Meta-analysis of trade-offs among plant antiherbivore defenses: are plants jacks-of-all-trades, masters of all?

On the basis of physiological and ecological costs of defense allocation, most plant defense theories predict the occurrence of trade-offs between resource investment in different types of antiherbivore defenses. To test this prediction, we conducted a meta-analysis of 31 studies published in 1976-2002 that provided data on covariation of different defensive traits in plant genotypes. We found no overall negative association between different defensive traits in plants; instead, the relationship between defensive traits varied from positive to negative depending on the types of co-occurring defenses. Evidence of trade-off was found only between constitutive and induced defenses. Therefore, to a large extent, plants appear to be jacks-of-all-trades, masters of all and may successfully produce several types of defense without paying considerable trade-offs. Our survey thus provides little evidence that genetic trade-offs between defensive traits significantly constrain the evolution of multiple defenses in plants.