Interspecific variation of plant traits associated with resistance to herbivory among four species of Ficus (moraceae).

ABSTRACT:

Background and aims

To understand the defensive characteristics of interspecies varieties and their responses to herbivory damage, four species of Ficus plants (Ficus altissima, F. auriculata, F. racemosa and F. hispida) were studied. They were similar in life form, but differed in successional stages. Of these, Ficus altissima is a late successional species, F. hispida is a typical pioneer and F. auriculata and F. racemosa are intermediate successional species. We addressed the following questions: (1) What is the difference in plant traits among the four species and are these traits associated with differences in herbivory damage levels? (2) What is the difference in the damage-induced changes among the four species?

Methods

Herbivory damage was measured in the field on ra

SUBMITTER: Xiang H 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4242178 | biostudies-literature | 2004 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature