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Lack of reproductive plasticity in alpine Saxifraga rhomboidea (Saxifragaceae)
Author(s) -
Bechtold Heather A.,
Forbis Tara A.,
Bowman William D.,
Diggle Pamela K.
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
nordic journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.333
H-Index - 33
eISSN - 1756-1051
pISSN - 0107-055X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1756-1051.2002.tb01385.x
Subject(s) - biology , phenotypic plasticity , saxifragaceae , botany , biomass (ecology) , perennial plant , abundance (ecology) , ecology , reproductive success , reproductive strategy , reproduction , population , demography , sociology
Phenotypic plasticity is predicted to be highly advantageous to alpine plants because of the extreme spatial and temporal heterogeneity of the alpine environment. Alpine plants are constrained in their vegetative plasticity by developmental preformation, however, they have the potential for reproductive plasticity via abortion of reproductive structures. Saxifraga rhomboidea Greene (Saxifragaceae) is a perennial of alpine dry meadows. It lacks a mechanism for vegetative reproduction, therefore, seed production is particularly important in maintaining populations of this species. Using long‐term fertilized plots at the Niwot Ridge Long‐Term Ecological Research Site, we ask if fertilization has changed the abundance of S. rhomboidea , and if S. rhomboidea has shown a plastic reproductive response to nutrient additions. Despite a pronounced increase in community biomass, we found that abundance of S. rhomboidea was not affected by fertilization. Moreover, S. rhomboidea showed no plastic response in seed to ovule ratio or other reproductive measures. Other arctic and alpine species have shown the potential for plasticity of maternal investment; S. rhomboidea appears to lack this reproductive plasticity. We suggest that morphological constraints may limit plasticity in this species.