2026-10-08T01:38:11Z https://api.figshare.com/v2/oai

oai:figshare.com:article/34016286 2026-09-28T19:11:03Z category_26887 category_24256 item_type_3 month_year_09_2026

<b>Assessing the evidence for the performance-defense trade-off in the EICA hypothesis </b> Sebastián A. Reyes (23806147) Víctor M. Escobedo (19761939) Marco A. Molina-Montenegro (22807572) Biosecurity science and invasive species ecology Evolutionary ecology Biogeography Biological invasions <p dir="ltr">Why do some introduced plants become so much more successful away from home? One long-standing idea is that plants that escape their natural enemies abroad can redirect resources from chemical defense into growth and reproduction, giving them greater competitive ability. The idea is known as the “Evolution of Increased Competitive Ability (EICA)”, and a recent study has found that a widespread weed evolves greater competitive ability wherever it invades, pointing to this hypothesis as a possible cause. However, the studies cited report contrasting responses to herbivores and soil biota, without directly testing resource reallocation between defense and growth. In this contribution we add an independent comparison among populations showing opposite geographic trends in defense and performance indices in <i>Taraxacum officinale</i>. These patterns highlight the need to test resource reallocation rather than establish that it occurs.</p> 2026-09-28T19:11:03Z Dataset Dataset 10.6084/m9.figshare.34016286.v2 https://figshare.com/articles/dataset/_b_Assessing_the_evidence_for_the_performance-defense_trade-off_in_the_EICA_hypothesis_b_/34016286 CC BY 4.0 Embargoed