Evol Ecol Res 9: 959-974 (2007) Full PDF if your library subscribes.
Inter-specific competitive stress does not affect the magnitude of inbreeding depression
Yvonne Willi,1,2,3* Stefan Dietrich,4 Mark van Kleunen,4,5,6 and Markus Fischer4,6
1Institute of Integrative Biology, ETH Zürich, Universitätstrasse 2, CH-8092 Zürich, Switzerland, 2Centre for Environmental Stress and Adaptation Research CESAR, Zoology Department, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, VIC 3010, Australia, 3Institute of Environmental Sciences, University of Zürich, CH-8057 Zürich, Switzerland, 4Institute of Biochemistry and Biology, University of Potsdam, D-14471 Potsdam, Germany, 5Centre for Invasion Biology, School of Biological and Conservation Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 3209, South Africa and 6Institute of Plant Sciences, University of Bern, CH-3013 Bern, Switzerland
Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed.
e-mail: yvonne.willi@agrl.ethz.chABSTRACT
Hypothesis: Stressful inter-specific competition enhances inbreeding depression.
Organisms: Creeping spearwort (Ranunculus reptans L.) and its common competitor, the creeping bentgrass (Agrostis stolonifera L.).
Field site: Outdoor common garden experiment at the University of Potsdam.
Methods: We collected plants of 12 natural populations of R. reptans differing in mean parental inbreeding coefficient (0.01–0.26). We performed within-population crosses for two generations and kept the offspring in a common environment. In the second generation, we raised plants in the presence or absence of the grass competitor A. stolonifera. After 2 months, we assessed survival and growth of two replicate plants per seed family and treatment. To compare our results with those of previous investigations, we compiled a list of studies on inbreeding and competition.
Conclusions: Both population mean inbreeding and inter-specific competition led to a significant reduction in plant performance (survival and growth) and were therefore sources of stress. However, inbreeding and competition did not interact in their effects on plant performance or developmental instability (estimated by within-family coefficient of variation in performance). Inter-specific competition did not enhance inbreeding depression, which is in line with the results of most previous studies.
Keywords: environment dependence, environmental stress, inbreeding depression, inter-specific competition, intra-specific competition.
DOWNLOAD A FREE, FULL PDF COPY
IF you are connected using the IP of a subscribing institution (library, laboratory, etc.)
or through its VPN.
© 2007 Yvonne Willi. All EER articles are copyrighted by their authors. All authors endorse, permit and license Evolutionary Ecology Ltd. to grant its subscribing institutions/libraries the copying privileges specified below without additional consideration or payment to them or to Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. These endorsements, in writing, are on file in the office of Evolutionary Ecology, Ltd. Consult authors for permission to use any portion of their work in derivative works, compilations or to distribute their work in any commercial manner.
Subscribing institutions/libraries may grant individuals the privilege of making a single copy of an EER article for non-commercial educational or non-commercial research purposes. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also use articles for non-commercial educational purposes by making any number of copies for course packs or course reserve collections. Subscribing institutions/libraries may also loan single copies of articles to non-commercial libraries for educational purposes.
All copies of abstracts and articles must preserve their copyright notice without modification.