Plant size variation and vertebrate herbivory: winter wheat grazed by rabbits

TY - JOUR

T1 - Plant size variation and vertebrate herbivory

T2 - winter wheat grazed by rabbits

AU - Crawley, M. J.

AU - Weiner, J.

PY - 1991/1/1

Y1 - 1991/1/1

N2 - Shoot-weight distributions of ungrazed Triticum aestivum changed significantly over the growing season, with size inequality between plants increasing rapidly at first, peaking in mid-winter, and remaining high thereafter. Variance:mean relationships for shoot-weight distributions conformed to Taylor's Power Law throughout the growing season, becoming Poisson by harvest time. Continuous Oryctolagus cuniculus grazing reduced mean plant size and consistently increased size inequality. The largest plants in populations grazed in winter and then allowed to recover were typically larger than the largest plants from ungrazed populations, probably due to a reduction in competition from mortality caused by grazing. Weight distributions of grazed populations tended to show increased skewness and kurtosis compared with ungrazed populations. -from Authors

AB - Shoot-weight distributions of ungrazed Triticum aestivum changed significantly over the growing season, with size inequality between plants increasing rapidly at first, peaking in mid-winter, and remaining high thereafter. Variance:mean relationships for shoot-weight distributions conformed to Taylor's Power Law throughout the growing season, becoming Poisson by harvest time. Continuous Oryctolagus cuniculus grazing reduced mean plant size and consistently increased size inequality. The largest plants in populations grazed in winter and then allowed to recover were typically larger than the largest plants from ungrazed populations, probably due to a reduction in competition from mortality caused by grazing. Weight distributions of grazed populations tended to show increased skewness and kurtosis compared with ungrazed populations. -from Authors

UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=0025953239&partnerID=8YFLogxK

U2 - 10.2307/2404122

DO - 10.2307/2404122

M3 - Journal article

AN - SCOPUS:0025953239

SN - 0021-8901

VL - 28

SP - 154

EP - 172

JO - Journal of Applied Ecology

JF - Journal of Applied Ecology

IS - 1

ER -