Insect herbivores drive real-time ecological and evolutionary change in plant populations.
نویسندگان
چکیده
Insect herbivores are hypothesized to be major factors affecting the ecology and evolution of plants. We tested this prediction by suppressing insects in replicated field populations of a native plant, Oenothera biennis, which reduced seed predation, altered interspecific competitive dynamics, and resulted in rapid evolutionary divergence. Comparative genotyping and phenotyping of nearly 12,000 O. biennis individuals revealed that in plots protected from insects, resistance to herbivores declined through time owing to changes in flowering time and lower defensive ellagitannins in fruits, whereas plant competitive ability increased. This independent real-time evolution of plant resistance and competitive ability in the field resulted from the relaxation of direct selective effects of insects on plant defense and through indirect effects due to reduced herbivory on plant competitors.
منابع مشابه
Impacts of insect herbivores on rare plant populations
0006-3207/$ see front matter 2011 Elsevier Ltd. A doi:10.1016/j.biocon.2011.06.019 ⇑ Corresponding author. Tel.: +1 506 452 6047; fax E-mail address: [email protected] (S.B. Heard). Population-level impacts of insect herbivory on rare and endangered plants are poorly understood, being frequently suggested but seldom quantified. We compiled 37 studies from the primary literature encompassing 35 rare...
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ورودعنوان ژورنال:
- Science
دوره 338 6103 شماره
صفحات -
تاریخ انتشار 2012