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Light Availability Influences Growth‐Defense Trade‐Offs in Big‐Leaf Mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla King)
Author(s) -
AbdalaRoberts Luis,
Moreira Xoaquín,
Cervera José Carlos,
ParraTabla Víctor
Publication year - 2014
Publication title -
biotropica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.813
H-Index - 96
eISSN - 1744-7429
pISSN - 0006-3606
DOI - 10.1111/btp.12133
Subject(s) - swietenia macrophylla , abiotic component , production (economics) , biology , botany , ecology , economics , macroeconomics
We report on findings from a common garden experiment showing that the magnitude of change in the production of phenolic compounds in response to different amounts of light availability is tissue‐specific in saplings of big‐leaf mahogany ( Swietenia macrophylla ). Moreover, we show that trade‐offs between growth and the production of chemical defenses emerge only under light‐limited conditions. These findings emphasize the need for considering the specificity of plant defensive responses to resource availability, as well as the influence of the abiotic environment (via trade‐offs) on plant defense allocation patterns.