Notes on floral traits and gender expression of Dryas octopetala under a simulated environmental change

• Main Authors: Naoya Wadal, Hiroshi K
• Other Authors: The Pennsylvania State University CiteSeerX Archives
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Subjects: Arctic; Svalbard; Dryas octopetala
• Online Access: http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/summary?doi=10.1.1.491.6415; http://polaris.nipr.ac.jp/~penguin/polarbiosci/issues/pdf/2000-Wada.pdf

Abstract: This study presents empirical data for variations of floral traits and gender expression in Arctic Dryas octopetala L. under a simulated environmental amelioration using an open-top chamber (OTC). The short-term experiment (from 8 August 1997 to 2 August 1998) demonstrated in ~ ~- ~ l e s u n d, Svalbard that dry weights of gynoecium, peduncle, and hermaphrodite flowers were significantly heavier, whereas petal and androecium weight were significantly lighter in OTC-manipulated shoots than in controls. As a result, "femaleness " (dry-weight allocation to the female organs) showed a significantly higher value in OTC-manipulated shoots as compared to the controls. Moreover, femaleness was significantly positively correlated with flower weight both in OTC-manipulated and control shoots. Thus, it was experimentally demonstrated that the gender as a reproductive effort of D. octopetala flowers changed from male- to female-biased expression under a less stressful condition. key words: Arctic, Dryas octopetala, femaleness, gender expression, OTC