Abstract
The environmental conditions affecting the geographic variation in nut size of the Castanopsis species in Japan were examined. The mother trees having a relatively large nut tended to dominate in the geographically marginal area of the distribution range in Japan, i.e. the Japan Sea, Kanto, and Ryukyu areas, whereas in the central area, i.e. the Pacific area, mother trees having a relatively small nut occurred. We attempted an adaptive explanation, proposing that mother trees with large nuts have higher inclusive fitness than those with small nuts in unfavorable habitats. The Japan Sea area features large amounts of snow fall and low temperatures. The Ryukyu area is insular and is characterized by high temperatures. Within the Pacific area, mother trees with relatively large nuts were abundant at both higher and lower parts of the altitudinal range. We infer that environmental conditions in marginal areas, in terms of both horizontal and vertical distribution, favor mother trees having large nuts. However, in the marginal Kanto area, the cause of the absence of mother trees having relatively small nuts was independent of the environmental conditions. The geographic variation in nut size of Castanopsis species is not always explained by environmental factors.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Baker HG (1972) Seed weight in relation to environmental conditions in California. Ecology 53:997–1010
Foster SA (1986) On the adaptive value of large seeds for tropical moist forest trees: a review and synthesis. Bot Rev 52:260–299
Foster SA, Janson CH (1985) The relationship between seed size and establishment conditions in tropical woody plants. Ecology 66:773–780
Hattori T, Nakanishi S, Takeda Y (1987) The chorological study of the main lucidophyllous species in the Kinki district with special reference to their immigration during the postglacial period (in Japanese with English summary).Jpn J Ecol 37:1–10
Hiroki S, Ichino K (1991) The distribution of Castanopsis cuspidata and its allies examined from a viewpoint of fruit shape (in Japanese with English summary). J Phytogeogr Taxon 39:79–86
Hiroki S, Ichino K (1998) Comparison of growth habits under various light conditions between two climax species, Castanopsis sieboldii and Castanopsis cuspidata, with special reference to their shade tolerance. Ecol Res 13:65–72
Hiura T (1996) Geographic variation and maintenance of species diversity of beech forest in Japan (in Japanese). Jpn J Ecol 46:175–178
Hotta M (1974) History and geography of plants. III. Evolutionary biology in plants (in Japanese). Sanseido, Tokyo
Ikeguchi H, Takeuchi K (1993) Estimation of potential natural vegetation by means of GIS (in Japanese with English summary). J Jpn Inst Landsc Architect 56:343–348
Japan Meteorological Agency (1996) Kisho-cho Kansoku Heinen-chi (in Japanese). Japan Meteorological Business Support Center, Tokyo
Kira T (1949) Forest zones of Japan (in Japanese). Ringyo Gijutsu Kyokai, Tokyo
Kobayashi Y, Sugawa T (1959) Identification of wood of some Castanopsis species in Japan (in Japanese with English summary). Bull Govern For Exp Stat 118:139–178
Kojima C (1975) Analysis on the relation between natural distribution of principal tree species and climatic elements by quantification, some species in Tohoku district (in Japanese with English summary). Bull Govern For Exp Stat 271:1–26
MacArthur RH (1972) Geographical ecology, patterns in the distribution of species. Harper and Row, New York
National Land Agency (1998) Kokudo Suchi Joho, G01–56 M (in Japanese). National Land Agency, Tokyo
Nomoto S, Chiba M, Yajima E (1983) An application of eigenvector analysis for regional division of climatic elements, Regional division of Japan by precipitation (in Japanese). Tenki 30:385–392
Parciak W (2002) Seed size, number, and habitat of a fleshy-fruited plant: consequences for seedling establishment. Ecology 83:794–808
Seiwa K, Kikuzawa K (1991) Phenology of tree seedlings in relation to seed size. Can J Bot 69:532–538
Shimano K (1998) What prevents beech ( Fagus crenata) from regenerating in Pacific ocean type beech forest? (in Japanese with English summary) J Phytogeogr Taxon 46:1–21
Tomaru N, Mitsutsuji T, Takahashi M, Tsumura Y, Uchida K, Ohba K (1997) Genetic diversity in Fagus crenata (Japanese beech): influence of the distributional shift during the late-Quaternary. Heredity 78:241–251
Tomaru N, Takahashi M, Tsumura Y, Takahashi M, Ohba K (1998) Intraspecific variation and phylogeographic pattern of Fagus crenata (Fagaceae) mitochondrial DNA. Am J Bot 85:629–636
Venable DL, Brown JS (1988) The selective interactions of dispersal, dormancy, and seed size as adaptations for reducing risk in variable environments. Am Nat 131:360–384
Venable DL, Dyreson E, Pinero D, Becerra JX (1998) Seed morphometrics and adaptive geographic differentiation. Evolution 52:344–354
Winn AA (1985) Effects of seed size and microsite on seedling emergence of Prunella vulgaris in four habitats. J Ecol 73:831–840
Winn AA, Werner RA (1987) Regulation of seed yield within and among populations of Prunella vulgaris. Ecology 68:1224–1233
Wulff RD (1986) Seed size variation in Desmodium paniculatum. II. Effects on seedling growth and physiological performance. J Ecol 74:99–114
Yagihashi T, Matsui T, Nakaya T, Taoda H, Tanaka N (2003) Classification of Fagus crenata forests and Quercus mongolica var. grosseserrata forests with regard to climatic conditions (in Japanese with English summary). Jpn J Ecol 53:85–94
Yamada H, Handa T (1994) Genetic variation in Castanopsis cuspidata and C. cuspidata var. sieboldii. I. Variation of seed characters in and around Okayama Prefecture (in Japanese). Trans Jpn For Soc 105:351–352
Yamada H, Miyaura T (2000) The difference of distributional pattern between Castanopsis sieboldii and C. cuspidata and the relationships of the two species to their environmental factors in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. J Phytogeogr Taxon 48:163–169
Yamada H, Yamaguchi K, Miyaura T (2002) Effect of Japan Sea climate on geographic distribution of Castanopsis sieboldii and C. cuspidata. J For Res 7:67–71
Yamanaka T (1966) Problems of Castanopsis cuspidata Schottky (in Japanese). Bull Faculty Educ Kochi Univ 18:65–73
Yamanaka T (1979) Nihon no Shinrin Shokusei (in Japanese). Tsukiji-Shokan, Tokyo
Yamazaki H, Mashiba S (1987) A taxonomical revision of Castanopsis cuspidata (Thunb.) Schottky and the allies in Japan and Taiwan (1) (in Japanese). J Jpn Bot 62:289–298
Yoshioka K (1954) Sociological studies of the forests in the Tohoku District 4. Forest communities in the northern limits of Shiia sieboldii (in Japanese with English summary). Bull Soc Plant Ecol 3:219–229
Acknowledgements
We are grateful to T. Handa and M. Ubukata for their valuable advice, and to the staff of the Forest Tree Breeding Center for their kind help in collecting nuts. We also appreciate the two anonymous reviewers for their many invaluable comments that improved the manuscript.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
About this article
Cite this article
Yamada, H., Miyaura, T. Geographic variation in nut size of Castanopsis species in Japan. Ecol Res 20, 3–9 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-004-0006-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11284-004-0006-9