Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Seed weight increases with altitude in the Swiss Alps between related species but not among populations of individual species

  • Population Ecology
  • Published:
Oecologia Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Seed weight is a crucial plant life history trait, determining establishment success and dispersal ability. Especially in stressful environments, larger seeds may be selected at the expense of seed number, because larger seeds have a better chance of giving rise to an established offspring. We tested the hypotheses that between related species-pairs and among populations of single species a similar trend for increasing seed weight with increasing altitude should be present. Firstly, we measured seed weights from 29 species-pairs, with one species occurring in lowland areas and a congeneric species from high altitudes. Seeds of the alpine species were 28±8% larger than seeds from lowland species (P<0.01). Compared to the related lowland species, 55% of the alpine species had heavier seeds, 3% (one species) had lighter, and 41% had seeds of approximately equal weight. Secondly, we compared seed weights among populations of four species from different habitats and with different life histories. Seeds from between 11 and 34 populations per species were sampled along altitudinal gradients of 800–1,500 m (ca. 800 m in Scabiosa lucida, ca. 1,000 m in Saxifraga oppositifolia, ca. 1,000 m in Epilobium fleischeri, and ca. 1,500 m in Carex flacca). In all the four species, we found no indication for heavier seeds at higher altitudes. Our results indicate a selection pressure for species with heavier seeds at higher altitude, but the trend does not seem to operate across all cases. Phylogenetic constraints may limit the correlation among altitude and seed weight, operating particularly against selection for larger seed size, the closer populations and species are related to each other.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Akinola MO, Thompson K, Hillier SH (1998) Development of soil seed banks beneath synthesised meadow communities after seven years of climate manipulations. Seed Sci Res 8:493–500

    Google Scholar 

  • Ayana A, Bekele E (2000) Geographical patterns of morphological variation in Sorghum (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench) germplasm from Ethiopia and Eritrea: quantitative characters. Euphytica 115:91–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Baker G (1972) Seed weight in relation to environmental conditions in California. Ecology 53:997–1010

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bakker JP, Bakker ES, Rosen E, Verweij GL (1997) The soil seed bank of undisturbed dry limestone grassland on Oeland (Sweden). Z Oekologie Naturschutz 6:9–18

    Google Scholar 

  • Blionis GJ, Vokou D (2002) Structural and functional divergence of Campanula spatulata subspecies on Mt Olympos (Greece). Plant Syst Evol 232:89–105

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bliss LC (1971) Arctic and alpine plant life cycles. Annu Rev Ecol Syst 2:405–438

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Boulli A, Baaziz M, M’Hirit O (2001) Polymorphism of natural populations of Pinus halepensis Mill. in Morocco as revealed by morphological characters. Euphytica 119:309–316

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cerletti G (1997) Soil water conditions and root growth of seedlings and their importance for species richness in limestone grasslands. PhD Thesis, ETH Zuerich, Switzerland

  • Chambers JC (1995a) Disturbance, life-history strategies, and seed fates in alpine herbfield communities. Am J Bot 82:421–433

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Chambers JC (1995b) Relationships between seed fates and seedling establishment in an alpine ecosystem. Ecology 76:2124–2133

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Fabbro T, Körner C (2004) Altitudinal differences in flower traits and reproductive allocation. Flora 199:70–81

    Google Scholar 

  • Gera M, Gera N, Ginwal HS (2000) Seed trait variation in Dalbergia sissoo Roxb. Seed Sci Technol 28:467–475

    Google Scholar 

  • Grime JP, Mason G, Curtis AV, Rodman J, Band SR, Mowforth MAG, Neal AM, Shaw S (1981) A comparative study of germination characteristics in a local flora. J Ecol 69:1017–1059

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Harper JL (1977) Population biology of plants. Academic, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Harper JL, Lovell PH, Moore KG (1970) The shapes and sizes of seeds. Annu Rev Evol Syst 1:327–356

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hess HE, Landolt E, Hirzel R (1976) Bestimmungsschlüssel zur Flora der Schweiz und angrenzender Gebiete. Birkhäuser Verlag, Basel

    Google Scholar 

  • Hodgson JG, Mackey JML (1986) The ecological specialization of dicotyledonous families within a local flora—some factors constraining optimization of seed size and their possible evolutionary significance. New Phytol 104:497–515

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Holm SO (1994) Reproductive patterns of Betula pendula and B. pubescens Coll. along a regional altitudinal gradient in northern Sweden. Ecography 17:60–72

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jolls CL, Bock AH (1983) Seedling density and mortality patterns among elevations in Sedum lanceolatum. Arct Alp Res 15:119–126

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kaya Z, Temerit A (1994) Genetic structure of marginally located Pinus nigra var pallasiana populations in central Turkey. Silvae Genet 43:272–277

    Google Scholar 

  • Körner C (2003) Alpine plant life, 2nd edn. Springer, Berlin Heidelberg New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Körner C, Neumayer M, Menendez-Riedl SP, Seets-Scheel A (1989) Functional morphology of mountain plants. Flora 182:353–383

    Google Scholar 

  • Landolt E (1967) Gebirgs- und Tieflandsippen von Blütenpflanzen im Bereich der Schweizer Alpen. Bot Jb 86:463–480

    Google Scholar 

  • Landolt E (1977) Oekologische Zeigerwerte zur Schweizer Flora, vol 64. Veröff Geobot Inst ETH, Stiftung Rübel Zürich

  • Leishman MR, Wright IJ, Moles AT, Westoby M (2000) The evolutionary ecology of seed size. In: Fenner M (ed) Seeds: the ecology of regeneration in plant communities, 2nd edn. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, pp 31–57

