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Gender-Related developmental instability and herbivory ofPistacia atlantica across a steep environmental gradient

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Abstract

To examine gender-related developmental instability and herbivory of a plant across a steep climatic gradient, we studiedPistacia atlantica DESF., a dioecious tree of the Irano-Turanian zone in the Middle East. Leaves were sampled from five populations along a climatic gradient in Israel from mesic Mediterranean to xeric (and geographically peripheral) sites. Leaves of the xeric populations were ca. 25% smaller in size (length) than leaves of other populations. Leaf developmental instability (an indicator of stress) was examined using the measurement of leaf asymmetry (LA), estimated by the deviation from the origin of paired lateral leaflets and by the presence vs. absence of the terminal leaflet. LA was not correlated with the climatic (site) gradient and had the highest, though not significantly, levels in the intermediate ecotonal zone between the Mediterranean and the arid ecosystems. Male trees were 13% higher in LA than females. Density of two specialist gall-forming aphids varied with site but was not affected by plant gender. Gender-related developmental instability is discussed in relation to resource allocation in early spring. Because the study was limited to five populations further research is clearly needed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Environmental & Evolutionary Biology, University of Haifa, 31905, Haifa, Israel

    Moshe Inbar

  2. The Biodiversity Research Group, Department of Evolution, Systematics and Ecology, The Silberman Institute of Life Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, 91904, Jerusalem, Israel

    Salit Kark

Authors
  1. Moshe Inbar
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  2. Salit Kark
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Correspondence to Moshe Inbar.

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Inbar, M., Kark, S. Gender-Related developmental instability and herbivory ofPistacia atlantica across a steep environmental gradient. Folia Geobot 42, 401–410 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02861702

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02861702

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