Leaf damage decreases fitness and constrains phenotypic plasticity to drought of a perennial herb

Mediterranean-type ecosystems are increasingly prone to drought stress. Herbivory might limit plant functional responses to water shortage. This may occur as a result of plant resource depletion or due to the fact that leaf damage and drought may elicit opposite phenotypic responses. We evaluated the impact of herbivory on plant fitness in the field, and the effects of leaf damage on phenotypic plasticity to reduced soil moisture in a greenhouse. The study species was Convolvulus demissus, a perennial herb endemic to central Chile, which has a Mediterranean-type climate. Controlled herbivory by chrysomelid beetles (natural herbivores) in the field had a negative impact on plant fitness, estimated as number of fruits. Whereas reduced soil moisture alone did not affect seedling survival, damaged seedlings (simulated herbivory) had greater mortality when growing under water shortage. The hypothesis that herbivory would constrain phenotypic plasticity was supported by significant statistical interactions between leaf damage and soil moisture, followed by inspections of reaction norms. This was verified both overall (all phenotypic traits taken together, MANOVA) and in four of the six traits evaluated (ANOVAs). When plants were damaged, the reaction norms in response to low soil moisture of water use efficiency, root:shoot ratio and xylem water potential showed reduced slopes. While undamaged plants increased root biomass in response to low moisture, the opposite trend was found for damaged plants. The simultaneous occurrence of herbivory and drought events might curtail recruitment in plant populations of central Chile and other Mediterranean-type ecosystems due to the inability of damaged seedlings to show functional responses to low soil moisture. This finding is of ecological significance in view of current and projected trends of increased aridity in these ecosystems.