Variation in herbivore defense strategies among plant species differing in elevational distribution and the role of temperature in defense.

ABSTRACT: Temperature influences the distribution and performance of both plants and insect herbivores. Consequently, plant-herbivore interactions are likely to vary across thermal gradients, which could affect the evolution of plant defense. Furthermore, temperature fluctuations may elicit immediate changes in defense. To study the evolutionary and ecological aspects of plant antiherbivore defense depending on temperature, we conducted a transplant experiment on a mountain slope involving 30 Brassicaceae species varying in elevational distribution. Additionally, we carried out a climate-chamber experiment on a subset of 12 species to assess the temperature dependence of constitutive and induced defenses. The transplant experiment revealed that species from higher elevations experienced less herbivo

SUBMITTER: Dorey T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12917448 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature