Monoecy is a relatively flexible sexual system that can be advantageous against environmental stresses such as leaf herbivory. Narbona and Dirzo (pp. 359–369) examine the effects of experimental defoliation on male and female reproductive traits in a natural population of Croton suberosus, a monoecious tropical shrub. They find an asymmetrical effect on reproductive components, whereby defoliation decreases only the male reproductive output.
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