Abstract
BACKGROUND: Herbivory can affect every aspect of a plant's life. Damaged individuals may show decreased survivorship and reproductive output. Additionally, specific plant species (legumes) and tissues (flowers) are often selectively targeted by herbivores, like deer. These types of herbivory influence a plant's growth and abundance. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of leaf and meristem removal (simulated herbivory within an exclosure) on fruit and flower production in four species (Rhus glabra, Rosa arkansana, Lathyrus venosus, and Phlox pilosa) which are known targets of deer herbivory. RESULTS: Lathyrus never flowered or went to seed, so we were unable to detect any treatment effects. Leaf removal did not affect flower number in the other three species. However, Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal. Meristem removal had a more negative effect than leaf removal on flower number in Phlox and on both flower number and seed mass in Rosa. CONCLUSIONS: Meristem removal caused a greater response than defoliation alone in both Phlox and Rosa, which suggests that meristem loss has a greater effect on reproduction. The combination of leaf and meristem removal as well as recruitment limitation by deer, which selectively browse for these species, is likely to be one factor contributing to their low abundance in prairies.
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Claims 10
Claim · model-written summary
Lathyrus did not flower or set seed.
- Outcome
- never flowered or went to seede0
LathyrusOrganisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Lathyrus never flowered or went to seed”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaf removal did not affect flower number in Phlox.
PhloxNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Leaf removal did not affect flower number in the other three species.”
e1“Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaf removal did not affect flower number in Rosa.
RosaNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Leaf removal did not affect flower number in the other three species.”
e1“Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal”
Claim · model-written summary
Leaf removal did not affect flower number in Rhus.
RhusNot reportedComparator
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Leaf removal did not affect flower number in the other three species.”
e1“Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed mass was negatively correlated with leaf removal in Phlox.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed mass was negatively correlated with leaf removal in Rosa.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal”
Claim · model-written summary
Seed mass was negatively correlated with leaf removal in Rhus.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Phlox, Rosa, and Rhus all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal”
Claim · model-written summary
Meristem removal reduced flower number more than leaf removal in Phlox.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Meristem removal had a more negative effect than leaf removal on flower number in Phlox”
Claim · model-written summary
Meristem removal reduced flower number more than leaf removal in Rosa.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Meristem removal had a more negative effect than leaf removal on flower number in Phlox and on both flower number and seed mass in Rosa”
Claim · model-written summary
Meristem removal reduced seed mass more than leaf removal in Rosa.
Organisms pictured · Representative pictures of the matched species, not figures from the paper.
Verbatim
e0“Meristem removal had a more negative effect than leaf removal on flower number in Phlox and on both flower number and seed mass in Rosa”
The same questions in other papers
pruning · phenology · RosaPositive and negative results
7 in the opposite direction
- positive
- positive
- positive
4 papers more in this group
See all 8 papers →Claims are grouped by organism, treatment and what was measured or targeted. A paper counts as positive when any of its claims in the group is positive.