PATCHY CONTRAST OF HABITAT AFFECTS INTRACLONAL DIVISION OF LABOR OF POTENTILLA ANSERINA

doi:10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2008.05.021

Abstract

Abstract:

Aims When interconnected ramets of clonal plants grow under reciprocal patches in terms of the availabilities of different resources, they likely specialize morphologically and functionally to exploit locally abundant resource(s) more efficiently. This phenomenon is known as division of labor. Patchy contrast is a critical component that partially determines the occurrence and magnitude of division of labor. We investigate the effect of patchy contrast on intraclonal division of labor and test the hypothesis that the magnitude of division of labor is positively correlated with patchy contrast. We also examine the association between adaptive plasticity and division of labor.

Methods We subjected connected ramet pairs of Potentilla anserina to reciprocal patchy environments with four levels of patchy contrasts, which were formed by providing ambient daylight but altering soil nutrient level for one ramet within each pair and providing a high soil nutrient level but changing light regime for the other. We measured shoot height, leaf area and shoot and root biomass. To quantify the magnitude of division of labor, we proposed an index based on root/shoot ratio (R/S) of ramets, namely, the ratio of difference between ramets in R/S to the sum of them.

Important findings Shoot height and leaf area of P. anserina were highly plastic in response to local light availability, and such plasticity ultimately resulted in better ability to acquire scarce light resource, instead of abundant resource as predicted according to the rule of division of labor. This contradiction was probably due to the fact that the locally adaptive plasticity of shoot height and leaf area in response to local light environment took precedence over ramet specialization and division of labor, which was realized primarily by regulating biomass partitioning. The magnitude of division of labor peaked at the intermediate level of patch contrast and decreased both at the higher and lower levels. This pattern was likely an ultimate consequence of cost-benefit tradeoffs of ramet specialization. In conclusion, only when the benefits outweigh the costs at a certain patchy contrast, does division of labor occur, and there likely is an optimum patchy contrast that maximizes the division of labor. But under higher patchy contrast than the optimum one, division of labor may decrease as consequence of increased risks.

Key words: division of labor, habitat heterogeneity, patchy contrast, Potentilla anserina, root/shoot ratio (R/S)

LI Yuan-Heng, WANG Zheng-Wen, MA Hui-Ling. PATCHY CONTRAST OF HABITAT AFFECTS INTRACLONAL DIVISION OF LABOR OF POTENTILLA ANSERINA[J]. Chin J Plant Ecol, 2008, 32(5): 1166-1174.

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URL: https://www.plant-ecology.com/EN/10.3773/j.issn.1005-264x.2008.05.021

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Figures/Tables 5

Fig. 1 Experimental design

Table 1 Two-way ANOVA for the effects of patchy contrast (PC), position and their interaction on shoot height, leaf area, ramet biomass and R/S ratio

Table 1
作用因素 Factors	地上部高度 Shoot height		分株叶面积 Leaf area		分株生物量Ramet biomass		根冠比 R/S ratio
作用因素 Factors	F	p	F	p	F	p	F	p
斑块对比度 PC¹⁾	9.31	<0.000 1	5.98	0.001 5	7.50	0.000 3	9.10	<0.000 1
分株位置 Position²⁾	49.74	<0.000 1	22.24	<0.000 1	2.90	0.095 1	84.64	<0.000 1
交互作用 PC × position ³⁾	9.88	<0.000 1	4.74	0.005 7	1.96	0.133 2	19.16	<0.000 1
1): df=3 2): df =1 3): df =3 p<0.05的p值以黑体显示 Values of p<0.05 are in bold

Fig. 2 Shoot height (A), leaf area (B), ramet biomass (C), R/S (D) of ramets differently positioned under four different patchy contrasts

Fig. 3 Comparison of intraclonal division of labor of Potentilla anserina between different patchy contrasts

Fig. 4 Sketch map for changes of labor division index with patchy contrast of habitat

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