The performance of herbivorous animals depends on the nutritional and defensive traits of the plants they consume. The uptake and deposition of biogenic silicon in plant tissues is arguably the most basic and ubiquitous anti‐herbivore defence used by plants, especially grasses. We conducted meta‐analyses of 150 studies reporting how vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores performed when feeding on silicon‐rich plants relative to those feeding on low‐silicon plants. Silicon levels were 52% higher and 32% more variable in silicon‐rich plants compared to plants with low silicon, which resulted in an overall 33% decline in herbivore performance. Fluid‐feeding herbivore performance was less adversely impacted (−14%) than tissue‐chewing herbivores, including mammals (−45%), chewing arthropods (−33%) and plant‐boring arthropods (−39%). Fluid‐feeding arthropods with a wide diet breadth or those feeding on perennial plant species were mostly unaffected by silicon defences. Unlike many other plant defences, where diet specialisation often helps herbivores overcome their effects, silicon negatively impacts chewing herbivores regardless of diet breadth. We conclude that silicon defences primarily target chewing herbivores and impact vertebrate and invertebrate herbivores to a similar degree.

中文翻译：

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植物硅防御抑制了食草动物的性能，但摄食方式是关键


食草动物的表现取决于它们所食用植物的营养和防御特性。生物硅在植物组织中的吸收和沉积可以说是植物，尤其是草使用的最基本和最普遍的抗食草动物防御措施。我们对 150 项研究进行了荟萃分析，报告了脊椎动物和无脊椎动物食草动物在以富含硅的植物为食时相对于以低硅植物为食时的表现。与低硅植物相比，富含硅的植物的硅含量高出 52%，可变性高出 32%，这导致食草动物的整体性能下降了 33%。与组织咀嚼的食草动物相比，液体喂养的食草动物性能受到的不利影响较小 （-14%），包括哺乳动物 （-45%）、咀嚼节肢动物 （-33%） 和植物蛀虫节肢动物 （-39%）。具有广泛饮食广度的液体取食节肢动物或以多年生植物物种为食的节肢动物大多不受硅防御的影响。与许多其他植物防御不同，饮食专业化通常有助于食草动物克服其影响，而硅对咀嚼食草动物的负面影响，无论饮食的广度如何。我们得出结论，硅防御主要针对咀嚼食草动物，并以类似程度影响脊椎动物和无脊椎动物食草动物。