Hypotheses on seed size: tests using the semiarid flora of western New South Wales, Australia

Seed size varies over several orders of magnitude in any one community. We outline a number of hypotheses that could account for this variation, briefly discuss the reasoning and evidence underlying each of these hypotheses, and then test each hypothesis with a database of 248 species from the semia...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The American naturalist 1994-05, Vol.143 (5), p.890-906
Main Authors: Leishman, M.R, Westoby, M
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Biological and medical sciences
Datasets
Demecology
DISPERSAL
Dormancy
Ecological life histories
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Germination
GROSSEUR DES SEMENCES
Growing seasons
Longevity
MODELE
MODELOS
NEW SOUTH WALES
NOUVELLE GALLES DU SUD
NUEVA GALES DEL SUR
PLANTAS
PLANTE
PLANTS
Plants and fungi
SEED SIZE
Seed weight
TAMANO DE LA SEMILLA
VARIATION
Wetland ecology
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Summary:Seed size varies over several orders of magnitude in any one community. We outline a number of hypotheses that could account for this variation, briefly discuss the reasoning and evidence underlying each of these hypotheses, and then test each hypothesis with a database of 248 species from the semiarid woodlands of western New South Wales, Australia. Information on seed weight, growth form, plant longevity, height, dispersal mode, dormancy, and germination season was used. We considered not only pairwise relationships between seed weight and each other variable, but also alternative hypotheses whereby relationships arose as a result of indirect correlations through other variables. The strongest associations of seed size were with plant height and growth form. The seed-size variation accounted for by growth form largely overlapped with that accounted for by plant height, but each also accounted for some further variation independently of the other. Of the five hypotheses tested, the correlative patterns were inconsistent for two. Two others showed the predicted pattern, but these patterns could alternatively be interpreted as arising from secondary correlation via the combination of plant height and growth form. Only plant height, growth form, and dispersal mode had significant associations with seed size independent of the other attributes measured.
ISSN:0003-0147
1537-5323
DOI:10.1086/285638