Plants have limited resources for defenses and species that invest in biotic defenses might exhibit leaves that invest less in other types of defenses. We have investigated whether plants that have few mechanical defenses, but have extrafloral nectaries (EFNs) patrolled by ants, are less prone to herbivory, compared with plants without EFNs that have tougher leaves.

中文翻译：

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花外蜜对草食动物有效吗？与热带物种形成对比的食草和植物防御

植物用于防御的资源有限，投资于生物防御的物种可能会出现叶片，而在其他类型的防御上的投入较少。我们调查了与没有EFNs且叶片较坚硬的植物相比，机械防御能力差，但具有被蚂蚁巡逻的花蜜（EFNs）的植物是否较不易吃草。