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Full-Text Articles in Biology

The Effects Of Seed Size And Maternal Origin On The Distribution Of Individual Plant Size In Ludwigia Leptocarpa (Onagraceae), Rebecca W. Dolan Mar 2010

The Effects Of Seed Size And Maternal Origin On The Distribution Of Individual Plant Size In Ludwigia Leptocarpa (Onagraceae), Rebecca W. Dolan

Rebecca W. Dolan

Seed size is normally distributed for many annual species, while mature plant size is frequently positively skewed. A study was conducted to determine the influence of seed size and the role of genetic differences in determining relative seedling size for Ludwigia leptocarpa. Seed size had a significant effect on percentage germination and time of seed germination but no effect on dry weight or leaf area of seedlings. Seed size and spacing had a significant effect on seedling dry weight for plants grown under competition, while relative day of emergence had no effect. Familial (genetic) differences were found in average seed …


The Role Of Adaptive Trans-Generational Plasticity In Biological Invasions Of Plants, Andrew R. Dyer, Cynthia S. Brown, Erin K. Espeland, John K. Mckay, Harald Meimberg, Kevin J. Rice Mar 2010

The Role Of Adaptive Trans-Generational Plasticity In Biological Invasions Of Plants, Andrew R. Dyer, Cynthia S. Brown, Erin K. Espeland, John K. Mckay, Harald Meimberg, Kevin J. Rice

Faculty Publications

High-impact biological invasions often involve establishment and spread in disturbed, high-resource patches followed by establishment and spread in biotically or abiotically stressful areas. Evolutionary change may be required for the second phase of invasion (establishment and spread in stressful areas) to occur. When species have low genetic diversity and short selection history, within-generation phenotypic plasticity is often cited as the mechanism through which spread across multiple habitat types can occur. We show that trans-generational plasticity (TGP) can result in pre-adapted progeny that exhibit traits associated with increased fitness both in high-resource patches and in stressful conditions. In the invasive sedge, …