Changes in sex ratios of a dioecious grass with grazing intensity: The interplay between gender traits, neighbour interactions and spatial patterns

Journal of Ecology

Volumn 101, Issue 5, 2013, Pages 1146-1157

  Graff, Pamela ^a   Rositano, Florencia ^a   Aguiar, Martin R ^a  

^a UNIVERSIDAD DE BUENOS AIRES   (Argentina)

Author keywords

Arid ecosystems; Dioecy; Life history traits; O ring statistics; Plant herbivore interactions; Plant plant interactions; Sex ratio; Sexual dimorphism; Spatial pattern; Trade offs

Indexed keywords

COMPETITIVE ABILITY; DIMORPHISM; ENVIRONMENTAL STRESS; FEMALE; GENDER; GRASS; GRAZING; INVESTMENT; MALE; PLANT-HERBIVORE INTERACTION; RESOURCE ALLOCATION; SEX RATIO; SPATIAL DISTRIBUTION; TRADE-OFF;

HEXAPODA; MAMMALIA; POACEAE;

EID: 84883292267     PISSN: 00220477     EISSN: 13652745     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.1111/1365-2745.12114     Document Type: Article

References (84)

1. Adler, P.B., Raff, D.A. & Lauenroth, W.K. (2001) The effect of grazing on the spatial heterogeneity of vegetation. Oecologia, 128, 465-479.
2. Ågren, J.K., Danell, K., Elmqvist, T., Ericson, L. & Hjältén, J. (1999) Sexual dimorphism and biotic interactions. Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants (eds M.A. Geber, T.E. Dawson & L.F. Delph ), pp. 217-246. Springer, New York, NY.
3. Aguiar, M.R. & Sala, O.E. (1998) Interactions among grasses, shrubs, and herbivores in Patagonian grass-shrub steppes. Ecologia Austral, 8, 201-210.
4. Aguiar, M.R., Soriano, A. & Sala, O.E. (1992) Competition and facilitation in the recruitment of seedlings in Patagonian steppe. Functional Ecology, 6, 66-70.
5. Allen, G.A. & Antos, J.A. (1988) Relative reproductive effort in males and females of the dioecious shrub Oemleria cerasiformis. Oecologia, 76, 111-118.
6. Atsatt, P.R. & O'Dowd, D.J. (1976) Plant defense guilds. Science, 193, 24-29.
7. Baraza, E., Zamora, R. & Hódar, J.A. (2006) Conditional outcomes in plant-herbivore interactions: neighbours matter. Oikos, 113, 148-156.
8. Bertiller, M.B., Beeskow, A.M. & Coronato, F.R. (1991) Seasonal environmental variation and plant phenology in arid Patagonia (Argentina). Journal of Arid Environments, 21, 1-11.
9. Bertiller, M.B., Sain, C.L. & Carrera, A.L. (2002b) Effect of fine-scale spatial variation of soil nitrogen on the performance of the sexes of Poa ligularis in patchy ecosystems of northern Patagonia. International Journal of Plant Sciences, 163, 419-425.
10. Bertiller, M.B., Ares, J.O., Graff, P. & Baldi, R. (2000) Sex-related spatial patterns of Poa ligularis in relation to shrub patch occurrence in northern Patagonia. Journal of Vegetation Science, 11, 9-14.
11. Bertiller, M.B., Sain, C.L., Bisigato, A.J., Coronato, F.R., Ares, J.O. & Graff, P. (2002a) Spatial sex segregation in the dioecious grass Poa ligularis in northern Patagonia: the role of environmental patchiness. Biodiversity and Conservation, 11, 69-84.
12. Bertness, M.D. & Callaway, R.M. (1994) Positive interactions in communities. Trends in Ecology and Evolution, 9, 191-193.
13. Bierzychudek, P. & Eckhart, V. (1988) Spatial segregation of the sexes of dioecious plants. American Naturalist, 132, 34-43.
14. Bisigato, A.J., Bertiller, M.B., Ares, J.O. & Pazos, G.E. (2005) Effect of grazing on plant patterns in arid ecosystems of Patagonian Monte. Ecography, 28, 561-572.
15. Boecklen, W.J., Price, P.W. & Mopper, S. (1990) Sex and drugs and herbivores: sex-biased herbivory in arroyo willow (Salix lasiolepis). Ecology, 71, 581-588.
16. Callaway, R.M. (1998) Competition and facilitation on elevation gradients in subalpine forests of the Northern Rocky Mountains, USA. Oikos, 82, 561-573.
