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Differential Resource Utilization By The Sexes Of Dioecious Plants, Dwight Carl Freeman

Theses and Dissertations

The distribution of male and female plants was examined in five dioecious, wind pollinated species representing five plant families and two classes (gymnosperms and angiosperms). The arid to semiarid habitats occupied by these species in northern Utah were stratified for sampling into two categories: chronically xeric and seasonally moist. Results show that for all species, males prevail on xeric microsites, while females dominate the more moist parts of each local environment. Habitat partitioning between the sexes is a strategy that maximizes seedset of females and pollen dispersal of males; it also tends to minimize intraspecific competition between the sexes.