Clonal growth of Lithospermum caroliniense (Boraginaceae) in contrasting sand dune habitats

The occurrence of clonal growth of distylous Lithospermum caroliniense was investigated in a population in the Nebraska Sandhills, an area where sand dunes have been relatively stable for at least 1500-3000 yr, and compared to a population occurring at the Indiana Dunes, an area of active sand dune...

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Published inAmerican journal of botany Vol. 87; no. 2; pp. 237 - 242
Main Authors Weller, Stephen G., Keeler, Kathleen H., Thomson, Barbara A.
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published United States Botanical Soc America 01.02.2000
Botanical Society of America
Botanical Society of America, Inc
Subjects
Autocorrelation
Boraginaceae
Botany
Clones
Dunes
Ecology
emergence
establishment
Fecundity
Flower stigma
Flowers & plants
Habitats
heterostyly
Lithospermum caroliniense
Plants
Pollen
pollen flow
Population growth
Prairies
Sand dunes
Seedlings
self‐incompatibility
spatial autocorrelation
USA, Nebraska
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Summary:The occurrence of clonal growth of distylous Lithospermum caroliniense was investigated in a population in the Nebraska Sandhills, an area where sand dunes have been relatively stable for at least 1500-3000 yr, and compared to a population occurring at the Indiana Dunes, an area of active sand dune formation. Spatial autocorrelation analysis indicated the occurrence of significant clonal propagation of genetically based floral morphs at Arapaho Prairie, but not for the Indiana Dunes. Apparent clonal growth in the Sandhills population had no overall negative effect on pollen deposition or fecundity relative to the Indiana population, although in some large clones the proportion of compatible pollen grains on stigmas was lower. Clonal growth may have occurred in the Sandhills population because of the greater age and stability of the Nebraska Sandhills; infrequent establishment of seedlings permits detection of clonal growth using the spatial pattern of floral morphs. At the Indiana dunes, repeated cycles of dune formation provide conditions favoring establishment of seedlings, and sand dune succession results in disappearance of L. caroliniense before the development of clones.
Bibliography:The authors thank the director and staff of the Cedar Point Biological Station, University of Nebraska, for the use of their facility, The Nature Conservancy for permission to carry out research at Arapaho Prairie, Christine Guth for help in mapping the Indiana Dunes population, and Bill Platt, Ann Sakai, and James Thomson for manuscript review. Grants to SGW from the National Science Foundation (DEB 8021160) and the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, through the Smithsonian Institution, supported this research.
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ISSN:0002-9122
1537-2197
DOI:10.2307/2656911