| Summary: | <p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Herbivory can affect every aspect of a plant's life. Damaged individuals may show decreased survivorship and reproductive output. Additionally, specific plant species (legumes) and tissues (flowers) are often selectively targeted by herbivores, like deer. These types of herbivory influence a plant's growth and abundance. The objective of this study was to identify the effects of leaf and meristem removal (simulated herbivory within an exclosure) on fruit and flower production in four species (<it>Rhus glabra, Rosa arkansana, Lathyrus venosus,</it> and <it>Phlox pilosa</it>) which are known targets of deer herbivory.</p> <p>Results</p> <p><it>Lathyrus</it> never flowered or went to seed, so we were unable to detect any treatment effects. Leaf removal did not affect flower number in the other three species. However, <it>Phlox, Rosa,</it> and <it>Rhus</it> all showed significant negative correlations between seed mass and leaf removal. Meristem removal had a more negative effect than leaf removal on flower number in <it>Phlox</it> and on both flower number and seed mass in <it>Rosa.</it></p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Meristem removal caused a greater response than defoliation alone in both <it>Phlox</it> and <it>Rosa,</it> which suggests that meristem loss has a greater effect on reproduction. The combination of leaf and meristem removal as well as recruitment limitation by deer, which selectively browse for these species, is likely to be one factor contributing to their low abundance in prairies.</p>
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