Open AccessBook
The ecology of seeds
Michael Fenner,Ken Thompson +1 more
TLDR
This work has shown clear trends in the dispersal and regeneration of seeds in disturbed areas, and these trends are likely to continue into the next decade.Abstract:
What determines the number and size of the seeds produced by a plant? How often should it reproduce them? How often should a plant produce them? Why and how are seeds dispersed, and what are the implications for the diversity and composition of vegetation? These are just some of the questions tackled in this wide-ranging review of the role of seeds in the ecology of plants. The authors bring together information on the ecological aspects of seed biology, starting with a consideration of reproductive strategies in seed plants and progressing through the life cycle, covering seed maturation, dispersal, storage in the soil, dormancy, germination, seedling establishment, and regeneration in the field. The text encompasses a wide range of concepts of general relevance to plant ecology, reflecting the central role that the study of seed ecology has played in elucidating many fundamental aspects of plant community function.read more
Citations
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Journal ArticleDOI
Seed dormancy and the control of germination
TL;DR: It is argued that adaptation has taken place on a theme rather than via fundamentally different paths and similarities underlying the extensive diversity in the dormancy response to the environment that controls germination are identified.
Journal ArticleDOI
Climate change and plant regeneration from seed
TL;DR: Increased research in understudied ecosystems, on key issues related to seed ecology, and on evolution of seed traits in nonweedy species is needed to more fully comprehend and plan for plant responses to global warming.
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Plant structural traits and their role in anti-herbivore defence
TL;DR: It is concluded that leaf-mass–area is a robust index of sclerophylly as a surrogate for more rigorous mechanical properties used in herbivory studies and how a better understanding of plant structural defence would improve the understanding of Plant defence theory and enable us to predict how plant morphological responses to climate change might influence interactions at the individual, species, and ecosystem levels.
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Why does phenology drive species distribution
TL;DR: How phenology is related to fitness in species distribution process-based models is described and the fate of species under climate change scenarios is discussed using model projections and experimental or field studies from the literature.
References
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Journal ArticleDOI
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: Preface to the Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols used xiii 1.
Book
The Theory of Island Biogeography
TL;DR: The Princeton Landmarks in Biology Edition vii Preface xi Symbols Used xiii 1. The Importance of Islands 3 2. Area and Number of Speicies 8 3. Further Explanations of the Area-Diversity Pattern 19 4. The Strategy of Colonization 68 5. Invasibility and the Variable Niche 94 6. Stepping Stones and Biotic Exchange 123 7. Evolutionary Changes Following Colonization 145 8. Prospect 181 Glossary 185 References 193 Index 201
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Diversity in tropical rain forests and coral reefs.
TL;DR: The commonly observed high diversity of trees in tropical rain forests and corals on tropical reefs is a nonequilibrium state which, if not disturbed further, will progress toward a low-diversity equilibrium community as mentioned in this paper.