Data from: Interaction diversity explains the maintenance of phytochemical diversity

Original data and R code to accompany the manuscript: "Interaction diversity explains the maintenance of phytochemical diversity" by Susan R. Whitehead, Ethan Bass, Alexsandra Corrigan, André Kessler, and Katja Poveda Accepted for publication in Ecology Letters Abstract: The production of complex mixtures of secondary metabolites is a ubiquitous feature of plants. Several evolutionary hypotheses seek to explain how phytochemical diversity is maintained, including the synergy hypothesis, the interaction diversity hypothesis, and the screening hypothesis. We experimentally tested predictions derived from these hypotheses by manipulating the richness and structural diversity of phenolic metabolites in the diets of eight plant consumers. Across 3940 total bioassays, there was clear support for the interaction diversity hypothesis over the synergy or screening hypotheses. The number of consumers affected by a particular phenolic composition increased with increasing richness and structural diversity of compounds. Furthermore, the bioactivity of phenolics was consumer-specific. All compounds tested reduced the performance of at least one consumer, but no compounds affected all consumers. These results show how phytochemical diversity may be maintained in nature by a complex selective landscape exerted by diverse communities of plant consumers. https://github.com/WhiteheadLabVT/Phytochemical-Diversity-Experiment/releases/tag/v1.0.0配套论文《交互多样性解释植物化学多样性的维持》（"Interaction diversity explains the maintenance of phytochemical diversity"）的原始数据与R代码，作者为Susan R. Whitehead、Ethan Bass、Alexsandra Corrigan、André Kessler与Katja Poveda，该论文已被《生态学通讯》（Ecology Letters）接收待刊。 摘要：次生代谢产物复合混合物的合成是植物界普遍存在的特征。目前已有多项进化假说试图阐释植物化学多样性的维持机制，包括协同作用假说（synergy hypothesis）、交互多样性假说（interaction diversity hypothesis）以及筛选假说（screening hypothesis）。本研究通过调控8种植物取食者日粮中酚类代谢物（phenolic metabolites）的丰富度与结构多样性，对上述三类假说的预测展开了实验验证。在总计3940次生物测定实验（bioassays）中，相较于协同作用假说与筛选假说，交互多样性假说得到了明确支持：受特定酚类组成影响的取食者数量，随化合物丰富度与结构多样性的提升而显著增加。此外，酚类物质的生物活性具有取食者特异性：所有受试化合物均会降低至少一种取食者的适合度，但无任何化合物可影响所有取食者。本研究结果表明，由多样植物取食者群落施加的复杂选择压力，如何在自然环境中维持植物化学多样性。 https://github.com/WhiteheadLabVT/Phytochemical-Diversity-Experiment/releases/tag/v1.0.0