Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Ecophysiology, growth timing and reproductive effort of three sexual foms of Corema album (Empetraceae)

  • Published:
Plant Ecology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Corema album is a dioecious shrub endemic of the Iberian Peninsula, growing in sandy coastal areas from the North of Galicia to Gibraltar in the South. Hermaphrodite individuals have been found in the southern populations of El Asperillo (Spain) and Vila Real de Santo Antonio (Portugal). In this paper, the role of hermaphroditic individuals in the driest populations of its biogeographical area is discussed and the trade-off between reproduction and vegetative growth in the three sexual forms is presented. Asperillo site where hermaphrodite individuals were more abundant was selected for this current study. The proportion of hermaphrodite individuals was 1–4%, and male/female sex ratio ranged from 0.9 to 1.1. Hermaphrodite plants had a low number of hermaphrodite inflorescences, in relation to the number of staminate inflorescences. Their ripe fruits were smaller than those of female plants. The reproductive effort was three times higher in female than in male or hermaphrodite plants. The observed interannual oscillation in vegetative elongation was not related to annual rainfall. However, differences existed in growth timing among the three sexual forms, related to the timing of peak investment in reproduction. These results suggest the existence of trade-offs between investment in reproduction and vegetative growth. There were significant differences in leaf water potential among the three sexual forms early in summer, with males showing the less negative and hermaphrodite the most negative potential values. The demand of water for fruit production may explain these differences. [Valdés B., Talavera S. and Fernández Galiano E. (eds), 1987. Flora Vascular de Andalucía Occidental, vol. 1. Ketres Editora, Barcelona.]

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Aguilar Silva F.J., Díaz Barradas M.C., and Zunzunegui M. (1996). Growth of Halimium halimifolium shrub under simulated and natural browsing in Doñana National Park (SW Spain). Journal of Vegetation Science 7:609–614

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Agreen J. (1988). Sexual differences in biomass and nutrient allocation in the dioecious Rubus chamaemorus L. Ecology 69:962–973

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Blackburn K.B. (1938). On the occurrence of a hermaphrodite plant of Empetrum nigrum. Journal of Botany 76:306–307

    Google Scholar 

  • Bjorjman and Demmig (1987). Photon yield of O2. Evolution and chlorophyll fluorescence characteristics at 77 k among vascular plants of diverse origins. Planta 170:489–509

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Cipollini M.L. and Whigham D.F. (1994). Sexual dimorphism and cost of reproduction in the dioecious shrub Lindera benzoin (Lauraceae). American Journal of Botany 81:65–75

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clavijo A., Díaz Barradas M.C., Zunzunegui M., Ain-Lhout F., Alvarez Cansino L., Correia O. and García Novo F. (2003). Conservaçâo de Corema album no litoral Atlântico da Península Ibérica; A influência de dispersores animais na regeneraçâo natural. Revista de Biología 21:43–56

    Google Scholar 

  • Correia O. and Díaz Barradas M.C. (2000). Ecophysiological differences between male and female plants of Pistacia lentiscus L. Plant Ecology 14:131–142

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Crawford R.M.M. and Balfour J. (1983). Female predominant sex ratio and physiological differentiation in arctic willows. Journal of Ecology 71:149–160

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson T.E. and Bliss L.C. (1989). Patters 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

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson T.E. and Bliss L.C. (1993). Plants as mosaics: leaf-, ramet-, and gender-level variation in the physiology of the dwarf willow, Salix arctica. Functional Ecology 7:293–304

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dawson T.E. and Geber M.A. (1999). Dimorphism in physiology and morphology. In: Geber M.A., Dawson T.E., Delph L.E. (eds) Gender and sexual dimorphism in flowering plants. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 175–215

    Google Scholar 

  • Delph L.F. (1990). Sex-differential resource allocation patters in the subdioecious shrub Hebe subalpina. Ecology 71:1342–1351

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz Barradas M.C., Clavijo A., Zunzunegui M., Ain Lhout F. and Correia O. (2002). Ecosistemas peninsulares: las dunas de camarina. Investigación y Ciencia. Mayo 2002

  • Díaz Barradas M.C and Correia O. (1999). Sexual dimorphism, sex ratio and spatial distribution of male and female shrubs in the dioecious specie Pistacia lentiscus L. Folia Geobotanica 34:163–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Díaz Barradas M.C., Correia O., Zunzunegui M., Ain Lhout F., Clavijo A., Silva P. and Ferreira S. (2000). Distribuçao de sexos na espécie dióica Corema album ao longo de um gradiente climático. Revista de Biologia 18:7–22

