern Florida and through which events are understood to possess qualities of latency, accrual and distribution and to give rise to a future that is germinal, a present that is continuously resignified and a past that remains profoundly creative.

The arid interior of South Africa lacks long, continuous and well-dated climate and environmental proxy records that can be compared with cultural sequences and with broader global climate records. This thesis develops the first substantial terrestrial environmental sequence for the interior of southern Africa at the site of Wonderwerk Cave, spanning two million years of prehistory. Changes in vegetation and humidity over time were investigated by means of carbon and oxygen stable isotope analysis on fossil herbivore enamel and ostrich eggshell, creating two independent proxy datasets. The Holocene record was used as a baseline for comparing the Pleistocene sequence, but required chronological tightening. Therefore, nine new radiocarbon dates were obtained, and calibrated and modelled with existing dates to provide a firmer chronology. The ostrich eggshell isotope record suggests arid but variable conditions, with distinct phases of increased humidity in the Early Pleistocene and mid-Holocene. Enamel stable isotope results show clear differences in local resource availability between the Early and Mid-Pleistocene, and then between the Pleistocene and Holocene, with an overall trend of increasing aridity. In particular, the onset of dietary specialisation in grazers at 0.8Ma is linked to expanding C4 grasslands. Aridity was not the driver behind the increase in C4 grasses, but changing pCO2 levels at the Mid Pleistocene transition were identified as a possible key factor. The presence of C3 and C4 grasses in the Early Pleistocene, when compared to the domination of C4 grasses today, was fostered by reduced rainfall seasonality. Regional independent developments have to be considered, as other regions in South and East Africa show C4 dominated diets in herbivores at earlier times than at Wonderwerk Cave. In the Holocene, higher temporal resolution indicates phases of environmental change coinciding with changes in the cultural record.

Les coraux vivent en association symbiotique avec des algues dinoflagellées du genre Symbiodinium, distinguées en différents clades (A à I). Un même hôte peut abriter seul ou plusieurs de ces clades, a priori dépendant d’un contexte environnemental, suggérant qu’ils possèdent des propriétés physiologiques distinctes. Ainsi, les capacités de flexibilité et d’acquisition de clades pourraient être une issue pour la survie de l’holobionte face à divers stress. Dans le cadre de cette thèse, ces capacités ont été explorées chez plusieurs espèces coralliennes, décrites avec différentes flexibilités et sensibilités aux conditions environnementales. La diversité et la dynamique des communautés de Symbiodinium associées aux coraux ont été estimées à l’aide de la technique de PCR en temps réel et évaluées dans différents contextes environnementaux: naturels, lors d’un suivi spatio-temporel de 18 mois à Moorea, ou contrôlés, lors d'une incubation à différentes pCO2. Les coraux ont montré la possibilité d’héberger jusqu’à 3 ou 4 clades distincts, reconsidérant la notion de spécialiste (i.e. symbionte unique). Néanmoins, propre à l’hôte corallien, il a été mis en évidence la régulation de ‘signatures symbiotiques’ caractérisées par des profils particuliers d’association de clades, stables et durables. Des modifications sporadiques de ces profils, par switching et shuffling ont put être observées, indépendamment d’un contexte environnemental donné, suggérant la dynamique comme un mécanisme constitutif chez les coraux. Néanmoins, en cas de d’apparition d’épizooties de Vibrio spp. et d’une maladie corallienne il est suggéré que le clade D participe activement au ‘fitness’ de leur hôte. / Corals live in symbiosis with dinoflagellate algae of the genus Symbiodinium, divided into 9 clades (A to I). The same host can harbour one or more of these clades depending on the environmental context. This lead to the suggestion that each clade has its unique physiological property. Therefore the capacity of flexibility and acquisition of clades may be an issue for the survival of the holobiont against various stresses. In this thesis, these capacities have been explored in several coral species, described with various flexibilities and sensitivities facing different environmental conditions. The diversity and dynamics of Symbiodinium communities associated to corals were estimated by using the real-time PCR technique, and evaluated in different environmental contexts : natural, in an 18-month spatio-temporal survey around Moorea, or controlled, upon incubation with different pCO2. Some corals showed the ability to host up to 3 or 4 distinct clades, leading to a reconsideration of the specialist-concept (i.e. host associated with one symbiont type). Nevertheless, depending on the coral host, ‘symbiotic signature’ regulations have been revealed. Latter are characterized by specific clade combination profils, which are stable and sustainable. In addition, sporadic changes by switching and shuffling, were observed in a given profil, regardless of a given environmental context, suggesting the dynamics as an constitutive mechanism in corals. However, records of coral disease together with Vibrio spp outbreaks, suggested an active participation of clade D for the ‘fitness’ of the coral host.

Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / The natural regeneration in disturbed areas might become a slow process due to harsh conditions and constraints imposed by the environment. The positive interactions in these locations are important for the establishment of woody plant community. In abandoned pastures the isolated remnant trees facilitate regeneration by easing the environmental conditions, reducing competition below their canopies and attracting animal dispersers that might increase the local seed rain. Thus, this study aimed to understand the role of isolated trees in the regeneration process and evaluate which factors might affect this process. For this purpose, we selected an abandoned pasture in Deciduous Seasonal Forest conditions (DSF), located within the borders of Parque Estadual do Pau Furado (Pau Furado State Park), Uberlândia MG. In a 10 - hectare area we selected twenty isolated trees and set four 4m² - plots in each one, two below the canopy and two outside the canopy (open area). All the regenerating woody individuals found in the plots were measured and identified. Some characteristics of the trees were also measured: tree height, canopy coverage and area, and distance from the nearest DSF fragment. The environmental data of temperature and relative humidity were gathered in both environments (below and outside the canopy) in two distinct seasons (dry and rainy). The natural regeneration was represented by 245 woody individuals (224 in the plots below the canopy and 21 in the plots outside the canopy), distributed in 51 species, 42 genera, and 22 botany families. The most important families were Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Malvaceae and Bignoniaceae. The plots below the canopy showed higher density of individuals and species richness when compared to the plots outside the canopy. When it comes to dispersion syndrome, the zoochore species were predominant (46.9%), indicating that isolated trees attract dispersers that deposit the seeds on site. As a direct effect of canopy shading we recorded lower temperature and higher values of relative humidity below the canopy in both seasons. The shading also affected the grass coverage that was reduced below the canopy. This reduction is important for seedlings establishment and growing, since alien grasses set limits to natural regeneration due to competition. From the analyzed environmental and biophysical factors by using Canonical Correspondence Analysis (CCA), the height, the canopy area and RH showed a relation to distribution of woody species. The relation species/environment was significant in the dry season (p<0.05), according to Monte Carlo test even though it only explained 23.7 of data variation. In stressful environments, as abandoned pastures, a successful regeneration will probably rely on the existence of isolated trees that act as facilitators easing, thus, the environmental conditions below their canopies. / A regeneração natural em áreas degradadas pode se tornar um processo lento, devido às condições adversas e das barreiras impostas pelo ambiente. Nesses locais, as interações positivas podem ser muito importantes para o estabelecimento da comunidade lenhosa. Em pastagens abandonadas, as árvores remanescentes isoladas facilitam a regeneração por amenizar as condições ambientais e reduzir a competição abaixo de sua copa, e atrair animais dispersores que podem incrementar a chuva de sementes no local. Assim, o presente estudo teve como objetivo compreender o papel de árvores isoladas no processo de regeneração e avaliar quais fatores podem estar atuando nesse processo. Para essa finalidade, selecionou-se uma pastagem abandonada (sem uso) em condições de Floresta Estacional Decidual (FED), situada dentro dos limites do Parque Estadual do Pau Furado, Uberlândia, MG. Em uma área de 10 hectares, foram escolhidas vinte árvores isoladas, e em cada uma foram instaladas quatro parcelas de 4m², duas sob a copa e duas fora da copa (área aberta). Todos os indivíduos lenhosos regenerantes encontrados nas parcelas foram medidos e identificados. Algumas características da árvore também foram mensuradas: altura da árvore, área e cobertura da copa e distância do fragmento de FED mais próximo. Os dados ambientais de temperatura e umidade relativa do ar e cobertura do solo foram medidos nos dois ambientes (dentro e fora da copa) em duas estações distintas (seca e chuvosa). A regeneração natural foi representada por 245 indivíduos do componente lenhoso (224 nas parcelas sob a copa e 21 nas parcelas fora), distribuídos em 51 espécies, 42 gêneros e 22 famílias botânicas. As famílias que mais se destacaram foram Fabaceae, Myrtaceae, Rubiaceae, Malvaceae e Bignoniaceae. As parcelas sob a copa das árvores apresentaram maior densidade de indivíduos e riqueza de espécies que as parcelas abaixo da copa. Quanto às síndromes de dispersão, nas parcelas sob a copa houve uma predominância de espécies zoocóricas (46,9%), um indicativo de que as árvores isoladas atraem dispersores que depositam sementes no local. Como efeito direto do sombreamento pela copa, observamos temperaturas mais baixas e valores mais altos de umidade relativa nas parcelas abaixo da copa, nas duas estações do ano. O sombreamento também afetou a cobertura de gramíneas, que foi reduzida abaixo da copa das árvores. Essa redução é importante para o estabelecimento e crescimento das plântulas, pois as gramíneas exóticas limitam a regeneração por serem fortes competidoras. Dentre os fatores ambientais e biofísicos avaliados, usando Análise de Correspondência Canônica (ACC), a altura, área de copa e UR apresentaram relação com a distribuição das espécies lenhosas. A relação espécie/ambiente foi significativa na estação seca (p<0,05) pelo teste de Monte Carlo, mesmo explicando somente 23,7% da variação dos dados. Em ambientes estressantes, como pastagens abandonadas, o sucesso da regeneração pode, muitas vezes, depender da existência de árvores isoladas que atuam como facilitadoras amenizando, desta forma, as condições ambientais abaixo da copa das árvores. / Mestre em Ecologia e Conservação de Recursos Naturais

