Data from: Herbicidal interference: Glyphosate drives both the ecology and evolution of plant-herbivore interactions

The coevolution of plants and their insect herbivores reflects
eco-evolutionary dynamics at work—ecological interactions influence
adaptive traits, which feed back to shape the broader ecological
community. However, novel anthropogenic stressors like herbicide, which
are strong selective agents, can disrupt these dynamics. Little is known
about how the evolution of herbicide resistance may impact plant-herbivore
interactions. We performed a common garden field experiment
using Ipomoea purpurea (common morning glory) and the herbicide
glyphosate (Roundup) to investigate the ecological effects of herbicide
exposure on insect herbivory patterns and assess the potential
evolutionary consequences. We find that plants treated with glyphosate
experienced higher levels of herbivory and altered chewing herbivory
damage patterns. Additionally, we found that glyphosate resistance is
positively associated with herbivory resistance, and uncovered positive
selection for increased glyphosate resistance, suggesting that selection
for increased glyphosate resistance has the potential to lead to increased
herbivory resistance. Positive selection for glyphosate resistance,
coupled with the detection of genetic variation for this trait, suggests
there is potential for glyphosate resistance—and herbivory
resistance via hitchhiking—to further evolve. Our results show
that herbicides can not just influence, but potentially drive the
eco-evolutionary dynamics of plant-herbivore interactions.