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Leaf compensatory growth as a tolerance strategy to resist herbivory in Pancratium sickenbergeri

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Abstract

We examined the effects of leaf herbivory by the dorcas gazelle, Gazella dorcas, on the compensatory growth of the geophyte Pancratium sickenbergeri (Amaryllidaceae) in the Negev desert, Israel. In three populations exposed to different levels of herbivory, we removed different amounts of photosynthetic leaf area from plants in five clipping treatments: 0, 25, 50%-dispersed over all leaves, 50%-entire area of half the leaves, 100%. The population with the lowest level of herbivory showed the lowest relative regrowth rate after clipping. In the population with a constantly high level of herbivory, plants in intermediate-clipping treatments overcompensated in leaf area after clipping. For all the populations, clipped plants produce more new leaves than unclipped plants. In the population with the highest level of herbivory, clipping treatments did not have a significant effect on the number of fruits per plant. In addition, we did not find a trade-off between investments in growth and reproduction in this population. Our results indicated that, in the desert lily, herbivores may select for plant mechanisms that compensate after damage as a tolerant strategy to maintain fitness.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Iris Musli, Ofrit Gilan, and Betina Berendock for assistance in the field. We thank the anonymous reviewers for their insights. This study was supported by the Israel Science Foundation. This is publication number 587 of the Mitrani Department for Desert Ecology.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Mitrani Department of Desert Ecology, Jacob Blaustein Institute for Desert Research, Ben Gurion University of the Negev, Sede Boqer, 84990, Israel

    Natalia Ruiz-R, David Ward & David Saltz

  2. Department of Biology, National University of Colombia, Bogota, A. A. 7495, Colombia

    Natalia Ruiz-R

  3. School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, P. Bag X01, Scottsville, 3209, South Africa

    David Ward

Authors
  1. Natalia Ruiz-R
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  2. David Ward
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  3. David Saltz
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Correspondence to David Ward.

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Ruiz-R, N., Ward, D. & Saltz, D. Leaf compensatory growth as a tolerance strategy to resist herbivory in Pancratium sickenbergeri . Plant Ecol 198, 19–26 (2008). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-007-9381-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-007-9381-y

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