17. Cepeda-Cornejo, V. & Dirzo, R. (2010) Sex-related differences in reproductive allocation, growth, defense and herbivory in three dioecious neotropical palms. PLoS ONE, 5, e9824.
18. Cipriotti, P.A. & Aguiar, M.R. (2005) Effects of grazing on patch structure in a semi-arid two-phase vegetation mosaic. Journal of Vegetation Science, 16, 57-66.
19. Coley, P.D., Bryant, J.P. & Chapin, F.S. III (1985) Resource availability and plant antiherbivore defense. Science, 230, 895-899.
20. Cornelissen, T. & Stiling, P. (2005) Sex-biased herbivory: a meta-analysis of the effects of gender on plant-herbivore interactions. Oikos, 111, 488-500.
21. Correa, M.N. (1978) Flora Patagonica, Parte III. Coleccion Cientifica Tomo VIII. Instituto Nacional de Tecnologia Agropecuaria (INTA), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
22. Cox, P.A. (1981) Niche partitioning between sexes of dioecious plants. American Naturalist, 117, 295-307.
23. Cranston, B.H., Callaway, R.M., Monks, A. & Dickinson, K.J.M. (2012) Gender and abiotic stress affect community-scale intensity of facilitation and its costs. Journal of Ecology, 100, 915-922.
24. Dannel, K., Elmqvist, T., Ericson, L. & Salomonson, A. (1985) Sexuality in willows and preference by bark-eating voles: defence or not? Oikos, 44, 82-90.
25. Dawson, T.E. & Bliss, L.C. (1989) Patterns of water use and the tissue water relations in the dioecious shrub, Salix arctica: the physiological basis for habitat partitioning between the sexes. Oecologia, 79, 332-343.
26. Dawson, T.E. & Ehleringer, J.R. (1993) Gender-specific physiology, carbon isotope discrimination, and habitat distribution in boxelder, Acer negundo. Ecology, 74, 798-815.
27. De Jong, T.J. (1995) Why fast-growing plants do not bother about defence. Oikos, 74, 545-548.
28. Delph, L.F. (1990) Sex-differential resource allocation patterns in the subdioecious shrub Hebe subalpina. Ecology, 71, 1342-1351.
29. Delph, L.F. (1999) Sexual dimorphism in life history. Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants (eds M.A. Geber, T.E. Dawson & L.F. Delph ), pp. 149-174. Springer-Verlag, Berlin.
30. Elmqvist, T. & Gardfjell, H. (1988) Differences in response to defoliation between males and females of Silene dioica. Oecologia, 77, 225-230.
31. Elmqvist, T., Ericson, L., Danell, K. & Salomonson, A. (1988) Latitudinal sex ratio variation in willows, Salix spp., and gradients in vole herbivory. Oikos, 51, 259-266.
32. Eppley, S.M. (2001) Gender-specific selection during early life history stages in the dioecious grass Distichlis spicata. Ecology, 82, 2022-2031.
33. Eppley, S.M. (2005) Spatial segregation of the sexes and nutrients affect reproductive success in a dioecious wind-pollinated grass. Plant Ecology, 181, 179-190.
34. Eppley, S.M. (2006) Females make tough neighbors: sex-specific competitive effects in seedlings of a dioecious grass. Oecologia, 146, 549-554.
35. Eppley, S.M., Stanton, M.L. & Grosberg, R.K. (1998) Intrapopulation sex ratio variation in the salt grass Distichlis spicata. American Naturalist, 152, 659-670.
36. Fernández, A.R.J., Sala, O.E. & Golluscio, R.A. (1991) Woody and herbaceous above-ground production of a Patagonian steppe. Journal of Range Management, 44, 434-437.
37. Fernández, R.J., Golluscio, R.A., Bisigato, A.J. & Soriano, A. (2002) Gap colonization in the Patagonian semidesert: seed bank and diaspore morphology. Ecography, 25, 336-344.
38. Ferraro, D.O. & Oesterheld, M. (2002) The effect of defoliation on grass growth. A quantitative review. Oikos, 98, 125-133.
39. Freeman, D.C., Harper, K.T. & Ostler, W.K. (1980) Ecology of plant dioecy in the intermountain region of western North America and California. Oecologia, 44, 410-417.
