Abstract
In highly seasonal environments (for example, temperate deciduous forest or tropical dry forest) plant phenologies are often constrained by physiological stress caused by seasonal variation in temperature and moisture1. Where climatic fluctuations are less pronounced (for example, tropical marine or lowland wet forest communities) determinants of phenology may include biotic selective pressures such as herbivores, predators, competitors, pollinators or dispersers. Temporal patterns of leaf production vary considerably between tropical forest species, but few species produce leaves continuously throughout the year2. Even in aseasonal tropical forests, most species show synchronous peaks in leaf production2. Results from this one-year study suggest that herbivores may influence leaf phenology of shade-tolerant understory plants in a Panamanian lowland moist forest. Leaves produced during the dry season or in synchronous flushes receive significantly less damage from herbivores than leaves produced during the wet season or out of synchrony with conspecifics.
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Aide, T. Herbivory as a selective agent on the timing of leaf production in a tropical understory community. Nature 336, 574–575 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/336574a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/336574a0
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