Fast growth, low defence - plants facing a dilemma

Plants are attacked by a multitude of insects and mammals. As defence against these herbivores they developed complex defence mechanisms over the course of evolution: spines, thorns, leaf hairs and a number of toxic chemical substances. For decades it has been controversially discussed whether the production of defence traits incurs costs to the plants. Now, using a new method the ecologists and plant biologists of the University of Zuerich together with their American colleagues demonstrate these costs accurately in a Proceedings of the Royal Society article...

Read the whole article on

More from