    Google Scholar 

  • Lhotska M, Chrtkova A (1978) Karpalogie a diasporologie ceskoslovenskych zastupcu celedi Fabaceae. Academia, Praha

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord J (1994) Variation in Festuca-novae-zelandiae (Hack) Cockayne germination behaviour with altitude of seed source. N Z J Bot 32:227–235

    Google Scholar 

  • Lord J, Westoby M, Leishman M (1995) Seed size and phylogeny in 6 temperate floras—constraints, niche conservatism, and adaptation. Am Nat 146:349–364

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mariko S, Koizumi H, Suzuki J, Furukawa A (1993) Altitudinal variations in germination and growth-responses of Reynoutria japonica populations on Mt Fuji to a controlled thermal environment. Ecol Res 8:27–34

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mazer SJ (1990) Seed mass of Indiana Dune genera and families—taxonomic and ecological correlates. Evol Ecol 4:326–357

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Milberg P, Andersson L, Thompson K (2000) Large-seeded species are less dependent on light for germination than small-seeded. Seed Sci Res 10:99–104

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Moles AT, Westoby M (2004) Seedling survivial and seed size: a synthesis of the literature. J Ecol 92:372–383

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Müller-Schneider P (1983) Verbreitungsbiologie (Diasporologie) der Blütenpflanzen, vol 61. Veröff Geobot Inst ETH, Stiftung Rübel Zürich

  • Oyama K (1993) Geographic differentiation among populations of Arabis serrata Fr. and Sav. (Brassicaceae). J Plant Res 106:15–24

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Piano E, Pecetti L, Carroni AM (1996) Climatic adaptation in subterranean clover populations. Euphytica 92:39–44

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pigliucci M (2003) Phenotypic integration: studying the ecology and evolution of complex phenotypes. Ecol Lett 6:265–272

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rees M (1997) Evolutionary ecology of seed dormancy and seed size. In: Silvertown J, Franco M, Harper JL (eds) Plant life histories—ecology, phylogeny and evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 121–142

    Google Scholar 

  • Rusterholz H-P, Stöcklin J, Schmid B (1993) Populationsbiologische Studien an Geum reptans L. Verh Ges Oek 22:337–346

    Google Scholar 

  • Salisbury EJ (1942) The reproductive capacity of plants. G. Bells & Sons, London

    Google Scholar 

  • Schaal BA (1980) Reproductive capacity and seed size in Lupinus texensis. Am J Bot 67:703–709

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Smith CC, Fretwell SD (1974) The optimal balance between the size and number of offspring. Am Nat 108:499–506

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal R, Rohlf F (1995) Biometry, 3rd edn. Freeman WH, New York

    Google Scholar 

  • Stöcklin J, Bäumler E (1996) Seed rain, seedling establishment and clonal growth strategies on a glacier foreland. J Veg Sci 7:45–56

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Stöcklin J, Favre P (1994) Effects of plant size and morphological constraints on variation in reproductive components in 2 related species of Epilobium. J Ecol 82:735–746

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Totland O, Birks HJB (1996) Factors influencing inter-population variation in Ranunculus acris seed production in an alpine area of southwestern Norway. Ecography 19:269–278

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Urbanska KM, Schütz M (1986) Reproduction by seed in alpine plants and revegetation research above timberline. Bot Helv 96:43–60

    Google Scholar 

  • VanAssche J, VanNerum D, Darius P (2002) The comparative germination ecology of nine Rumex species. Plant Ecol 159:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Venable DL, Brown JS (1988) The selective interaction of dispersal, dormancy, and seed size as adaptations for reducing risk in variable environments. Am Nat 131:360–384

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westoby M, Jurado E, Leishman M (1992) Comparative evolutionary ecology of seed size. Trends Ecol Evol 7:368–372

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Westoby M, Leishman M, Lord J (1997) Comparative ecology of seed size and dispersal. In: Silvertown J, Franco M, Harper JL (eds) Plant life histories—ecology, phylogeny and evolution. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 143–162

    Google Scholar 

  • Winn A (1988) Ecological and evolutionary consequences of seed size in Prunella vulgaris. Ecology 69:1537–1544

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Winn A (1991) Proximate and ultimate sources of within-individual variation in seed mass in Prunella vulgaris (Lamiaceae). Am J Bot 78:838–844

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wolfe LM (1995) The genetics and ecology of seed size variation in a biennial plant, Hydrophyllum appendiculatum (Hydrophyllaceae). Oecologia 101:343–352

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We thank Felix Gugerli for seed samples from populations of Saxifraga oppositifolia, Franziska Schaedelin, Thomas Fabbro, and Tina Weppler for their help in collecting seeds, and Katja Bandurski, Tobias Roth, Veronique Chevillat, Katharina Steinmann, and Lisa Thiébaud for lab-assistance. This study has been supported by the Swiss National Science Foundation (31-59271.99).

Author information

Author notes

  1. Andrea R. Pluess

    Present address: Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Warren Hall, Box 951786, Los Angeles, CA, 90095-1786, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Botanical Institute, University of Basel, Schoenbeinstrasse 6, 4056, Basel, Switzerland

    Andrea R. Pluess, Wolfgang Schütz & Jürg Stöcklin

Authors
  1. Andrea R. Pluess
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Wolfgang Schütz
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Jürg Stöcklin
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Andrea R. Pluess.

Additional information

Communicated by Jim Ehleringer

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Pluess, A.R., Schütz, W. & Stöcklin, J. Seed weight increases with altitude in the Swiss Alps between related species but not among populations of individual species. Oecologia 144, 55–61 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0047-y

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00442-005-0047-y

Keywords

Search

Navigation