    Google Scholar 

  • Díaz Barradas M.C. and Gallego Fernández J.B. (1996). Ecological map of the Asperillo dune system. In: Salman A.H.P.M., Langeveld M.J., Bonazountas M. (eds) Coastal Management and Habitat Conservation EUCC. Leiden, The Netherlands, pp. 311–322

    Google Scholar 

  • Escarré J., Houssard C. and Vartanian N. (1990). Régulations hydriques comparées de populations de Rumex acetosella le long d’un gradient successional postcultural. Canadian Journal of Botany 68:428–434

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Font Quer P. (1992). Plantas medicinales El discorides renovado. Ed. Labor, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehring J.L. and Monson R.K. (1994). Sexual differences in gas exchange and response to environmental stress in dioecious Silene latifolia (Caryophyllaceae). American Journal of Botany 81:166–174

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Genty B., Briantais J.-M., Baker N.R. (1989) The relationship between the quantum yield of photosynthetic electron transport and quenching of chlorophyll fluorescence. Biochimca et Biophysica Acta 990:87–92

    CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Guitián P., Medrano M. and Rodríguez M. (1997). Reproductive biology of Corema album (L.) D. Don (Empetraceae) in the northwest Iberian Peninsula. Acta Botanica Gallica 144:119–128

    Google Scholar 

  • Gibson D.J. and Menges E.S. (1994). Population structure and spatial pattern in the dioecious shrub Ceratiola ericoides. Journal of Vegetation Science 5:337–346

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Herrera C.M. (1988). Plant size, spacing patterns, and host-plant selection in Osyris quadripartita, a hemiparasitic dioecious shrub. Journal of Ecology 76:995–1006

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoffmann A.J. and Alliende M.C. (1984). Interactions in the patterns of vegetative growth and reproduction in woody dioecious plants. Oecologia 61:109–114

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hogan K.P., García R.B., Cheeseman J.M. and Loveless M.D. (1998). Inflorescence photosynthesis and investment in reproduction in the dioecious species Aciphylla glaucescens (Apiaceae). New Zealand Journal of Botany 36:653–660

    Google Scholar 

  • Kay Q.O.N. and Stevens D.P. (1986). The frequency, distribution and reproductive biology of dioecious species in the native flora of Britain and Ireland. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 92:39–64

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kohorn L.U. (1994). Shoot morphology and reproduction in jojoba: advantages of sexual dimorphism. Ecology 75:2384–2394

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Korpelainen H. (1992). Patters of resource allocation in male and female plants of Rumex acetosa and R. acetosella. Oecologia 89:133–139

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laporte M.M. and Delph L.F. (1996). Sex specific physiology and source-sink relations in the dioecious plant Silene latifolia. Oecologia 106:63–72

    Google Scholar 

  • Lepart J. and Dommée B. (1992). Is Phillyrea angustifolia L. (Oleaceae) an androdioecious species?. Botanical Journal of the Linnaean Society 108:375–387

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Maxwell K., Johnson N.G. (2000). Chlorophyll fluorescence – a practical guide. Journal of Experimental Botany 51:659–668

    Article  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • McVean D.N. and Berrie A. (1952). Hermaphrodite Empetrum in Sutherland. Scottish Naturalist 64: 45

    Google Scholar 

  • Montenegro G. (1987). Quantification of Mediterranean plant phenology and growth. In: Tenhunen J.D., Catarino F.M., Oechel W.C., Lange O.L., (eds) Plant response to stress. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 469–488

    Google Scholar 

  • Nicotra A.B. (1999). Sexually dimorphic growth in the dioecious tropical shrub, Siparuna grandiflora. Functional Ecology 13:322–331

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Nicotra A.B., Chazdon R.L. and Montgomery R.A. (2003). Sexes show contrasting patterns of leaf and crown carbon gain in a dioecious rainforest shrub. American Journal of Botany 90:347–355

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obeso J.R. (1997). Costs of reproduction in Ilex aquifolium: effects at tree, branch and leaf levels. Journal of Ecology 85:159–166

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obeso J.R. (2002). The cost of reproduction in plants. New Phytologist 155:321–348

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Obeso J.R., Alvarez-Santullano M. and Retuerto R. (1998). Sex ratios, size distributions, and sexual dimorphism in the dioecious tree Ilex aquifolium (Aquifoliaceae). American Journal of Botany 85:1602–1608

