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Yang P, Niu M, Fu Q, Qian L, Huang M, Li Z, Sun H, Chen J. Ecosystem engineers can regulate resource allocation strategies in associated plant species. FRONTIERS IN PLANT SCIENCE 2024; 15:1387951. [PMID: 38903422 PMCID: PMC11187262 DOI: 10.3389/fpls.2024.1387951] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2024] [Accepted: 05/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024]
Abstract
Balancing the biomass requirements of different functions for the purpose of population reproduction and persistence can be challenging for alpine plants due to extreme environmental stresses from both above- and below-ground sources. The presence of ecosystem engineers in alpine ecosystems effectively alleviates microenvironmental stresses, hence promoting the survival and growth of other less stress-tolerant species. However, the influence of ecosystem engineers on plant resource allocation strategies remains highly unexplored. In this study, we compared resource allocation strategies, including biomass accumulation, reproductive effort (RE), root fraction (RF), as well as relationships between different functions, among four alpine plant species belonging to Gentianaceae across bare ground, tussock grass-, cushion-, and shrub-engineered microhabitats. Shrub-engineered microhabitats exerted the strongest effects on regulating plant resource allocation patterns, followed by tussock grass- and cushion-engineered microhabitats. Additionally, apart from microhabitats, population background and plant life history also significantly influenced resource allocation strategies. Generally, plants established within engineered microhabitats exhibited higher biomass accumulation, as well as increased flower, leaf and stem production. Furthermore, individuals within engineered microhabitats commonly displayed lower RF, indicating a greater allocation of resources to above-ground functions while reducing allocation to root development. RE of annual plants was significantly higher than that of perennial plants. However, individuals of annual plants within engineered microhabitats showed lower RE compared to their counterparts in bare ground habitats; whereas perennial species demonstrated similar RE between microhabitat types. Moreover, RE was generally independent of plant size in bare-ground habitats but exhibited size-dependency in certain populations for some species within specific engineered microhabitat types. However, size-dependency did exist for absolute reproductive and root biomass allocation in most of the cases examined here. No trade-offs were observed between flower mass and flower number, nor between leaf mass and leaf number. The capacity of ecosystem engineers to regulate resource allocation strategies in associated plants was confirmed. However, the resource allocation patterns resulted synergistically from the ecosystem engineering effects, population environmental backgrounds, and plant life history strategies. In general, such regulations can improve individual survival and reproductive potential, potentially promoting population persistence in challenging alpine environments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pengfei Yang
- School of Life Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Mengqiu Niu
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- School of Ecology and Environment, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Quansheng Fu
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Lishen Qian
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Meihong Huang
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- College of Biodiversity Conservation, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Zhimin Li
- School of Life Science, Yunnan Normal University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hang Sun
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Jianguo Chen
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Chen X, Zhang Y, Qian L, Zhou R, Sun H, Chen J. Sex-specific facilitation and reproduction of the gynodioecious cushion plant Arenaria polytrichoides on the Himalaya-Hengduan mountains, SW China. PLANT DIVERSITY 2024; 46:247-255. [PMID: 38807903 PMCID: PMC11128911 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2023.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2023] [Revised: 06/15/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/30/2024]
Abstract
When benefiting other beneficiaries, cushion plants may reciprocally receive feedback effects. The feedback effects on different sex morphs, however, remains unclear. In this study, taking the gynodioecious Arenaria polytrichiodes as a model species, we aimed to assess the sex-specific facilitation intensity of cushion plant by measuring the beneficiary cover ratio, and to assess the potential costs in cushion reproductive functions by measuring the flower and fruit cover ratios. The total beneficiary cover ratio was similar between females and hermaphrodites. Females produced much less flowers but more fruits than hermaphrodites. These results suggested that females and hermaphrodites possess similar facilitation intensity, and female cushion A. polytrichoides may allocate more resources saved from pollen production to seed production, while hermaphrodites possibly allocate more resources to pollen production hence reducing seed production. The surface areas covered by beneficiaries produced less flowers and fruits than areas without beneficiaries. In addition, strong negative correlations between beneficiary cover and flower cover were detected for both females and hermaphrodites, but the correlation strength were similar for these two sex morphs. However, the correlation between beneficiary cover and fruit cover was only significantly negative for females, suggesting that beneficiary plants negatively affect fruit reproduction of females while have neutral effects on hermaphrodites. All the results suggest that to facilitate other beneficiaries can induce reproductive costs on cushion A. polytrichoides, with females possibly suffering greater cost than hermaphrodites. Such differentiation in reproductive costs between sex morphs, in long-term perspective, may imply sex imbalance in population dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xufang Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Yazhou Zhang
