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Effects of population spatial structure on the quantity and quality of seeds set by Primula sieboldii (Primulaceae)
Author(s) -
WATANABE ATSUKO,
GOKA KOUICHI,
WASHITANI IZUMI
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
plant species biology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.419
H-Index - 36
eISSN - 1442-1984
pISSN - 0913-557X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1442-1984.2003.00091.x
Subject(s) - biology , seedling , selfing , primula , perennial plant , primulaceae , population , botany , inbreeding depression , natural population growth , horticulture , inbreeding , demography , sociology
Effects of spatial population structure on the reproductive success of Primula sieboldii E. Morren, an endangered heterostylous perennial, were studied through the analysis of quantity and quality of seeds in a natural habitat in central Japan. Seed set of individual flowering ramets varied significantly depending on the degrees of isolation from their potential mates. The flowering ramets, which have the opposite‐morph ramets within 5 m, set significantly higher mean seeds per flower (approx. 15) than that of more isolated ramets (approx. 5). The former produced a considerably variable number (0–100) of seeds per flower, while the latter set more or less uniform number of seeds per flower. Viability of seeds from the former ramets was also variable with significantly higher mean viability percentage than the latter. Early seedling survival was also significantly different between the maternal isolation classes, while survival and growth of the established seedlings in a greenhouse did not differ significantly between these classes. The level of allozyme heterozygosity of the surviving progenies was not significantly different between the classes differing in maternal isolation. The observation suggests that the isolated maternal plants produced fewer and less viable seeds, which may be a result of strong inbreeding depression that manifests in early life stages of the progenies. By the stage of seedling establishment, therefore, less fit homozygotes are purged while fitter heterozygotes are allowed to survive irrespective of maternal isolation.