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Pannell J.R. and Ojeda F. (2000). Patterns of flowering and sex-ratio variation in the Mediterranean shrub Phillyrea angustifolia (Oleaceae): implications for the maintenance of males with hermaphrodites. Ecology Letters 3:495–502

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Popp J.W., Reinartz I.A. (1988). Sexual dimorphism in biomass allocation and clonal growth of Xanthoxylum americanum. American Journal of Botany 75:1732–1741

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Retuerto R., Fernández Lema B., Rodríguez Roiloa S. and Obeso J.R. (2000). Gender, light and water effects in carbon isotope discrimination, and growth rates in the dioecious tree Ilex aquifolium. Functional Ecology 14:529–537

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Rocheleau A.F. and Houle G. (2001). Different cost of reproduction for the males and females of the rare dioecious shrub Corema conradii (Empetraceae). American Journal of Botany 88:659–666

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sakai A.K. and Weller S.G. (1999). Gender and sexual dimorphism in flowering plants: a review of terminology, biogeographic patters, ecological correlates, and phylogenetic approaches. In: Geber M.A., Dawson T.E., Delph L.E., (eds) Gender and sexual dimorphism in flowering plants. Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 1–31

    Google Scholar 

  • Scholander P.F., Hammel H.T., Bradstreet E.D. and Hemmingsen E.A. (1965). Sap pressure in vascular plants. Science 148:339–346

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  • Sokal R.R., Rohlf F.J. (1981). Biometry. Freeman and company, New York, USA

    Google Scholar 

  • Soldaat L.L., Vetter B. and Klotz S. (1997). Sex ratio in populations of Silene otites in relation to vegetation cover, population size and fungal infection. Journal of Vegetation Science 8:697–702

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Thompson K., Stewart A.J.A. (1981). The measurement and meaning of reproductive effort in plants. American Naturalist 117:205–211

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valdés B., Talavera S. and Fernández Galiano E. (eds) (1987). Flora Vascular de Andalucía Occidental, vol. 1. Ketres Editora, Barcelona

    Google Scholar 

  • Valladares F. and Pearcy R.W. (2002). Drought can be more critical in the shade than in the sun: a field study of carbon gain and photo-inhibition in a Californian shrub during a dry El Niño year. Plant, Cell and Environment 25:749–754

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Valladares F., Wright S.J., Lasso E., Kitajima K. and Pearcy R.W. (2000). Plastic phenotypic response to light of 16 congeneric shrubs from a Panamanian rainforest. Ecology 81:1925–1936

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Vasiliauskas S.A. and Aarseen L.W. (1992). Sex ratio and neighbor effects in monospecific stands of Juniperus virginiana. Ecology 73:622–632

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wallace C.S. and Rundel P.W. (1979). Sexual dimorphism and resource allocation in male and female shrubs of Simmondsia chinensis. Oecologia 44:34–39

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Watson M.A. (1995). Sexual differences in plant developmental phenology affect plant-herbivore interactions. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 10:180–182

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Zimmerman J.K. and Lechowicz M.J. (1982. Responses to moisture stress in male and female plants of Rumex acetosella L. (Polygonaceae). Oecologia 53:305–309

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

The authors thank J. Jáuregui and O. Correia for their helpful comments on the manuscript. The research has been partially supported by a grant 22/02 from Fundación Ramón Areces, XII Conscurso Nacional, Convocatoria 2002. Madrid.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Departamento de Biología Vegetal y Ecología, Facultad de Biología, Universidad de Sevilla, Apartado 1095, 41080, Sevilla, Spain

    M. Zunzunegui, M.C. Díaz Barradas, A. Clavijo, L. Alvarez Cansino, F. Ain Lhout & F. García Novo

  2. Université Sidi Mohammed Ben Abdellah, Centre d’etudes Universitaires de Taza, Taza, Morocco

    F. Ain Lhout

Authors
  1. M. Zunzunegui
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. M.C. Díaz Barradas
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. A. Clavijo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. L. Alvarez Cansino
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. F. Ain Lhout
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. F. García Novo
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to M. Zunzunegui.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Zunzunegui, M., Díaz Barradas, M., Clavijo, A. et al. Ecophysiology, growth timing and reproductive effort of three sexual foms of Corema album (Empetraceae). Plant Ecol 183, 35–46 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-9004-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11258-005-9004-4

Key words:

Search

Navigation