scholarly journals Effect of Resource Reallocation on Pollen Limitation and Reproductive Assurance of Apocynum venetum L. in an Arid Region

2016 ◽  
Vol 8 (9) ◽  
pp. 95 ◽  
Author(s):  
Min Chen ◽  
Xue-yong Zhao ◽  
Xiao-an Zuo ◽  
Hao Qu ◽  
Wei Mao ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Reproductive Assurance ◽  
Resource Reallocation ◽  
Strong Force ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Apocynum Venetum ◽  
Single Flower ◽  
Plant Pollen

<p>Pollen limitation is considered to be a strong force driving the evolution of reproductive strategies in flowering plants. However, resource reallocation may occur among seeds because of variation in the quantity or quality of pollen received. We performed single-flower and whole-plant pollen supplementation and emasculation of flowers of <em>Apocynum venetum</em> L. to estimate pollen limitation and reproductive assurance. In addition, we calculated the visiting patterns of the pollinators, frequency of pollinators to estimate the effect of pollinator activity and further on the reproductive success of <em>A. venetum</em>. Our results indicated estimates from single-flower manipulations were not biased, closely resembling those from whole-plant manipulations. We found<em> Apis mellifera</em> was the dominant pollinator during the pollination process. In addition, insect pollination played a more important role in the outcrossing system, which could explain the differences in reproductive success. Our results also showed that autonomous self-pollination eliminates pollen limitation and provides reproductive assurance.</p>

Modest Pollen Limitation of Lifetime Seed Production Is in Good Agreement with Modest Uncertainty in Whole-Plant Pollen Receipt: (A Reply to Burd)

2016 ◽  
Vol 187 (3) ◽  
pp. 397-404 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jay A. Rosenheim ◽  
Neal M. Williams ◽  
Sebastian J. Schreiber ◽  
Joshua M. Rapp
Keyword(s):  
Seed Production ◽  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Pollen Receipt ◽  
Plant Pollen ◽  
Good Agreement

Influence of social status on growth performance, reproductive success and sperm quality of the African cichlid Aulonocara nyassae

2021 ◽  
Vol 237 ◽  
pp. 105292
Author(s):  
Walisson de Souza Silva ◽  
Lucas Pedro Gonçalves-Júnior ◽  
Marc Roger Jean Marie Henry ◽  
André Lima Ferreira ◽  
Isabela Fernanda Araújo Torres ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Growth Performance ◽  
Social Status ◽  
Sperm Quality ◽  
African Cichlid

Reproductive success of Acacia longifolia (Fabaceae, Mimosoideae) in native and invasive populations

2015 ◽  
Vol 63 (5) ◽  
pp. 387 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Correia ◽  
Sílvia Castro ◽  
Susana Rodríguez-Echeverría
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Seed Size ◽  
Fruit Set ◽  
Lower Number ◽  
Open Pollination ◽  
Native Range ◽  
Reproductive Assurance ◽  
Acacia Species ◽  
Self Compatibility ◽  
Selfing Ability

The reproductive biology of exotic species affects their capacity to become naturalised and invasive in non-native areas. Selfing is a common trait in many invasive plants probably because it provides reproductive assurance under low availability of pollination vectors and sexual partners. Nonetheless, the predominantly self-incompatible Australian Acacia species are among the most aggressive plants worldwide. To address whether there have been changes in selfing ability and natural reproductive success of A. longifolia during invasion, we compared one population in the invaded area (Portugal) with one population in the native range (Australia). We specifically assessed floral traits, fruit set and offspring traits for selfing and open-pollination treatments. Within each pollination treatment, no differences were found between areas, suggesting that the level of self-compatibility has not changed during invasion. However, the number of aborted seeds and seed size were significantly different between pollination treatments in Australia but not in Portugal. There were significant differences in the number of seeds per pod and in seed weight between ranges. A lower number of aborted seeds, a higher number of fully developed seeds and a greater seed size were found in the invaded area for both pollination treatments. In spite of the low selfing ability of A. longifolia in the invaded area, there was an increase in the quantity and size of the seeds produced in the new region, even for self-pollinated fruits, which might contribute to A. longifolia invasiveness.

scholarly journals Digestibility of plant fractions from different genotypes and the predictability of quality of forage maize in northwest Europe.

1985 ◽  
Vol 33 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-59
Author(s):  
P.C. Struik
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Factors ◽  
Forage Maize ◽  
Maize Hybrids ◽  
Plant Parts ◽  
Physical Chemical ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Northwest Europe ◽  
Total Plant

Differences in digestibility of plant parts from 5 forage maize hybrids are described and related to the differences in whole plant digestibility of crops grown under different conditions. Plant parts differed greatly in digestibility, and the proportions of the DM of the total plant were variable due to numerous physical, chemical, biological and genetic factors. Whole-plant digestibility, however, was fairly constant and predictable. (Abstract retrieved from CAB Abstracts by CABI’s permission)

scholarly journals Frecuencias de corte y niveles de fertilización nitrogenada en rendimiento y calidad del forrraje de morera (Morus sp.), en Cuyuta, Guatemala

2016 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
pp. 48
Author(s):  
Carlos Rodríguez ◽  
Juan A. Quiñones ◽  
Rodrigo Arias
Keyword(s):  
Dry Matter ◽  
Ground Level ◽  
Dry Matter Digestibility ◽  
Yield And Quality ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Dual Purpose Cattle ◽  
Whole Plants ◽  
Cutting Height

The trial was conducted at the Centro de Producción Agrícola of ICfA in Cuyuta, Escuintla-Guatemala in order to generate information on the yield and quality of edible mulberry (Morus sp.) roughage treatments consisted of three harvest frequencies (6; 9 and 12 weeks and three fertilization levels of nitrogen (0.40 and 80 kg/ha). A complete randomized block experimental design, with a factorial arrangement (3x3) was used. The cutting height was 0.3 m above the ground level with two sequencies: from August 2nd to September 13 th and from September 13th to December 6th, 1990. In both cases, the 12 week frequency cutting and 80 kg of N were superior to the others (P<=0.01), yielding 6.87 and 6.15 t/ha of dry matter respectively. The yields at 9 weeks were statistically higher than those at 6 weeks. The highest protein percentage of the whole plant, leaves and stalks were produced at 6 weeks. The dry matter digestibility values in vitro showed little variability among treatments, with averages for whole plants, leaves and stalks of 65, 91 and 41 %, respectively. The preceeding data suggests that the mulberry has an excellent potential as a balanced supplement (protein and energy) for dual purpose cattle on the Southern coast of Guatemala.

scholarly journals Potato Tuberworm Phthorimaea operculella (Zeller) (Lepidoptera: Gelechioidea) Leaf Infestation Effects Performance of Conspecific Larvae on Harvested Tubers by Inducing Chemical Defenses

Insects ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 11 (9) ◽  
pp. 633
Author(s):  
Dingli Wang ◽  
Qiyun Wang ◽  
Xiao Sun ◽  
Yulin Gao ◽  
Jianqing Ding
Keyword(s):  
Soluble Sugar ◽  
C:N Ratio ◽  
Developmental Time ◽  
Chemical Defenses ◽  
Pupal Weight ◽  
Larval Performance ◽  
Aboveground Herbivory ◽  
Whole Plant ◽  
Potato Tuberworm

Conspecific aboveground and belowground herbivores can interact with each other, mediated by plant secondary chemicals; however, little attention has been paid to the interaction between leaf feeders and tuber-feeders. Here, we evaluated the effect of the foliar feeding of P. operculella larvae on the development of conspecific larvae feeding on harvested tubers by determining the nutrition and defense metabolites in the whole plant (leaf, root and tuber). We found that leaf feeding negatively affected tuber larval performance by increasing the female larval developmental time and reducing the male pupal weight. In addition, aboveground herbivory increased α-chaconine and glycoalkaloids in tubers and α-solanine in leaves, but decreased α-chaconine and glycoalkaloids in leaves. Aboveground herbivory also altered the levels of soluble sugar, soluble protein, starch, carbon (C), nitrogen (N), as well as the C:N ratio in both leaves and tubers. Aboveground P. operculella infestations could affect the performance of conspecific larvae feeding on harvested tubers by inducing glycoalkaloids in the host plant. Our findings indicate that field leaf herbivory should be considered when assessing the quality of potato tubers and their responses to pests during storage.

scholarly journals Linking pollinator efficiency to patterns of pollen limitation: small bees exploit the plant–pollinator mutualism

2018 ◽  
Vol 285 (1880) ◽  
pp. 20180635 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthew H. Koski ◽  
Jennifer L. Ison ◽  
Ashley Padilla ◽  
Angela Q. Pham ◽  
Laura F. Galloway
Keyword(s):  
Pollen Limitation ◽  
Pollen Deposition ◽  
Pollinator Efficiency ◽  
Flower Visitation ◽  
Female Phase ◽  
Male Phase ◽  
Single Flower ◽  
Floral Visitation ◽  
Low Efficiency ◽  
Plant Pollinator

Seemingly mutualistic relationships can be exploited, in some cases reducing fitness of the exploited species. In plants, the insufficient receipt of pollen limits reproduction. While infrequent pollination commonly underlies pollen limitation (PL), frequent interactions with low-efficiency, exploitative pollinators may also cause PL. In the widespread protandrous herb Campanula americana , visitation by three pollinators explained 63% of the variation in PL among populations spanning the range. Bumblebees and the medium-sized Megachile campanulae enhanced reproductive success, but small solitary bees exacerbated PL. To dissect mechanisms behind these relationships, we scored sex-specific floral visitation, and the contributions of each pollinator to plant fitness using single flower visits. Small bees and M. campanulae overvisited male-phase flowers, but bumblebees frequently visited female-phase flowers. Fewer bumblebee visits were required to saturate seed set compared to other bees. Scaling pollinator efficiency metrics to populations, small bees deplete large amounts of pollen due to highly male-biased flower visitation and infrequent pollen deposition. Thus, small bees reduce plant reproduction by limiting pollen available for transfer by efficient pollinators, and appear to exploit the plant–pollinator mutualism, acting as functional parasites to C. americana . It is therefore unlikely that small bees will compensate for reproductive failure in C. americana when bumblebees are scarce.

scholarly journals Fitness outcomes in relation to individual variation in constitutive innate immune function

2020 ◽  
Vol 287 (1938) ◽  
pp. 20201997
Author(s):  
Michael J. Roast ◽  
Nataly Hidalgo Aranzamendi ◽  
Marie Fan ◽  
Niki Teunissen ◽  
Matthew D. Hall ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reproductive Success ◽  
Immune Function ◽  
Investment Strategies ◽  
Immune Functions ◽  
Resource Reallocation ◽  
Net Benefit ◽  
Complement Activity ◽  
Trade Offs ◽  
Linear Relationships ◽  
Potential Resource

Although crucial for host survival when facing persistent parasite pressure, costly immune functions will inevitably compete for resources with other energetically expensive traits such as reproduction. Optimizing, but not necessarily maximizing, immune function might therefore provide net benefit to overall host fitness. Evidence for associations between fitness and immune function is relatively rare, limiting our potential to understand ultimate fitness costs of immune investment. Here, we assess how measures of constitutive immune function (haptoglobin, natural antibodies, complement activity) relate to subsequent fitness outcomes (survival, reproductive success, dominance acquisition) in a wild passerine ( Malurus coronatus ). Surprisingly, survival probability was not positively linearly predicted by any immune index. Instead, both low and high values of complement activity (quadratic effect) were associated with higher survival, suggesting that different immune investment strategies might reflect a dynamic disease environment. Positive linear relationships between immune indices and reproductive success suggest that individual heterogeneity overrides potential resource reallocation trade-offs within individuals. Controlling for body condition (size-adjusted body mass) and chronic stress (heterophil-lymphocyte ratio) did not alter our findings in a sample subset with available data. Overall, our results suggest that constitutive immune components have limited net costs for fitness and that variation in immune maintenance relates to individual differences more closely.

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