Transgenerational effects of ungulates and pre-dispersal seed predators on offspring success and resistance to herbivory

Herbivorous mammals and insect pre-dispersal seed predators are two types of herbivores that, despite their functional and morphological differences, tend to severely impact many plant species, highly decreasing their seed production and even imperiling the performance of their offspring through transgenerational effects. However, how they influence offspring resistance to herbivory remains largely unknown. In this study we experimentally examined the effects of ungulates and pre-dispersal seed predators on seed quality as well as on the emergence, survival and resistance to herbivory of the seedlings of a semiarid herb. We found that ungulates reduced seedling recruitment but increased seedling resistance to leaf miners. These effects were probably a consequence of insufficient carbon provisioning in seeds that reduced seed viability and provoked carbon limitation in seedlings. Pre-dispersal seed predators did not influence seedling recruitment, but seedlings from mothers damaged by un...植食性哺乳动物（herbivorous mammals）与昆虫型扩散前种子天敌（insect pre-dispersal seed predators）是两类植食动物，尽管二者在功能与形态上存在显著差异，但往往会对多种植物物种造成严重危害，大幅降低其种子产量，甚至通过跨代效应威胁其后代的生存表现。然而，二者如何影响后代对植食作用的抗性，目前仍知之甚少。本研究通过实验手段，探究了有蹄类动物（ungulates）与扩散前种子天敌对一种半干旱草本植物的种子品质，以及其实生苗的萌发、存活与植食抗性的影响。研究发现，有蹄类动物会降低实生苗的招募量，但会提升实生苗对潜叶昆虫（leaf miners）的抗性。此类效应可能源于种子内碳供应不足，进而降低了种子活力，并引发实生苗的碳限制。扩散前种子天敌未对实生苗招募产生影响，但来自遭受未完整表述损伤的母株的实生苗……