40. Freeman, D.C., Klikoff, L.G. & Harper, K.T. (1976) Differential resource utilization by the sexes of dioecious plants. Science, 193, 597-599.
41. Geber, M.A., Dawson, T.E. & Delph, L.F. (1999) Gender and Sexual Dimorphism in Flowering Plants. Springer Verlag, New York, NY.
42. Gehring, J. & Linhart, Y. (1993) Sexual dimorphism and response to low resources in the dioecious plants Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae). International Journal of Plant Sciences, 154, 152-162.
43. Giussani, L.M. (2000) Phenetic similarity patterns of dioecious species of Poa from Argentina and neighboring countries. Annals of the Missouri Botanical Garden, 87, 203-233.
44. Graff, P. & Aguiar, M.R. (2011) Testing the role of biotic stress in the stress gradient hypothesis. Processes and patterns in arid rangelands. Oikos, 120, 1023-1030.
45. Graff, P., Aguiar, M.R. & Chaneton, E.J. (2007) Shifts in positive and negative plant interactions along a grazing intensity gradient. Ecology, 88, 188-199.
46. Grime, J.P. (2001) Plant Strategies, Vegetation Processes and Ecosystem Properties, 2nd edn. Wiley, Chichester.
47. Heilbuth, J.C., Ilves, K.L. & Otto, S.P. (2009) The consequences of dioecy for seed dispersal: modeling the seed-shadow handicap. Evolution, 55, 880-888.
48. Herms, D.A. & Mattson, W.J. (1992) The dilemma of plants: to grow or defend. The Quarterly Review of Biology, 67, 283-335.
49. Hjältén, J. (1992) Plant sex and hare feeding preferences. Oecologia, 89, 253-256.
50. Hoffmann, A.J. & Alliende, M.C. (1984) Interactions in the patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction in woody dioecious plants. Oecologia, 61, 109-114.
51. Jing, S.W. & Coley, P.D. (1990) Dioecy and herbivory: the effect of growth rate on plant defense in Acer negundo. Oikos, 58, 369-377.
52. Le Bagousse-Pinguet, Y., Gross, E.M. & Straile, D. (2011) Release from competition and protection determine the outcome of plant interactions along a grazing gradient. Oikos, 121, 95-101.
53. Leon, R.J.C., Bran, D., Collantes, M., Paruelo, J.M. & Soriano, A. (1998) Grandes unidades de vegetacion de la Patagonia extra andina. Ecologia Austral, 8, 125-144.
54. Leva, P.E., Aguiar, M.R. & Oesterheld, M. (2009) Underground ecology in a Patagonian steppe: root traits permit identification of graminoid species and classification into functional types. Journal of Arid Environments, 73, 428-434.
55. Lloyd, D. & Webb, C. (1977) Secondary sex characters in plants. The Botanical Review, 43, 177-216.
56. Mazza, C.A., Boccalandro, H.E., Giordano, C.V., Battista, D., Scopel, A.L. & Ballaré, C.L. (2000) Functional significance and induction by solar radiation of ultraviolet-absorbing sunscreens in field-grown soybean crops. Plant Physiology, 122, 117-126.
57. McIntire, E.J.B. & Fajardo, A. (2009) Beyond description: the active and effective way to infer processes from spatial patterns. Ecology, 90, 46-56.
58. Mercer, C. & Eppley, S. (2010) Inter-sexual competition in a dioecious grass. Oecologia, 164, 657-664.
59. Milchunas, D.G. & Noy-Meir, I. (2002) Grazing refuges, external avoidance of herbivory and plant diversity. Oikos, 99, 113-130.
60. Nicotra, A.B. (1999) Reproductive allocation and the long-term costs of reproduction in Siparuna grandiflora, a dioecious neotropical shrub. Journal of Ecology, 87, 138-149.
61. Obeso, J.R. (2002) The costs of reproduction in plants. New Phytologist, 155, 321-348.
62. Paruelo, J.M., Aguiar, M.R. & Golluscio, R.A. (1988) Soil water availability in the Patagonian arid steppe: gravel content effect. Arid Soil Research and Rehabilitation, 2, 67-74.
63. Paruelo, J.M., Beltran, A., Jobbagy, E., Sala, O.E. & Golluscio, R.A. (1998) The climate of Patagonia: general patterns and controls on biotic processes. Ecologia Austral, 8, 85-101.
