A Demographic Model Explains Life-History Variation in Arabis fecunda

1. The distinction between semelparity and iteroparity is one of the most fundamental in life-history biology. Despite an abundance of theory proposed to explain the evolution of this dichotomy, few quantitative empirical tests exist. 2. We report here on life-history variation in the perennial herb...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Functional ecology 2005-06, Vol.19 (3), p.471-477
Main Authors: Lesica, P., Young, T. P.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animal and plant ecology
Animal, plant and microbial ecology
Autoecology
Biological and medical sciences
Biological evolution
Demography
Ecological genetics
Ecological life histories
environmental stress
Evolution
Fecundity
Flowering
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
General aspects
Human ecology
iteroparity
life history
Plants
Population ecology
reproductive mode
semelparity
threshold trait
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Summary:1. The distinction between semelparity and iteroparity is one of the most fundamental in life-history biology. Despite an abundance of theory proposed to explain the evolution of this dichotomy, few quantitative empirical tests exist. 2. We report here on life-history variation in the perennial herb Arabis fecunda (Brassicaceae), in which differences in the frequency of iteroparity and terminal flowering (facultative semelparity) are expressed among populations. These differences are consistent over time, and a common garden experiment suggested that they may be at least partly genetically based. 3. An analysis of demographic data over a 5-year period from three populations indicated that a simple demographic model of life-history evolution is consistent with life-history variation in this species. Individuals in populations with greater mean adult survival were more likely to express iteroparity than individuals in populations with lower adult survival.
ISSN:0269-8463
1365-2435
DOI:10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00972.x