Summary
Early and late germinating classes of seedlings of a population of Viola blanda were censused for three years. Seedlings germinating later had a significantly higher probability of death, especially during a period of relatively high mortality three years after germination. Later germinating seedlings were consistently smaller than earlier germinating seedlings. Mortality was size-dependent and concentrated among smaller individuals. It is hypothesized that the effect of germination time on mortality three years later is mediated through differential growth.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Ford ED (1975) Competition and stand structure in some even-aged plant monocultures. J Ecol 63:311–333
Harper JL (1977) Population Biology of Plants. London: Academic Press
Harper JL, White J (1974) The demography of plants. Ann Rev Ecol Syst 5:419–463
Leverich WJ, Levin DA (1979) Age-specific survivorship and reproduction in Phlox drummondii. Am Nat 113:881–903
Obeid M, Machin D, Harper JL (1967) Influence of density on plant to plant variation in Fiber Flax, Linum usitatissumum. Crop Sci 7:471–473
Rabinowitz D (1979) Bimodal distributions of seedling weight in relation to density in Festuca paradoxa Desv. Nature 277:297–298
Werner PA Caswell H (1977) Population growth rates and age versus stage-distribution models for Teasel (Dipsacus sylvestris Huds.). Ecol 58:1103–1111
White J, Harper JL (1970) Correlated changes in plant size and number in plant populations. J Ecol 58:467–485
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cook, R.E. Germination and size-dependent mortality in Viola blanda . Oecologia 47, 115–117 (1980). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541785
Received:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00541785