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Lishen Qian
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Renyu Zhou
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plateau Wetland Conservation, Restoration and Ecological Services, Southwest Forestry University, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Hang Sun
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Jianguo Chen
- State Key Laboratory of Plant Diversity and Specialty Crops, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
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Aljiboury AA, Friedman J. Mating and fitness consequences of variation in male allocation in a wind-pollinated plant. Evolution 2022; 76:1762-1775. [PMID: 35765717 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2021] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
In hermaphrodites, the allocation of resources to each sex function can influence fitness through mating success. A prediction that arises from sex allocation theory is that in wind-pollinated plants, male fitness should increase linearly with investment of resources into male function but there have been few empirical tests of this prediction. In a field experiment, we experimentally manipulated allocation to male function in Ambrosia artemisiifolia (common ragweed) and measured mating success in contrasting phenotypes using genetic markers. We investigated the effects of morphological traits and flowering phenology on male siring success, and on the diversity of mates. Our results provide evidence for a linear relation between allocation to male function, mating, and fitness. We find earlier onset of male flowering time increases reproductive success, whereas later flowering increases the probability of mating with diverse individuals. Our study is among the first empirical tests of the prediction of linear male fitness returns in wind-pollinated plants and emphasizes the importance of a large investment into male function by wind-pollinated plants and mating consequences of temporal variation in sex allocation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abrar A Aljiboury
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244
| | - Jannice Friedman
- Department of Biology, Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York, 13244.,Department of Biology, Queen's University, Kingston, Canada, K7L 3N6
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Wang H, Barrett SCH, Li XY, Niu Y, Duan YW, Zhang ZQ, Li QJ. Sexual conflict in protandrous flowers and the evolution of gynodioecy. Evolution 2020; 75:278-293. [PMID: 33080057 DOI: 10.1111/evo.14113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2020] [Revised: 09/22/2020] [Accepted: 10/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/26/2022]
Abstract
Sexual interference between male and female function in hermaphrodite plants is reduced by protandry. In environments with insufficient pollinator service, prolongation of male function owing to limited pollen removal could restrict the duration of female function and lower seed production. We provide evidence that this form of sexual conflict has played a role in the spread of females in gynodioecious populations of Cyananthus delavayi in the pollen-limited environments in which this subalpine species occurs. Using field experiments involving artificial pollen removal from the strongly protandrous flowers of hermaphrodites, we demonstrated a trade-off between male- and female-phase duration with no influence on overall floral longevity. Pollen removal at the beginning of anthesis resulted in hermaphrodite seed production matching that of females. In contrast, restricted pollen removal increased the duration of male function at the expense of female function lowering maternal fertility compared to females. This pattern was evident in five populations with females experiencing a twofold average seed fertility advantage compared to hermaphrodites. Gynodioecy often appears to evolve from protandrous ancestors and pollen limitation is widespread in flowering plants suggesting that sexual conflict may play an unappreciated role in the evolution of this form of sexual dimorphism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hao Wang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.,Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Spencer C H Barrett
- Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, M5S 3B2, Canada
| | - Xue-Yan Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.,Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Yang Niu
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Yuan-Wen Duan
- Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, 650201, China
| | - Zhi-Qiang Zhang
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.,Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
| | - Qing-Jun Li
- Yunnan Key Laboratory of Plant Reproductive Adaptation and Evolutionary Ecology, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650500, China.,Laboratory of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, School of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Yunnan University, Kunming, 650091, China
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Penagos Zuluaga JC, Queenborough SA, Comita LS. Flowering sex ratios and costs of reproduction in gynodioecious Ocotea oblonga (Lauraceae). Biol J Linn Soc Lond 2020. [DOI: 10.1093/biolinnean/blaa117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
