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(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

A case of gender equality: absence of sex-related costs in a dioecious tropical forest tree species

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Author(s):
Martins, Valeria Forni [1, 2] ; Bispo, Rafaela Leticia Brito [3] ; de Paula Loiola, Priscilla [4]
Total Authors: 3
Affiliation:
[1] Fed Univ Sao Carlos UFSCar, Ctr Agrarian Sci, Dept Nat Sci Maths & Educ, Rodovia Anhanguera SP 330, Km 174, BR-13600970 Araras, SP - Brazil
[2] Univ Campinas UNICAMP, Inst Biol, Dept Plant Biol, CP 6109, BR-13083970 Campinas, SP - Brazil
[3] Fed Univ Sao Carlos UFSCar, Licenciaturship Biol Sci, Rodovia Anhanguera SP 330, Km 174, BR-13600970 Araras, SP - Brazil
[4] Fed Univ Sao Carlos UFSCar, Programa Posgrad Agr & Ambiente, Rodovia Anhanguera SP 330, Km 174, BR-13600970 Araras, SP - Brazil
Total Affiliations: 4
Document type: Journal article
Source: PLANT ECOLOGY; v. 222, n. 3 JAN 2021.
Web of Science Citations: 0
Abstract

In dioecious species, females usually have higher sex-related costs than males. Consequently, trade-offs involving survival, growth, and reproduction are expected to differ between sexes. Here, we investigate several aspects of sex-related costs to test whether they are higher for females than males of a widely distributed, locally abundant, dioecious tropical forest tree species. For this, every adult of Mollinedia schottiana (Spreng.) Perkins (Monimiaceae) had its stem diameter at soil height (DSH) and spatial location measured in two 1-ha plots located at the Atlantic Rainforest, SE Brazil. Flowering phenology was also recorded over 12 months. At a second population census, the surviving individuals from the first census had their DSH remeasured. In comparison to males, females did not flower less frequently, less intensely, or in a lower proportion over 12 months. They also did not grow less between censuses, have larger DSH, or show spatial segregation from males. However, sex ratio was male biased, which, together with floral biology, is likely a strategy of M. schottiana to pollination by thrips. This study shows that dioecious species do not necessarily have differential sex-related costs as expected by the higher investment in reproductive structures by females. Sex ratios, which are often interpreted as a result of sex-related costs, can be driven by the reproductive biology of plant species. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 03/12595-7 - Floristic composition, structure and functioning of the Dense Rainforest nuclei of Picinguaba and Santa Virgínia of Parque Estadual da Serra do Mar, State of São Paulo, Brazil
Grantee:Carlos Alfredo Joly
Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants