Fragment size, pollination efficiency and reproductive success in natural populations of wind-pollinated Polylepis australis (Rosaceae) trees

It is well known that habitat fragmentation is likely to negatively affect the reproductive success of a species. Despite this fact, studies on the effects of fragmentation on reproductive success in combination with effects on natural pollination of wind-pollinated tree species are very rare. In th...

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Detalhes bibliográficos
Autores: Seltmann, Peggy, Renison, Daniel, Cocucci, Andrea Aristides, Hensen, Isabell, Jung, Klaus
Tipo de documento: artigo
Estado:Versão publicada
Data de publicação:2007
País:Argentina
Recursos:Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas
Repositório:CONICET Digital (CONICET)
Idioma:inglês
OAI Identifier:oai:ri.conicet.gov.ar:11336/41147
Acesso em linha:http://hdl.handle.net/11336/41147
Access Level:Acceso aberto
Palavra-chave:Fragmentation
Natural Pollination
Reproductive Success
Wind Pollination
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1.6
https://purl.org/becyt/ford/1
Descrição
Resumo:It is well known that habitat fragmentation is likely to negatively affect the reproductive success of a species. Despite this fact, studies on the effects of fragmentation on reproductive success in combination with effects on natural pollination of wind-pollinated tree species are very rare. In this study, we analyzed the relationships between fragment size, components of pollination efficiency, reproductive success and progeny vigour of the highly fragmented populations of the wind-pollinated treeline species Polylepis australis (Rosaceae) in Argentina. We conducted our study in the high mountains of Córdoba, comparing pollination efficiency and reproduction between four fragment sizes. Most of our results indicate that P. australis is currently insensitive to fragmentation. However, our study revealed also a linear increase in leaf area and biomass of 40-day-old seedlings with increasing fragment size. Inbreeding problems through fragmentation as well as decreased habitat quality in small fragments are discussed as possible causes for the impaired progeny vigour.