Microsite availability, not floral herbivory, limits recruitment in peripheral native thistle populations

Variation in insect herbivory can drive variation in plant fitness and population dynamics.  However, our ability to predict the ecological contexts in which insect herbivores will reduce plant fitness or population growth is limited.  In theory, populations at the periphery of a plant species’ biogeographic range, are expected to experience reduced herbivory. Further, in montane landscapes, elevation is expected to drive variation in abiotic conditions and variation in plant-insect interactions.  Specifically, less insect herbivory may occur at cooler, higher elevations.  To examine these predictions, we quantified effects of inflorescence- and seed-feeding insect herbivores in populations of the short-lived, monocarpic, perennial forb Cirsium canescens (Platte thistle) in montane grasslands in Colorado, USA. We asked: 1) Does insect flower head herbivory and predispersal seed predation limit Platte thistle lifetime seed production?, 2) Does this insect herbivory li..., The plant-based data sets (Plattethistleseedproduction.csv, Plattethistleseedlingestablishment.csv, Plattethistlefirstflowering.csv) are from experiments that examined the effects of insect floral herbivory and pre-dispersal seed predation on the number of viable seeds produced and the number of seedlings established by Platte thistles (Cirsium canescens) along an elevation gradient in Caffee County, Colorado USA.  Specifically, we were interested in addressing 1) how elevation affected Platte thistle viable seed production, 2) how insect herbivory on reproductive adult Platte thistles affected their viable seed production and 3) whether the effect of insect herbivory varied with elevation.  The experiments that contributed to this data set involved an insect exclusion treatment in which insect herbivory either was reduced on plants through insecticide application or the plants were not sprayed with insecticide and served as controls.  Control plants either were entirely ..., , # Data from: **Microsite availability, not floral herbivory, limits recruitment in peripheral native thistle populations**

[https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kh18932dc](https://doi.org/10.5061/dryad.kh18932dc)

ReadMe file for seven data sets associated with “**Microsite availability, not floral herbivory, limits recruitment in peripheral native thistle populations.**” by FL Russell, MR Taylor and SM Louda. The data sets are named; 1. ‘Plattethistleseedproduction.csv’, 2. ‘Plattethistleseedlingestablishment.csv’, 3. ‘Plattethistlefirstflowering.csv’, 4. ‘Plantcommunitybiomass.csv’, 5. ‘Baregroundcover.csv’, 6. ‘Soilhardness.csv’, 7. ‘Soilmoisture.csv’.

### 1\. Data Set: ‘Plattethistleseedproduction.csv’

Data Description: These data are from experiments that examined the effects of insect floral herbivory and pre-dispersal seed predation on the number of viable seeds produced by Platte thistles (Cirsium canescens) along an elevation gradient in Caffee County, Colorado USA. Specifically,...,