Abstract
Pseudoviviparous species are considered to rely almost entirely on vegetative propagation, because flowers are replaced by sprouts, and seedling recruitment is rare. We compared reproductive allocation (inflorescence and seed production) in three propagation modes presented by sympatric species of Leiothrix (Eriocaulaceae): rhizomatous and seminiferous (RS—L. crassifolia); rhizomatous, seminiferous, and pseudoviviparous (RSP—L. spiralis); and seminiferous and pseudoviviparous, in which seed production is considered rare due to reduced inflorescence size and small number of pistillate flowers (SP—L. arrecta and L. propinqua). We hypothesize that such propagation modes constitute a continuum of reproductive investment, that is: RS > RSP > SP. We harvested 154 Leiothrix spp. individuals at the Serra do Cipó, SE Brazil, from which we recorded the number of capitula and seeds, mean seed weight, and dry biomass allocated to plant structures. We then compared distinct propagation modes in relation to reproductive allocation, inflorescence-based and seed-based reproductive effort, and biomass partitioning. Contrary to expectations, the reproductive investment hierarchy found was SP ≥ RS > RSP. Our results do not fully concur with the current view that pseudoviviparous plants allocate few resources to reproduction. We suggest that the larger reproductive investment observed in SP helps to wait for better recruitment conditions in crowded and highly competitive mature populations (temporal escape), and to cope with destructive disturbances such as fire, since SP species lacks rhizomes.
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Acknowledgments
We thank Maria Letícia Figueiredo for assisting with field and laboratory work; Ana Maria Giulietti and Livia Eschternacht for taxonomic determination; Katia Ribeiro and Edward Elias Torres Jr. for supporting the work at the Serra do Cipó; two anonymous referees for valuable comments in the manuscript; and Instituto Chico Mendes de Conservação da Biodiversidade (ICMBio) for granting work permissions and assisting with the study logistics at the Área de Proteção Ambiental Morro da Pedreira. This work was supported by the National Counsel of Technological and Scientific Development (CNPq) [Grant numbers 472070/2008-8, 140710/2008-6, edital PIBIC 01/2009], Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (CAPES) and Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais (CAPES/Fapemig).
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Communicated by Philip Ladd.
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Neves, A.C., Nogueira, F.B., de Assis, L.R. et al. Reproductive allocation in rhizomatous, seminiferous, and pseudoviviparous Leiothrix (Eriocaulaceae) species. Plant Ecol 215, 987–996 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0355-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-014-0355-6