2.4.2.3 Other plants
Much more recently, Waterton and Cleland (2016) studied six local and
six non-local plant species grown in a common Californian Mediterranean
climate where two species of rabbit applied herbivory pressure. In the
absence of the herbivores early seasonal commencement of growth (shown
by the non-local species) conferred a productivity advantage, but with
herbivory delayed commencement was associated with an advantage. Thus, a
delay was evidently a defence against herbivory, in a classic trade-off
between defences and growth potential (cf Loehle & Namkoong 1987;
Strauss et al. 2002).