In gynodioecious plant species, both female and hermaphrodite individuals produce fruit, but only hermaphrodites produce pollen. Such sex-specific differences in reproductive investment may contribute to dimorphism, but the magnitude and ecological effects are still unclear, especially for gynodioecious tropical trees where collecting flowers and determining the sex is complex. We documented flowering and fruiting over three years in a natural population of Ocotea oblonga (Lauraceae) trees in a tropical moist forest, Panama. We determined sex from freshly collected flowers, counted and measured fruit, and used long-term growth data for each individual. We confirmed that O. oblonga is gynodioecious. No tree switched sex or had flowers of both sexes. The population was hermaphrodite-biased. We found no ecological differences in reproductive investment (seed, fruit, or tree size, or growth rate) between the sexes, indicating that the sex differential in the cost of reproduction is much smaller in woody gynodioecious taxa than in dioecious taxa. Females produced more fruit than hermaphrodites, which may contribute to their persistence in the population. Accordingly, and contrary to most studies of temperate gynodioecious populations, our study of a tropical tree shows no differential cost of reproduction in a hermaphrodite-biased population. Consequently, other factors such as seed fertility or herbivory could drive the biased sex ratio in this population.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Simon A Queenborough
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Liza S Comita
- School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
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Teixido AL, Valladares F. Heat and drought determine flower female allocation in a hermaphroditic Mediterranean plant family. PLANT BIOLOGY (STUTTGART, GERMANY) 2019; 21:1024-1030. [PMID: 31282088 DOI: 10.1111/plb.13031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2019] [Accepted: 07/03/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
In animal-pollinated hermaphroditic species, larger and xenogamous flowers increase male-biased resource allocation, whereas smaller and selfing flowers invest disproportionally more resources to female function. In Cistaceae, an entomophilous and hermaphroditic Mediterranean family, this pattern generally follows a phylogenetic signal. However, resource allocation to carpels is independent of phylogeny, which suggests trait divergences among closely related species during the diversification into different environmental conditions. We tested this hypothesis across 37 species of Cistaceae along a temperature and precipitation gradient, including semiarid, dry, subhumid and humid sites. We quantified the proportions of dry mass and nutrient investment to carpels and tested the influence of the climatic gradient and site-specific precipitation on the interspecific variation in carpel resource allocation. Lowest and highest percentages of resource allocation to carpels ranged from 1.5-4.2% to 24.2-36.6%, respectively. The proportion of resources comprised in carpels significantly decreased with increasing precipitation/decreasing temperature. Thus, carpels comprised proportionally more resources under drier and hotter conditions, especially in semiarid sites. Our results demonstrate how the extent of climatic constraints is more important than phylogenetic relationships in determining stress-induced differences in carpel resource allocation across species of Cistaceae in a Mediterranean environment. We suggest that allocation of proportionally more resources to carpels in drier and hotter sites lies within a strategy to deal with the most stressful conditions by means of a high reproductive effort.
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Affiliation(s)
- A L Teixido
- Área de Biodiversidad y Conservación, Escuela Superior de Ciencias Experimentales y Tecnología, Universidad Rey Juan Carlos, Madrid, Spain
| | - F Valladares
- Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, MNCN-CSIC, Madrid, Spain
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Chen J, Li Y, Yang Y, Sun H. How cushion communities are maintained in alpine ecosystems: A review and case study on alpine cushion plant reproduction. PLANT DIVERSITY 2017; 39:221-228. [PMID: 30159515 PMCID: PMC6112308 DOI: 10.1016/j.pld.2017.07.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/30/2017] [Revised: 07/16/2017] [Accepted: 07/18/2017] [Indexed: 05/07/2023]
Abstract
Cushion species occur in nearly all alpine environments worldwide. In past decades, the adaptive and ecosystem-engineering roles of such highly specialized life forms have been well studied. However, the adaptive strategies responsible for cushion species reproductive success and maintenance in severe alpine habitats remain largely unclear. In this study, we reviewed the current understanding of reproductive strategies and population persistence in alpine cushion species. We then present a preliminary case study on the sexual reproduction of Arenaria polytrichoides (Caryophyllaceae), a typical cushion species inhabiting high elevations of the Himalaya Hengduan Mountains, which is a hotspot for diversification of cushion species. Finally, we highlight the limitations of our current understanding of alpine cushion species reproduction and propose future directions for study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jianguo Chen
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
| | - Yanbo Li
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
| | - Yang Yang
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- Corresponding author.
| | - Hang Sun
- Key Laboratory for Plant Diversity and Biogeography of East Asia, Kunming Institute of Botany, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Kunming, Yunnan, China
- Corresponding author. Fax: +86 871 65215002.
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