GEB2020_data.xlsx

This data set corresponds to the study published in Global Ecology and Biogeography entitled: “Latitudinal variation in plant defense against herbivory in a marine foundation species does not follow a linear pattern: the importance of resource availability” We conducted experiments simulating macroherbivore (e.g., bird, fish) damage in Zostera marina at 10 sites across the Eastern Pacific coast (Canada-Mexico) and Quebec and analyzed several seagrass traits related to resistance and tolerance strategies against herbivory. In addition, we examined the effects of potential seagrass changes in defense strategies by performing a series of feeding experiments with mesoherbivores in a subset of sites. We found that eelgrass resistance defenses did not follow a linear latitudinal pattern but rather followed a bell-shaped curve which correlated with bottom-up control. In sites with higher nutrient availability, plants allocated resources to tolerance strategies and had lower resistance traits. Furthermore, seagrasses did not respond linearly to increased herbivory pressure; while they tolerated moderate levels of herbivory, they underwent a significant reduction in tolerance and resistance under high herbivory levels, which also made them more susceptible to consumers in feeding experiments. Our results highlight the importance that nutrient availability has in shaping latitudinal patterns of plant defense against herbivory and show how these defenses may not respond linearly to increased herbivory pressure in seagrasses.<br>

本数据集对应发表于《全球生态学与生物地理学》（Global Ecology and Biogeography）的一项研究，论文标题为：“海洋建群物种（marine foundation species）抵御草食作用（herbivory）的纬度变化并非线性模式：资源可获得性的重要性”。我们在东太平洋沿岸（加拿大至墨西哥）及魁北克的10个采样站点，针对大叶藻（Zostera marina）开展了模拟大型草食动物（macroherbivore，如鸟类、鱼类）取食损伤的实验，并分析了其与抵御草食的抗性（resistance）和耐受（tolerance）策略相关的多项性状。此外，我们还在部分采样站点开展了一系列中型草食动物（mesoherbivore）的取食实验，以探究防御策略变化对海草的潜在影响。研究发现，大叶藻的抗性防御并未呈现线性纬度格局，而是呈现与上行控制（bottom-up control）相关的钟形曲线分布。在养分可获得性更高的站点，植物会将资源优先分配至耐受策略，且抗性性状水平更低。此外，海草对草食压力增加的响应并非线性：尽管其可耐受中等程度的草食作用，但在高草食压力下，其耐受性与抗性均会显著下降，这也使得它们在取食实验中更易被消费者取食。本研究结果凸显了养分可获得性在塑造植物抵御草食作用的纬度格局中的重要性，并揭示了海草的防御响应并非随草食压力增加呈线性变化。