Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 1988 Jan;74(4):531-536.
doi: 10.1007/BF00380050.

Effects of plant growth rate and leaf lifetime on the amount and type of anti-herbivore defense

P D Coley  1
Affiliations

Effects of plant growth rate and leaf lifetime on the amount and type of anti-herbivore defense

P D Coley. Oecologia. 1988 Jan.

Abstract

Growth, herbivory and defenses were studied for 41 common tree species in a lowland rainforest in Panama. Species represented a range of shade tolerance, but all individuals were measured in light gaps to control for environmental conditions and the availability of herbivores. Species growth rates and leaf lifetimes differed by almost 50-fold and were related to the degree of shade tolerance. Various measures of plant growth were significantly negatively correlated with an estimate of defense investment, and significantly positively correlated with rates of herbivory. Species with long-lived leaves had significantly higher concentrations of immobile defenses such as tannins and lignins. These data support current hypotheses that the intrinsic growth rate of a species evolutionarily determines the optimal amount and type of defense.

Keywords: Defense; Growth; Herbivory; Leaf life; Neotropical trees.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. Science. 1985 Nov 22;230(4728):895-9 - PubMed
    1. Oecologia. 1985 Aug;67(1):142-146 - PubMed
    1. Oecologia. 1986 Nov;70(4):544-548 - PubMed
    1. Oecologia. 1986 Sep;70(2):238-241 - PubMed