Data from: Induced phenological avoidance: a neglected defense mechanism against seed predation in plants

1.    Flowering phenology is an important life history
trait affecting plant reproductive performance and is influenced by
various abiotic and biotic factors. Pre-dispersal seed predation and
pollination are expected to impose counteracting selection pressure on
flowering phenology, with pre-dispersal seed predation expected to favor
off-peak flowering and pollination to favor synchronous
flowering.  2.      Here we studied
the effect of pre-dispersal seed predation by the beetle Byturus
ochraceus, a specialist seed herbivore, on the flowering phenology of Geum
urbanum. This forest understorey plant species is self-pollinating, so
that the influence of seed predation can be studied independent from
pollination. We measured in detail the timing and predation rate of
individual flowers during two consecutive years in more than 60
individuals. We tested the hypotheses that pre-dispersal seed predation
exerts selection for within-season compensatory flowering as well as for
induced phenological avoidance in the following season. 3. 
    We found no indication for compensatory flowering
within a growing season, but plants that experienced predation shifted
their flowers to the end of the flowering season the subsequent year. This
induced phenological avoidance points to a plastic response to
pre-dispersal seed predation that may be adaptive. Importantly, the delay
in flower production came at a cost, since flowers later in the season had
a reduced seed output, presumably because of increasing light limitation
following forest canopy closure.  4.   
  Synthesis: Herbivory by specialist enemies can cause serious
fitness decline in hosts. We here show that induced shifts in phenology
can form an important defense strategy against pre-dispersal seed
predation. The induced mismatches between herbivore and host phenology are
anticipated to be adaptive when herbivory is predictable across successive
flowering periods.