64. Pazos, G.E. & Bertiller, M.B. (2008) Spatial patterns of the germinable soil seed bank of coexisting perennial-grass species in grazed shrublands of the Patagonian Monte. Plant Ecology, 198, 111-120.
65. Pazos, G., Bisigato, A.J. & Bertiller, M.B. (2007) Abundance and spatial patterning of coexisting perennial grasses in grazed shrublands of the Patagonian Monte. Journal of Arid Environments, 70, 316-328.
66. Perelman, S.B., Leon, R.J.C. & Bussacca, J.P. (1997) Floristic changes related to grazing intensity in a Patagonian shrub steppe. Ecography, 20, 400-406.
67. Purves, D.W. & Law, R. (2002) Fine-scale spatial structure in a grassland community: quantifying the plant′s-eye view. Journal of Ecology, 90, 121-129.
68. Putwain, P.D. & Harper, J.L. (1972) Studies in the dynamics of plant populations. Mechanisms governing the sex ratio in Rumex acetosa and R. acetosella. Journal of Ecolgy, 60, 113-129.
69. Renner, S. & Ricklefs, R. (1995) Dioecy and its correlates in the flowering plants. American Journal of Botany, 82, 596-606.
70. Rotundo, J.L. (2005) Estudios poblacionales de Poa ligularis: una gramínea de zonas áridas amenazada por sobrepastoreo. MSc Thesis, Escuela para Graduados, Facultad de Agronomia, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
71. Saiz, H. & Alados, C.L. (2012) Changes in semi-arid plant species associations along a livestock grazing gradient. PLoS ONE, 7, e40551.
72. Sakai, A., Sasa, A. & Sakai, S. (2006) Do sexual dimorphisms in reproductive allocation and new shoot biomass increase with an increase in altitude? A case of the shrub willow Salix reinii (Salicaceae). American Journal of Botany, 93, 988-992.
73. Sánchez-Vilas, J., Turner, A. & Pannell, J.R. (2010) Sexual dimorphism in intra- and interspecific competitive ability of the dioecious herb Mercurialis annua. Plant Biology, 13, 218-222.
74. SAS (1996) SAS System for Windows, Release 6.12. User's Guide. SAS Institute, Inc, Cary, NC.
75. Schenk, H.J. & Robert, B.J. (2002) Rooting depths, lateral root spreads and below-ground/above-ground allometries of plants in water-limited ecosystems. Journal of Ecology, 90, 480-494.
76. Schurr, F.M., Bossdorf, O., Milton, S.J. & Schumacher, J. (2004) Spatial pattern formation in semi-arid shrubland: a priori predicted versus observed pattern characteristics. Plant Ecology, 173, 271-282.
77. Silvertown, J. & Wilson, J.B. (2000) Spatial interactions among grassland plant populations. The Geometry of Ecological Interactions (eds U. Dieckman, R. Law & H. Metz ), pp. 28-47. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.
78. Smit, C., Rietkerk, M. & Wassen, M.J. (2009) Inclusion of biotic stress (consumer pressure) alters predictions from the stress gradient hypothesis. Journal of Ecology, 97, 1215-1219.
79. Smit, C., Vandenberghe, C., den Ouden, J. & Müller-Schärer, H. (2007) Nurse plants, tree saplings and grazing pressure: changes in facilitation along a biotic environmental gradient. Oecologia, 152, 265-273.
80. Soriano, A., Golluscio, R.A. & Satorre, E. (1987) Spatial heterogeneity of the root system of grasses in the Patagonian arid steppe. Bulletin of the Torrey Botanical Club, 114, 103-108.
81. Soriano, A. & Sala, O.E. (1983) Ecological strategies in a Patagonian arid steppe. Vegetatio, 56, 9-15.
82. Texeira, M. & Paruelo, J.M. (2006) Demography, population dynamics and sustainability of the Patagonian sheep flocks. Agricultural Systems, 87, 123-146.
83. Wiegand, T. & Moloney, K.A. (2004) Rings, circles, and null-models for point pattern analysis in ecology. Oikos, 104, 209-229.
84. Wiegand, T., Kissling, W.D., Cipriotti, P.A. & Aguiar, M.R. (2006) Extending point pattern analysis for objects of finite size and irregular shape. Journal of Ecology, 94, 825-837.