Abstract
When benefiting other beneficiaries,cushion plants may reciprocally receive feedback effects.The feedback effects on different sex morphs,however,remains unclear.In this study,taking the gyno-dioecious Arenaria polytrichiodes as a model species,we aimed to assess the sex-specific facilitation intensity of cushion plant by measuring the beneficiary cover ratio,and to assess the potential costs in cushion reproductive functions by measuring the flower and fruit cover ratios.The total beneficiary cover ratio was similar between females and hermaphrodites.Females produced much less flowers but more fruits than hermaphrodites.These results suggested that females and hermaphrodites possess similar facilitation intensity,and female cushion A.polytrichoides may allocate more resources saved from pollen production to seed production,while hermaphrodites possibly allocate more resources to pollen pro-duction hence reducing seed production.The surface areas covered by beneficiaries produced less flowers and fruits than areas without beneficiaries.In addition,strong negative correlations between beneficiary cover and flower cover were detected for both females and hermaphrodites,but the corre-lation strength were similar for these two sex morphs.However,the correlation between beneficiary cover and fruit cover was only significantly negative for females,suggesting that beneficiary plants negatively affect fruit reproduction of females while have neutral effects on hermaphrodites.All the results suggest that to facilitate other beneficiaries can induce reproductive costs on cushion A.polytrichoides,with females possibly suffering greater cost than hermaphrodites.Such differentiation in reproductive costs between sex morphs,in long-term perspective,may imply sex imbalance in population dynamics.
基金项目
Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Program(STEP)(2019QZKK0502)
中国科学院战略规划重点项目(XDA20050203)
Yunnan Applied Basic Research Project(202001AT070060)
国家自然科学基金(31271552)
"西部之光"人才培养计划()
Young Academic and Technical Leader Raising Foundation of Yunnan Province(202205AC160053)
国家科技期刊平台
NSTL
万方数据