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Evaluating the fitness effects of seed size and maternal tree size on Polylepis tomentella (Rosaceae) seed germination and seedling performance

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 June 2020

Alejandra I. Domic Open the ORCID record for Alejandra I. Domic [Opens in a new window] ,
José M. Capriles  and
Gerardo R. Camilo
Alejandra I. Domic*
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802, USA Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802, USA Herbario Nacional de Bolivia – Instituto de Ecología, Universidad Mayor de San Andrés, Campus Universitario Cota Cota, La Paz, Bolivia
José M. Capriles
Affiliation:
Department of Anthropology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA16802, USA
Gerardo R. Camilo
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, Saint Louis University, Saint Louis, MO63103, USA
*
Author for correspondence: *Alejandra I. Domic, Email: aid4@psu.edu
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Abstract

In vascular plants, larger seeds are generally associated with higher germination potential, healthier seedlings and overall higher rates of survivorship. How this relationship holds or what other physiological tradeoffs evolved in plants adapted to high-altitude environments, such as the tropical and subtropical highland Polylepis tree, remain unclear. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between seed mass and seedling performance by testing the reserve effect, the metabolic effect, and the seedling-size effect hypotheses in Polylepis tomentella Weddell (Rosaceae). Since the relationship between fitness and seed size can often depend on maternal plant size, we additionally investigated the association between germination success, seedling performance (survival, relative growth rate (RGR) and height), and size of bearing-seed trees under controlled greenhouse conditions. Our results showed that heavier seeds are more likely to germinate, but we did not find evidence that could support the reserve effect, metabolic effect or seedling-size effect. As seedlings from larger and medium seeds exhibited comparatively similar RGR, survival percentages and final size, maternal plant size was positively associated with improved seed quality and seedling performance. These results demonstrate that seed mass and maternal size during early seedling establishment are critical for Polylepis persistence, demography and conservation.

Keywords

Andesmaternal size-effectoffspring qualityrelative growth rateseed size variation
Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Tropical Ecology , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , May 2020 , pp. 115 - 122
Copyright
© The Author(s) 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press

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