Evolution of size-dependent flowering in a variable environment: partitioning the effects of fluctuating selection

In a stochastic environment, two distinct processes, namely nonlinear averaging and non-equilibrium dynamics, influence fitness. We develop methods for decomposing the effects of temporal variation in demography into contributions from nonlinear averaging and non-equilibrium dynamics. We illustrate...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Proceedings of the Royal Society. B, Biological sciences Biological sciences, 2004-03, Vol.271 (1538), p.471-475
Main Authors: Rees, Mark, Childs, Dylan Z., Rose, Karen E., Grubb, Peter J.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Analysis of Variance
Asteraceae - physiology
Biological Evolution
Carlina
Carlina vulgaris
Demography
Ecological life histories
Evolution
Evolutionarily Stable Strategy
Flowering
Flowers - physiology
Modeling
Models, Biological
Non-Equilibrium Dynamics
Nonlinear Averaging
Plants
Population dynamics
Population ecology
Reliability functions
Selection, Genetic
Stochastic models
Time Factors
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:In a stochastic environment, two distinct processes, namely nonlinear averaging and non-equilibrium dynamics, influence fitness. We develop methods for decomposing the effects of temporal variation in demography into contributions from nonlinear averaging and non-equilibrium dynamics. We illustrate the approach using Carlina vulgaris, a monocarpic species in which recruitment, growth and survival all vary from year to year. In Carlina the absolute effect of temporal variation on the evolutionarily stable flowering strategy is substantial (ca. 50% of the evolutionarily stable flowering size) but the net effect is much smaller (ca. 10%) because the effects of temporal variation do not influence the evolutionarily stable strategy in the same direction.
ISSN:0962-8452
1471-2954
DOI:10.1098/rspb.2003.2596