Document: AMY-3-514-203

Drought stress, plant water status and sex allocation in Epilobium angustifolium (Onagraceae).

CARROLL, A.B.* and C.GALEN

University of Missouri, Columbia MO 65211 USA 1

Abstract:
In flowering plants, gender specialization in arid habitats suggests a drought-induced tradeoff between male and female reproduction. To test this idea, we collected seeds of E. angustifolium from populations occupying a range of moisture regimes and assigned sibs to soil moisture depletion or control (regularly-watered) treatments in the greenhouse. Moisture depletion led to marked decreases in pre-dawn and mid-day leaf water potential (P < 0.05). Responses of floral traits to drought revealed gender specialization through plasticity. Investment in pistils, petals and nectar decreased in drought-stressed plants compared to controls (P < 0.05), while anther biomass varied little between treatments. We found no support for genetically-based sex allocation tradeoffs. Populations with high investment in female function also invested more in male function under both treatments (r > 0.90, P < 0.05). Results imply that adaptation of gender to habitat aridity is genetically constrained.

Keywords: drought stress, Epilobium, sex allocation

 Abstracts by Session: Symposia, Oral, Poster
Abstracts Listed by Title/Reference Number
Schedule of Sessions in Chronological Order
Sr. Author and Co-Authors
Information updates, contact source
Snowbird 2000 Program Web Site
Snowbird Page on the ESA Web Site

This abstract is being presented at: 3:30 PM in session:
WATER RELATIONS