Novel Graphs for Depicting Herbivore Damage on Plants: The Biocontrol of Sesbania punicea (Fabaceae) by an Introduced Weevil

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Abstract
(1) The net annual above-ground productivity, as numbers and biomass, of the component parts of Sesbania punicea plants at sites with and without the introduced weevil Trichapion lativentre, is described. (2) The limitations of conventional graphs of plant productivity, including Allen curve plots, are discussed. Novel plots, here termed ''relative-growth curves'', are described which illustrate the productivity and phenology of each plant component and which overcome these limitations. (3) Comparisons of relative-growth curves from sites with and without weevils show both the obvious and subtle effects of these herbivores on their host-plant. These plots can be applied to most studies of hervibore-host-plant interactions, including crop-pest associations.

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