Selection for overcompensatory plant responses to herbivory: A mechanism for the evolution of plant-herbivore mutualism
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Authors: S. G. Vail
Date: 1992
Journal: The American Naturalist
Volume: 139
Number: 1
Pages: 1-8
Summary of Methods: A mathematical model demonstrates that size-selective herbivory can drive the evolution of a mutualistic relationship between plants and herbivores. The fact that some monocarpic plants can replace inflorescences lost to herbivory presents the opportunity for bet hedging within a single flowering season. When herbivory is sufficiently strong and size selective, the optimal plant strategy is to withhold a large proportion of its reproductive resources against the possibility that an initial investment will be consumed. Under these conditions, plant fitness is enhanced by herbivory, and selection would favor plant traits that increase the probability of being eaten.
Article Summary / Main Points: None
Vegetation Types:
MLRA Ecoregions:
Agrovoc Control Words: Riparian zones Rangelands Wildlife
Article Review Type: Refereed
Article Type: Experimental Research
Keywords: overcompensation, herbivory, plant-herbivore mutualism, mathematical model
Annotation: Region, vegetation type, grazing intensity, season of use, and herbivore are not listed. The author is from the University of Pennsylvania.
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