Why do some African thorn trees (Acacia spp.) have a flat-top: a grazer-plant mutualism hypothesis?
The quintessential African savanna tree is the flat-topped Acacia. However, the reason for the architecture occurring in sparse-canopied small-leafed tree species from well-lit, often mesic, environments is unclear. Brown (1960) suggested that it reduced feeding by the distinctly African herbivore, the giraffe. Escaping recaptured herbivore and/or fire damage is crucial for palatable savanna trees such […]