Data from: Adaptive and selective seed abortion reveals complex conditional decision making in plants

Behaviour is traditionally attributed to animals only. Recently, evidence for plant behaviour is accumulating, mostly from plant physiological studies. Here, we provide ecological evidence for complex plant behaviour in the form of seed abortion decisions conditional on internal and external cues. We analysed seed abortion patterns of barberry plants exposed to seed parasitism and different environmental conditions. Without abortion, parasite infestation of seeds can lead to loss of all seeds in a fruit. We statistically tested a series of null-models with Monte-Carlo simulations to establish selectivity and adaptiveness of the observed seed abortion patterns. Seed abortion was more frequent in parasitized fruits and fruits from dry habitats. Surprisingly, seed abortion occurred with significantly greater probability if there was a second intact seed in the fruit. This strategy provides a fitness benefit if abortion can prevent a sibling seed from co-infestation and if non-abortion of an infested, but surviving single seed saves resources invested in the fruit coat. Ecological evidence for complex decision making in plants thus includes a structural memory (the second seed), simple reasoning (integration of inner and outer conditions), conditional behaviour (abortion), and anticipation of future risks (seed predation).长期以来，行为仅被认定为动物专属的特征。近年来，植物行为的相关研究证据不断积累，此类证据大多源自植物生理学研究。本研究基于受内外部信号调控的种子败育（seed abortion）决策模式，为植物的复杂行为提供了生态学层面的实证依据。我们对受种子寄生（seed parasitism）胁迫且处于不同环境条件下的小檗属（barberry）植物的种子败育模式展开了分析：若不发生种子败育，种子被寄生后可能导致整个果实内的所有种子全部丧失。我们通过蒙特卡洛模拟（Monte-Carlo simulations）对一系列零模型（null-models）开展统计学检验，以验证所观测到的种子败育模式的选择性与适应性。结果显示，受寄生的果实以及来自干旱生境的果实，其种子败育发生率更高。令人意外的是，若果实内存在第二颗完整种子，种子败育的概率会显著升高。若通过败育能够避免同果种子被共同寄生，且保留被寄生但仍可存活的单颗种子能够节约投入到果皮（fruit coat）中的资源，则该策略可带来适合度收益（fitness benefit）。由此可见，植物复杂决策的生态学证据涵盖：结构记忆（即第二颗完整种子）、简易推理（整合内外部环境条件）、条件性行为（即种子败育）以及对未来风险的预判（即种子捕食）。