Sex-differential herbivory in androdioecious Mercurialis annua

Males of plants with separate sexes are often more prone to attack by herbivores than females. A common explanation for this pattern is that individuals with a greater male function suffer more from herbivory because they grow more quickly, drawing more heavily on resources for growth that might oth...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:PloS one 2011-07, Vol.6 (7), p.e22083-e22083
Main Authors: Sánchez Vilas, Julia, Pannell, John R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Alismataceae
Animals
Biology
Euphorbiaceae
Euphorbiaceae - parasitology
Euphorbiaceae - physiology
Evolution
Experiments
Females
Fragaria vesca americana
Helix aspersa
Helix, Snails - physiology
Herbivores
Herbivory
Hermaphrodites
Hypotheses
Leaves
Males
Mercurialis
Mercurialis annua
Mollusks
Plant reproduction
Plant sciences
Pollination - physiology
Predatory Behavior - physiology
Reproducibility of Results
Sagittaria lancifolia
Sex
Snails
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Summary:Males of plants with separate sexes are often more prone to attack by herbivores than females. A common explanation for this pattern is that individuals with a greater male function suffer more from herbivory because they grow more quickly, drawing more heavily on resources for growth that might otherwise be allocated to defence. Here, we test this 'faster-sex' hypothesis in a species in which males in fact grow more slowly than hermaphrodites, the wind-pollinated annual herb Mercurialis annua. We expected greater herbivory in the faster-growing hermaphrodites. In contrast, we found that males, the slower sex, were significantly more heavily eaten by snails than hermaphrodites. Our results thus reject the faster-sex hypothesis and point to the importance of a trade-off between defence and reproduction rather than growth.
ISSN:1932-6203
1932-6203
DOI:10.1371/journal.pone.0022083