Flowering phenology of Ulex europaeus: ecological consequences of large variability

Autor: Tarayre, Michèle, Bowman, Gillianne, Schermann-Legionnet, Agnès, Barat, Myriam, Atlan, Anne
Přispěvatelé: Ecosystèmes, biodiversité, évolution [Rennes] (ECOBIO), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université de Rennes 1 (UR1), Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES)-Université de Rennes (UNIV-RENNES), Institut fur Umweltwissenschaften, Universität Zürich [Zürich] = University of Zurich (UZH), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut Ecologie et Environnement (INEE), Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Observatoire des Sciences de l'Univers de Rennes (OSUR), Université de Rennes (UR)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Université de Rennes 2 (UR2)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Institut National de Recherche pour l’Agriculture, l’Alimentation et l’Environnement (INRAE)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2007
Předmět:
Zdroj: Evolutionary Ecology
Evolutionary Ecology, Springer Verlag, 2007, 21 (3), pp.395-409. ⟨10.1007/s10682-006-9109-9⟩
Evolutionary Ecology, 2007, 21 (3), pp.395-409. ⟨10.1007/s10682-006-9109-9⟩
ISSN: 0269-7653
1573-8477
DOI: 10.1007/s10682-006-9109-9⟩
Popis: International audience; Reproductive phenology of gorse (Ulex europaeus L., Genisteae, Fabaceae) is unusual in that the onset and duration of flowering vary greatly among individuals within populations: some plants initiate flowering in autumn or winter and continue flowering through spring, others initiate flowering in early spring. To understand the origin of this diversity and its ecological consequences, we investigated flowering phenology of randomly sampled individuals from five different natural populations in Brittany (France). Reproductive success was evaluated for individuals with contrasting flowering patterns, from 16 natural populations. Flower production, pod production, seed production and seed predation were estimated. Plants initiating flowering in spring produced larger numbers of flowers and pods over a shorter period than plants flowering from winter to spring, which produced few flowers and pods at a time but over a longer period. Pod production of longflowering plants did not differ significantly between winter and spring, but their pods were more intensively attacked by seed predators in spring than in winter. We discuss our results in relation to biotic and abiotic parameters. We postulate that long-flowering can be interpreted as a bet-hedging strategy, spreading the risk of pod failure (rotting or freezing) in winter and of seed predation in spring.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
Externí odkaz: