Growth-defense trade-offs promote habitat isolation between recently-diverged species.

ABSTRACT: Trade-offs are crucial for species divergence and reproductive isolation. Trade-offs between investment in growth versus defense against herbivores are implicated in tropical forest diversity. Empirically exploring the role of growth-defense trade-offs in closely related species' reproductive isolation can clarify the eco-evolutionary dynamics through which growth-defense trade-offs contribute to diversity. Costus villosissimus and C. allenii are recently diverged, interfertile, and partially sympatric neotropical understory plant species primarily isolated by divergent habitat adaptation. This divergent adaptation involves differences in growth rate, which may constrain investment in defense. Here, we investigate growth-defense trade-offs and how they relate to the divergent

SUBMITTER: Harencar JG 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11214971 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Jul

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature