Animal Dispersal Dynamics Promoting Dioecy over Hermaphroditism

Vamosi, Jana C.; Zhang, Yu; Wilson, William G.

doi:10.1086/519856

Cited by 30 publications

(48 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…This analysis was motivated by recent models of the seed shadow handicap (Heilbuth et al 2001, Barot and Gignoux 2004, Vamosi et al 2007, and the finding that the difference in seed size between dioecious and hermaphroditic species may be greater in shrubs than in trees (see Fig. This analysis was motivated by recent models of the seed shadow handicap (Heilbuth et al 2001, Barot and Gignoux 2004, Vamosi et al 2007, and the finding that the difference in seed size between dioecious and hermaphroditic species may be greater in shrubs than in trees (see Fig.…”

Section: Longevitymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As a result, on average, females of dioecious species must produce twice as many viable offspring as individuals of closely related cosexual species to maintain a similar population growth rate (Charnov and Maynard Smith 1976, Charlesworth and Charlesworth 1978). Third, dioecious species are predicted to suffer from an increased seed-shadow ''handicap'' compared to cosexual species (Janzen 1971, Heilbuth et al 2001, Wilson and Harder 2003, Barot and Gignoux 2004, Vamosi et al 2007). Increases in seed size may be a common response to such selection.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…There is some evidence that population densities of dioecious species may occasionally be higher than that of cosexual species (e.g., Matallana et al 2005, Vamosi 2006). Recent models have demonstrated that increased longevity may also alleviate the seed shadow handicap (Heilbuth et al 2001, Barot and Gignoux 2004, Vamosi et al 2007. Third, dioecious species are predicted to suffer from an increased seed-shadow ''handicap'' compared to cosexual species (Janzen 1971, Heilbuth et al 2001, Wilson and Harder 2003, Barot and Gignoux 2004, Vamosi et al 2007).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Breeding Systems and Seed Size in a Neotropical Flora: Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses

Vamosi

Mazer

Cornejo³

2008

Ecology

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A well-known, but largely untested, prediction in plant reproductive ecology is that dioecious taxa should produce larger, more, higher-quality, or better-defended seeds than cosexual taxa. Using a data set composed of 972 species in 104 families, representing the flora of the Tambopata Wildlife Reserve (Madre de Dios, Peru), we evaluated the first component of this prediction, examining ecological and evolutionary relationships between breeding system and mean seed size with two kinds of tests. First, we conducted cross-species analyses to determine whether species with different breeding systems differed significantly with respect to mean individual seed size. Second, we used a hypothesized phylogeny to identify pairs of the most closely related taxa or clades within the Tambopata community that differed with respect to breeding system. Comparing pair members allowed us to determine whether evolutionary divergence in breeding system (between taxa with unisexual vs. cosexual individuals) was consistently associated with evolutionary change in seed size. In both analyses, we controlled for potentially confounding effects of growth form by examining these relationships within woody and nonwoody taxa. Cross-species analyses revealed that dioecious species produced larger seeds than cosexual species among woody species, shrubs, lianas (each growth form analyzed separately), and all species pooled, but not among trees. Phylogenetically independent contrasts upheld the significant association between breeding system and seed size among woody taxa, lianas, and all taxa pooled, but not among shrubs. We discuss the implications of our findings for evolutionary hypotheses regarding associations between dioecy and seed size.

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Section: Longevitymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Breeding Systems and Seed Size in a Neotropical Flora: Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses

Vamosi

Mazer

Cornejo³

2008

Ecology

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“…Such circumstances could create an opportunity for unisexual individuals to invade ancestrally mixed populations. More recent modelling has also shown that successful dispersal of a high proportion of propagules through animal dispersal can favour the evolution of stable dioecious populations [4,15,16].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Explaining the distribution of breeding and dispersal syndromes in conifers

et al. 2013

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The evolution of plants exhibiting different sexes, or dioecy, is correlated with a number of ecological and life-history traits such as woody growth form and animal-dispersed seeds, but the underlying causes of these associations are unclear. Previous work in seed plants has suggested that the evolution of fleshy cones or seeds may favour dioecy. In this study, we use a well-sampled molecular phylogeny of conifers to show that although dioecy and fleshiness strongly co-occur at the species level, this relationship has not resulted from numerous separate origins of this trait combination or from differential rates of diversification. Instead, we suggest that two character combinationsthe ancestral dry-monoecious condition and the derived fleshy-dioecious condition-have persisted in conifers longer than other combinations over evolutionary time. The persistence of these trait combinations appears to reflect differences in the rate of successful transition into and out of these character states over time, as well as the geographical restriction of species with rare combinations and their consequent vulnerability to extinction. In general, we argue that such persistence explanations should be considered alongside 'key innovation' hypotheses in explaining the phylogenetic distribution of traits.

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“…This rarity may reflect demographic costs associated with dioecy (Bawa 1980): when a large proportion of the population are males, population growth is reduced-all else being equal-relative to when all individuals produce seeds. Having fewer seedproducing individuals is thus expected to constitute a substantial fitness disadvantage (Queenborough et al 2007;Vamosi et al 2007Vamosi et al , 2008. Nonetheless, dioecy has evolved independently at least 100 times (Charlesworth 2002;Barrett 2010) and is represented among almost half of angiosperm families (Renner and Ricklefs 1995).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Surviving in a Cosexual World: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Dioecy in Tropical Trees

Bruijning

Visser

Muller‐Landau

et al. 2017

The American Naturalist

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Online enhancements: appendix, supplement.abstract: Dioecy has a demographic disadvantage compared with hermaphroditism: only about half of reproductive adults produce seeds. Dioecious species must therefore have fitness advantages to compensate for this cost through increased survival, growth, and/or reproduction. We used a full life cycle approach to quantify the demographic costs and benefits associated with dioecy while controlling for demographic differences between dioecious and hermaphroditic species related to other functional traits. The advantage of this novel approach is that we can focus on the effect of breeding system across a diverse tree community. We built a composite integral projection model for hermaphroditic and dioecious tree populations from Barro Colorado Island, Panama, using long-term demographic and newly collected reproductive data. Integration of all costs and benefits showed that compensation was realized through increased seed production, resulting in no net costs of dioecy. Compensation was also facilitated by the low contribution of reproduction to population growth. Estimated positive effects of dioecy on tree growth and survival were small and insignificant for population growth rates. Our model revealed that, for long-lived organisms, the cost of having males is smaller than generally expected. Hence, little compensation is required for dioecious species to maintain population growth rates similar to those of hermaphroditic species.

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Animal Dispersal Dynamics Promoting Dioecy over Hermaphroditism

Cited by 30 publications

References 39 publications

Breeding Systems and Seed Size in a Neotropical Flora: Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses

Breeding Systems and Seed Size in a Neotropical Flora: Testing Evolutionary Hypotheses

Explaining the distribution of breeding and dispersal syndromes in conifers

Surviving in a Cosexual World: A Cost-Benefit Analysis of Dioecy in Tropical Trees

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