Experimental test of plant defense evolution in four species using long-term rabbit exclosures

Plant defense traits have evolved over macro- and microevolutionary timescales in response to herbivores. Although a number of studies have investigated the evolutionary impacts of herbivores over short timescales, few studies have experimentally examined what defense traits most commonly evolve and whether multiple coexisting species exhibit similar evolutionary responses to herbivores. We addressed these questions using a long-term experiment at Silwood Park, England, United Kingdom, where we excluded rabbits from 38 grassland plots for <1 to 34 years. To assess the evolutionary impacts of rabbits on plant defense traits, we collected seeds from plots containing the following perennial species: Anthoxanthum odoratum L. (Poaceae), Festuca rubra L. spp. rubra (Poaceae), Holcus lanatus L. (Poaceae), and Stellaria graminea L. (Caryophyllaceae). We then grew these plants in a common garden, and measured defensive and morphological traits. We found some evidence for evolutionary change o...植物防御性状在宏演化与微演化的时间尺度上，为响应植食动物的取食压力而逐步演化。尽管已有诸多研究探讨了短时间尺度内置食动物对植物的演化影响，但鲜有实验探究哪些防御性状最易发生演化，以及多种共存植物物种对植食动物是否会展现出相似的演化响应。本研究依托英国英格兰锡尔伍德公园（Silwood Park）的长期野外实验解答上述问题：我们对38个草地样地实施兔类排除处理，处理时长介于不足1年至34年不等。为评估兔类对植物防御性状的演化影响，我们从包含以下多年生植物物种的样地中采集种子：黄花茅（Anthoxanthum odoratum L.，禾本科Poaceae）、紫羊茅原亚种（Festuca rubra L. spp. rubra，禾本科Poaceae）、绒毛草（Holcus lanatus L.，禾本科Poaceae）以及禾叶繁缕（Stellaria graminea L.，石竹科Caryophyllaceae）。随后我们将这些植物种植于同质种植园（common garden）中，并测定其防御性状与形态性状。本研究发现了部分支持演化改变的证据……