title: Meta-analysis of trade-offs among plant antiherbivore defenses: are plants jacks-of-all-trades, masters of all?
abstract: On the basis of physiological and ecological costs of defense allocation, most plant defense theories predict the occurrence of trade-offs between resource investment in different types of antiherbivore defenses. To test this prediction, we conducted a meta-analysis of 31 studies published in 1976-2002 that provided data on covariation of different defensive traits in plant genotypes. We found no overall negative association between different defensive traits in plants; instead, the relationship between defensive traits varied from positive to negative depending on the types of co-occurring defenses. Evidence of trade-off was found only between constitutive and induced defenses. Therefore, to a large extent, plants appear to be jacks-of-all-trades, masters of all and may successfully produce several types of defense without paying considerable trade-offs. Our survey thus provides little evidence that genetic trade-offs between defensive traits significantly constrain the evolution of multiple defenses in plants.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, University of Turku, FIN-20014 Turku, Finland. julkoric@utu.fi
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Koricheva
authors.forename: Heli
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nykänen
authors.forename: Ernesto
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Gianoli
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005247:Feeding Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D018521:Plant Physiological Phenomena; D010944:Plants / Q000737:chemistry / Q000235:genetics / Q000378:metabolism*