In habitats where resource availability declines during the growing season
The evolution of seed size may be influenced by intrinsic attributes of populations, such as mating system and extrinsic factors, such as climate. Several hypotheses propose that the evolution of self‐fertilization from an outcrossing progenitor will be accompanied by a reduction in seed size, but this prediction has not been rigorously tested. Many studies report that the mean seed size of populations or taxa is associated with long‐term climate conditions. Here, we examined the effects on seed size of both mating system and climate within a single genus. In the California wildflower genus, In each taxon pair, the selfing taxon had smaller seeds than the outcrosser. Local, long‐term (1921–1980 and 1981–2000) mean
- NSF-PAR ID:
- 10453561
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley-Blackwell
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Journal of Ecology
- Volume:
- 108
- Issue:
- 4
- ISSN:
- 0022-0477
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1523-1539
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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Abstract Seed bank, seed dispersal and historical disturbance are critical factors affecting plant population persistence. However, because of difficulties collecting data on these factors they are often ignored.
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