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Female fertility per flower and trade‐offs between size and number in Claytonia virginica (Portulacaceae)
Author(s) -
Morgan Martin T.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
american journal of botany
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.218
H-Index - 151
eISSN - 1537-2197
pISSN - 0002-9122
DOI - 10.2307/2446632
Subject(s) - biology , fertility , reproduction , population , trade off , botany , ecology , demography , sociology
A consistent and paradoxical feature in flowering plants is the production of many more flowers than appear required for female fertility through fruit and seed production. Many mechanistic hypotheses for this observation share key assumptions about (1) limited resources available for reproduction and (b) greater female fertility benefits from larger flowering‐time investment. Here I investigate these assumptions in two populations of Claytonia virginica. I also test predictions from theoretical analyses, comparing patterns of flowering allocation and fertility per flower in 18 populations of C. virginica. Results support the assumption that larger benefits accrue from greater flowering‐time investment. The between‐population pattern of flowering allocation and fertility per flower is also consistent with theoretical expectation, although not statistically significant. Not supported is the assumption that reproduction occurs under strong resource constraint. Possible reasons for this discrepancy are discussed.