Open Access. Powered by Scholars. Published by Universities.®
Articles 1 - 1 of 1
Full-Text Articles in Population Biology
Population Dynamics Of The Western Prickly Pear, Opuntia Macrorhiza (Cactaceae), Kathleen H. Keeler, Brigitte Tenhumberg
Population Dynamics Of The Western Prickly Pear, Opuntia Macrorhiza (Cactaceae), Kathleen H. Keeler, Brigitte Tenhumberg
School of Biological Sciences: Faculty Publications
Although most cacti that have been studied are long lived, following individually marked plants in Boulder County, Colorado, for >7 years, we determined that average life span of Opuntia macrorhiza, the western prickly pear, is 3 years. A few individuals probably live >10 years. Vegetative reproduction, produced by rooting of cladodes, exceeded reproduction by germination and establishment from seeds. Both types of new recruits, from vegetative reproduction and seeds, had higher death rates than established plants. Size and frequency of flowering increased with age, although size both increased and decreased, sometimes dramatically, between years. Flowering correlated more strongly with …