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Vegetative propagation as a successful reproductive strategy in woody dioecious species in tropical coastal vegetation, southeast Brazil

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Abstract

Dioecious plant populations are composed of two distinct sexual morphs representing the female and male counterparts. Dioecy in restinga areas has been strongly associated with fleshy fruits, woodiness, generalist entomophily, and resource-poor environments. The ability of vegetative reproduction is another ecological trait commonly associated with dioecy, but not shown for the woody dioecious species in restingas. This study aimed to investigate whether the distribution of sexual morphs in populations is due to occurrence of vegetative propagation as a reproductive strategy among dioecious woody species on sandy coastal plains. We also intended to evaluate possible effects of sex ratio on sexual reproduction (female reproductive success). The study was conducted in the sandy coastal plains (restinga) of Maricá, Rio de Janeiro State. We studied six woody dioecious species. During the reproductive period, all individuals of each species and your nearest neighbor were marked using GPS, along an area with approximately 5.1 ha. The sex of the individuals was recorded. This study provides evidence of the occurrence of vegetative propagation in the woody dioecious species studied and indicates that the ability to reproduce in this manner varies between sexual morphs, generating male-biased populations in most cases. Our data suggest that asexual reproduction by vegetative propagation of the male morphs can have an effect on sexual reproduction, as it increases the amount of staminate flowers, and therefore the supply of the pollen grains. Our results provide insights into vegetative reproduction as a strategy to increase male plant fitness and an alternative to populate environments under stress.

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Acknowledgments

The authors thank the anonymous reviewers for their helpful comments; Dr. Rita de Cássia Ribeiro Gama and the biologist Marina Muniz Moreira for helpful comments on the manuscript text. This study is part of the Ph.D. thesis of C.R.B. which was carried out in the Postgraduate Program in Biological Sciences (Botany) of the Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Museu Nacional, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and was supported by CAPES (Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior). This manuscript was written during a hands-on Workshop done by Publicase and reviewed by a professional science editor and by a native copy-editor to improve readability.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratório de Biologia da Reprodução, Departamento de Botânica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro/Museu Nacional, Quinta da Boa Vista, São Cristóvão, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, CEP 20940-040, Brazil

    Cristine Rodrigues Benevides, Ana Tereza Araújo Rodarte & Heloisa Alves de Lima

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  1. Cristine Rodrigues Benevides
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  2. Ana Tereza Araújo Rodarte
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  3. Heloisa Alves de Lima
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Correspondence to Cristine Rodrigues Benevides.

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Benevides, C.R., Rodarte, A.T.A. & de Lima, H.A. Vegetative propagation as a successful reproductive strategy in woody dioecious species in tropical coastal vegetation, southeast Brazil. Braz. J. Bot 38, 579–584 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-015-0162-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s40415-015-0162-x

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