Este trabalho teve como objetivo avaliar o módulo de resiliência de misturas asfálticas densas sob duas condições. A primeira foi o estudo dos efeitos do enrijecimento de misturas asfálticas densas em condições ambientais diferentes (cinco condições) que são: AAAL (ao ar e à luz), AASL (ao ar e sem luz), AVAL (baixa pressão atmosférica e à luz), AVSL (baixa pressão atmosférica e sem luz) e CLIMA (ao clima e intempéries), tendo sido utilizados para este experimento CAP 20, centro da faixa C do DNER como distribuição granulométrica e preparados segundo a AASHTO PP2. Neste estudo concluiu-se que não houve efeito significativo da exposição da luz artificial nas condições AL e SL, assim como não houve, também, efeito significativo na variação do módulo de resiliência nas condições de exposição ou não ao ar (AV e AA); nas demais condições houve melhora significativa nos resultados. Na segunda parte foram avaliados os efeitos de alguns fatores na susceptibilidade térmica de misturas asfálticas densas: tipo de agregado (basalto, gabro e granito), tipo de asfalto (CAP 20 e CAP 40), teor de asfalto (5%, 5,5% e 6%), presença de aditivo (com e sem cal) e temperaturas de ensaio (10ºC, 25ºC e 40ºC). Todos os corpos-de-prova foram preparados segundo procedimento da AASHTO PP2. Na segunda parte do experimento, concluiu-se que o CAP 40 produziu valores médios de Vv superiores aos do CAP 20, as misturas com teor de 5,5% apresentaram maior resistência à tração a 25°C, o módulo de resiliência e a relação MR/RT diminuem com o aumento do teor de CAP. / This work intended to evaluate the resilient modulus of dense-graded hot-mix asphalt under two conditions. The first condition comprehends a study of the hardening effects of densegraded hot mix asphalt submitted to five environmental conditions: AAAL (air and artificial light), AASL (air and no artificial light), AVAL (low atmospheric pressure and artificial light), AVSL (low atmospheric pressure and no artificial light) and CLIMA (exposition to intemperism). In this phase, it was used an AC-20 asphalt binder and DNER middle band \"C\" as aggregate\'s particles size distribution. Specimens were prepared according to AASHTO PP2. Based on the results of the first part of the experiment, it was concluded that there was no significant effect of the artificial light exposition on AL and SL conditions, as well as on the variation of resilient modulus under air conditions (AV and AA). The other conditions presented better performance results. The second part of the experiment aimed to evaluating the effect of some factors in the thermal susceptibility of dense-graded HMA, that are: aggregate type (basalt, gabbro, granite), asphalt type (AC-20 and AC-40), binder content (5,0%, 5,5% and 6,0%), presence of additive (with or without lime) and test temperature (10ºC, 25ºC and 40ºC). As in the first part of the experiment, all specimens were prepared according to AASHTO PP2. Results of the second part of the experiment led to the following conclusions: mixtures using AC-40 showed average air voids higher than mixtures using AC-20, mixtures with a binder content of 5,5% showed the highest values of tensile strength, at 25°C, the resilient modulus and the MR/RT ratio reduce when binder content increases.

Plants and herbivores influence each other for more than million years. Most studies are focused on interspecific variability in herbivory intensity, but little i known about intraspecific variability and what controls it. Environmental conditions can determine intraspecific variation. Goal of this thesis is to examine importance of environmental conditions and interspecific variation for invertebrate herbivory preferences. Plant material that was used in experiments comes from several species from subfamily Carduoideae. Preferences of invertebrate herbivores are tested in food-choice experiments. Plastic arenas are made for these experiments, in which leaves are put in small tubes that are placed along the periphery. After herbivores are placed in to arena, arena is covered by net to ensure that herbivores can't escape. Plant material for experiments was grown in experimental garden and was also brought from field. Plants from garden differ in productivity of soil and water regime. In experiments with field material, plant leaves were collected from eight localities, four fields and four grasslands. Leaves were scanted before and after each experiment. Scans were processed and the amount of consumed leaf tissue was determined. For plant characteristics I measured plant functional traits, specific...