Summary: M
ost plants are subject to multiple
attackers and employ strategies to
defend against or to escape her-
bivory. Plant defense against herbivory can be
loosely categorized into mechanisms that pro-
vide resistance against herbivores, tolerance to
herbivory or phenological escape from her-
bivory (Box 1). Resistance traits are those that
reduce the preference and/or performance of
herbivores. Constitutive and environmentally
induced variation in plant resistance to herbi-
vores has been extensively studied in a
cost­benefit framework1­3
. Tolerance traits re-
duce the negative effects of herbivory on plant
fitness after herbivory has occurred4
. Vari-
ation between plants in their tolerance has also
recently been examined in the cost­benefit

Source: Agrawal, Anurag - Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology & Entomollogy, Cornell University

Collections: Environmental Sciences and Ecology