sex-related differences in reproductive allocation, growth, defense and herbivory in three dioecious neotropical palms与性有关的生殖分配的差异,增长、国防和食草性三个雌雄异体的热带棕榈.pdfVIP

Sex-Related Differences in Reproductive Allocation, Growth, Defense and Herbivory in Three Dioecious Neotropical Palms ´ 1 1,2 Veronica Cepeda-Cornejo *, Rodolfo Dirzo ´ ´ ´ ´ ´ ´ 1 Departamento de Ecologıa Evolutiva, Instituto de Ecologıa, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Mexico, Distrito Federal, Mexico, 2 Department of Biology, Stanford University, Stanford, California, United States of America Abstract Background: Frequently, in dioecious plants, female plants allocate more resources to reproduction than male plants. Therefore it is expected that asymmetrical allocation to reproduction may lead to a reproduction-growth tradeoff, whereby female plants grow less than male plants, but invest more in defenses and thus experience lower herbivory than male plants. Methodology/Principal Findings: We tested these expectations by comparing resource allocation to reproduction, growth and defense and its consequences on herbivory in three sympatric dioecious Chamaedorea palms (C. alternans, C. pinnatifrons and C. ernesti-augusti) using a pair-wise design (replicated male/female neighboring plants) in a Mexican tropical rain forest. Our findings support the predictions. Biomass allocation to reproduction in C. pinnatifrons was 3-times higher in female than male plants, consistent with what is known in C. alternans and C. ernesti-augusti. Growth (height and leaf production rate and biomass production) was higher in male plants of all three species. Female plants of the three species had traits that suggest greater investment in defense, as they had 4–16% tougher leaves,