Am. J. Bot.
HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced]


     

This Article
Right arrow Full Text
Right arrow Full Text (PDF)
Right arrow Submit a response
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
Right arrow Alert me if a correction is posted
Services
Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in ISI Web of Science
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
Right arrow reprints & permissions
Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (1)
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by McCall, A. C.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow Articles by McCall, A. C.
Agricola
Right arrow Articles by McCall, A. C.
(American Journal of Botany. 2007;94:445-450.)
© 2007 Botanical Society of America, Inc.

Ecology

Leaf damage and gender but not flower damage affect female fitness in Nemophila menziesii (Hydrophyllaceae)1

Andrew C. McCall3

Center for Population Biology, Department of Entomology, University of California-Davis, Davis, California 95616 USA

ABSTRACT

Researchers can answer questions about the evolution or maintenance of separate sexes using dioecious plant systems. Because females in these species typically put more resources into reproductive effort than male plants, researchers have hypothesized that females may be less tolerant of the stresses found in marginal habitats. Herbivory can act as a biotic stressor that reduces resources in plants much like a marginal habitat can. Females may be limited by resources, and may thus be less tolerant to herbivory than males. Here, I explore the relationships between florivory, leaf herbivory, and gender in a gynodioecious, annual plant, Nemophila menziesii (Hydrophyllaceae, senso lato). I performed a crossed design experiment examining the main effects and interactions of plant gender, artificial leaf damage, and artificial flower damage on components of female plant fitness. Leaf damage decreased fruit set and females made significantly more fruit than hermaphrodites. However, contrary to theory, I found little evidence for a gender by damage interaction for either type of artificial herbivory. Based on these results, I propose more work exploring the effects of both source and sink damage in dioecious species to help elucidate where and when different sexual morphs are favored by natural selection.

Key Words: dioecy • floral herbivory • florivory • gynodioecy • Nemophila menziesii






HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS
Copyright © 2007 by the Botanical Society of America, Inc.