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A demographic model explains life-history variation in Arabis fecunda
Article first published online: 24 JUN 2005
DOI: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00972.x
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How to Cite
LESICA, P. and YOUNG, T. P. (2005), A demographic model explains life-history variation in Arabis fecunda. Functional Ecology, 19: 471–477. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2435.2005.00972.x
Publication History
- Issue published online: 24 JUN 2005
- Article first published online: 24 JUN 2005
- Received 9 December 2004; accepted 20 May 2005
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Keywords:
- demography;
- environmental stress;
- iteroparity;
- life history;
- reproductive mode;
- semelparity;
- threshold trait
Summary
- 1The distinction between semelparity and iteroparity is one of the most fundamental in life-history biology. Despite an abundance of theory proposed to explain the evolution of this dichotomy, few quantitative empirical tests exist.
- 2We report here on life-history variation in the perennial herb Arabis fecunda (Brassicaceae), in which differences in the frequency of iteroparity and terminal flowering (facultative semelparity) are expressed among populations. These differences are consistent over time, and a common garden experiment suggested that they may be at least partly genetically based.
- 3An analysis of demographic data over a 5-year period from three populations indicated that a simple demographic model of life-history evolution is consistent with life-history variation in this species. Individuals in populations with greater mean adult survival were more likely to express iteroparity than individuals in populations with lower adult survival.