Fragmentation and grassland plants: individual and transgenerational effects
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Fragmentation and grassland plants: individual and transgenerational effects Alejandra L. Yezzi
. Ana J. Nebbia . Sergio M. Zalba
Received: 3 May 2020 / Accepted: 15 September 2020 Ó Springer Nature B.V. 2020
Abstract Understanding how individuals respond to habitat discontinuities could provide a first step in the large-scale evaluation of their responses to habitat fragmentation. Our objective was to evaluate habitat fragmentation effects on individual and population parameters of two native species of the Pampas grassland (Senecio pampeanus and Margyricarpus pinnatus). Both species grow in vegetation remnants surrounded by pine afforestation in the coastal dunes of the southern Pampas (Argentina). Plants reproductive aspects and offspring fitness were examined, and the influence of environmental maternal effects was analyzed through a common garden experiment. Individuals of S. pampeanus growing in smaller fragments produced fewer heads and fewer fruits per head than those associated with the continuous grassland and with larger fragments. However, M. pinnatus did not exhibit any difference in flower and fruit production with respect to fragment size. The seeds that came from the smallest fragments took longer to germinate for the two species, and in the case of M. pinnatus they also showed reductions in percent
Communicated by Michelle Tedder. A. L. Yezzi (&) A. J. Nebbia S. M. Zalba GEKKO - Grupo de Estudios en Conservacio´n y Manejo, Departamento de Biologı´a, Bioquı´mica y Farmacia, Universidad Nacional del Sur, San Juan 670, 8000 Bahı´a Blanca, Argentina e-mail: [email protected]
germination. We found evidence for influence of the maternal environment on percent germination and in seedling establishment time of M. pinnatus. Our results provide clues about the effects of fragmentation on plant reproduction, with consequences for the offspring, and also show that species respond differently according to their biological characteristics. Furthermore, the results obtained contribute to the understanding of mechanisms by which the subdivision of natural environments affects the persistence of populations and alters the structure of plant communities. Keywords Germination Grassland fragmentation Maternal effects Plant reproduction Seedlings Southern Pampas
Introduction Habitat fragmentation is considered one of the main forces responsible for the global biodiversity crisis (Saunders et al. 1991; Fahrig 2003; Garcı´a 2011; Haddad et al. 2015), threatening the persistence and survival of species through the reduction of the available habitat, the isolation of the remaining fragments, the influence from the resulting edges, and the increase in vulnerability to extrinsic disturbances (Lord and Norton 1990). Identifying the causes
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Plant Ecol
and consequences of habitat fragmentation is essential to preserve biodiversity and the functioning of ecosystems. Additionally, understanding how individuals respond to habitat discontinuities could
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