Location
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Start Date
16-4-2011 10:00 AM
End Date
4-2011 11:30 AM
Description
About half of all moss taxa exhibit female-biased sex ratios, and bryophyte male rarity remains largely unexplained. One possible explanation is differential stress tolerance of spores due to maternal sporophyte manipulation during stress. To test this hypothesis, sporophytes of the species Bryum argenteum were subjected to thermal stress and observed for growth abnormalities and sporophyte abortions. Data display a correlation between increased temperature and increased sporophyte abortions as well as increased time to complete meiosis, possibly indicating decreased fitness. Continued global warming may create more stressful environments for sporophytes resulting in the elimination of males from local populations.
Keywords
Bryum – Sex ratio; Heat — Physiological effect; Mosses; Temperature — Physiological effect
Disciplines
Ecology and Evolutionary Biology | Plant Sciences | Population Biology | Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology
Language
English
Included in
Plant Sciences Commons, Population Biology Commons, Terrestrial and Aquatic Ecology Commons
Does thermal stress cause females of the plant Bryum argenteum to manipulate the sex ratios of their offspring?
University of Nevada, Las Vegas
About half of all moss taxa exhibit female-biased sex ratios, and bryophyte male rarity remains largely unexplained. One possible explanation is differential stress tolerance of spores due to maternal sporophyte manipulation during stress. To test this hypothesis, sporophytes of the species Bryum argenteum were subjected to thermal stress and observed for growth abnormalities and sporophyte abortions. Data display a correlation between increased temperature and increased sporophyte abortions as well as increased time to complete meiosis, possibly indicating decreased fitness. Continued global warming may create more stressful environments for sporophytes resulting in the elimination of males from local populations.
Comments
Research supported by NSF Grant # EPS-0814372