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Ellison Abstract- 1987 Ellison (Effects of seed dimorphism)
Ellison, A. M. 1987. Effect of seed dimorphism on the density-dependent dynamics of experimental populations of Atriplex triangularis (Chenopodiaceae). American Journal of Botany 74: 1280-1288.
Abstract
The importance of seed size and density in determining individual plant performance and plant population dynamics in experimental populations of the halophyte Atriplex triangularis was studied. Two distinct seed morphs-large, light seeds and small, dark seeds-are produced by individual A. triangularis plants. Experimental populations consisting of seed size monocultures (large or small seeds) and seed size mixtures were established at three different densities, and the time of germination, plant size, plant survivorship, and plant fecundity were monitored. Marked variation in time of germination was observed among treatments and between seed sizes, but germination within any given treatment occurred over a five- to ten-day period. Large seeds produced larger plants than small seeds did, and this dichotomy was maintained over the course of the entire experiment. Germination date and seed size interacted such that larger plants grew from seeds which germinated earlier than those which germinated later, regardless of seed size. Germination date had a more pronounced effect than seed size did on plant mortality in high density populations. At high density, large seed monocultures experienced greater mortality than small seed monocultures did, but in seed size mixtures, the mortality was evenly distributed between plants from the two seed sizes. Regardless of density conditions and parentage, large and small seeds were produced in equal proportion by the plants. Total seed production, however, was dramatically affected by plant density, and to a lesser degree by germination date. Although seed size effects alone did not appear to affect directly final plant biomass and fecundity, effects of seed size early in ontogeny may have contributed to differences in fecundity.
