Light Availability Influences Growth-Defense Trade-Offs in Big-Leaf Mahogany (Swietenia macrophylla King)

摘要

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.