Replication data for: Implications of the existence of separated sexual forms of Opuntia robusta for plant defense hypotheses

Plant optimal defense hypothesis (ODH) predicts higher levels of defenses, lower damage, and lower investment in vegetative biomass in more costly sexual form and/or younger plant parts. The resource competition hypothesis (RCH) predicts slower growth, lower concentrations of defenses, and greater herbivory levels in more costly sexual form. In our study, hermaphrodite flowers Opuntia robusta grew significantly faster and were less damaged than female flowers. Female cladodes contained 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) and quercetin (QUE) with higher probability than hermaphrodite cladodes did, but not the chlorogenic acid (CGA). Cladodes from all age classes were smaller in female than in hermaphrodite plants. There was a negative relationship between several cladode age estimators and the proportion of cladodes bearing 4-HBA. The probability of detection of either CGA or QUE depended only of the number of daughter cladodes and cladode length, respectively. The concentration of 4-HBA was higher in hermaphrodite than in female cladodes. Some but not all relationships between the probability of detection or the concentration of a given secondary metabolite and some life-history traits confirmed the predictions of ODH. The effect of the sexual form of the concentration of 4-HBA was parallel with the predictions of RCH. The results obtained here show that each of the three secondary metabolites fallowed their own fate. There is no universal rule concerning the production of secondary metabolites. The term “higher levels of defense” used by the hypotheses mentioned is not accurate, since it does not precise if it refers to the extent of plant defended, or to the concentration in some plant tissues.