Environmental variation in sex ratios and sexual dimorphism in three wind‐pollinated dioecious plant species

Bürli, Sarah; Pannell, John R.; Tonnabel, Jeanne (2022). Environmental variation in sex ratios and sexual dimorphism in three wind‐pollinated dioecious plant species. Oikos, 2022(6) Wiley 10.1111/oik.08651

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Variation in plant sex ratios is often attributable to sex-specific mortality in heterogeneous environments that differentially limit male and female plant reproduction. Yet sexual dimorphism and plastic responses to environmental heterogeneity are common and may co-vary with variation in sex ratios. Here, we show that the sex ratio and the degree of sexual dimorphism for a number of plant traits varied along climatic and elevation gradients in three wind-pollinated dioecious species, Rumex lunaria, Urtica dioica and Salix helvetica. Some of the observed sex-specific responses to climatic variation are consistent with greater sensitivity of females to water scarcity, but most responses rather point to the greater sensitivity of males to ecological stress, consistent with larger male reproductive effort, as has been commonly reported for wind-pollinated plants. In contrast, we found no evidence for variation in either sex ratios or sexual dimorphism expected under sexual selection. Interestingly, sex ratios and sexual dimorphism varied both along distinct and the same ecological axes of variation, suggesting that the evolution of sexual dimorphism in the measured traits was not sufficient to prevent sex-specific mortality.

Item Type:

Journal Article (Original Article)

Division/Institute:

08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS)
13 Central Units > Administrative Director's Office > Botanical Garden
08 Faculty of Science > Department of Biology > Institute of Plant Sciences (IPS) > Plant Ecology

UniBE Contributor:

Bürli, Sarah Audrey

Subjects:

500 Science > 580 Plants (Botany)

ISSN:

1600-0706

Publisher:

Wiley

Language:

English

Submitter:

Peter Alfred von Ballmoos-Haas

Date Deposited:

19 May 2022 08:53

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 16:19

Publisher DOI:

10.1111/oik.08651

Uncontrolled Keywords:

cost of reproduction, dioecy, environmental gradients, sex ratio, sexual dimorphism, sexual selection

BORIS DOI:

10.48350/170068

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/170068

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