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Seed-coat thickness data clarify seed size–seed-bank persistence trade-offs in Abutilon theophrasti (Malvaceae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 May 2014

Brian J. Schutte ,
Adam S. Davis ,
Stephen A. Peinado Jr  and
Jamshid Ashigh
Brian J. Schutte*
Affiliation:
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, 1201 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois61801, USA
Adam S. Davis
Affiliation:
US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service, Global Change and Photosynthesis Research Unit, 1201 West Gregory Drive, Urbana, Illinois61801, USA
Stephen A. Peinado Jr
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science, New Mexico State University, MSC 3BE, Las Cruces, NM88003-8003, USA
Jamshid Ashigh
Affiliation:
Department of Entomology, Plant Pathology and Weed Science, New Mexico State University, MSC 3BE, Las Cruces, NM88003-8003, USA
*
*Correspondence Email: bschutte@nmsu.edu
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Abstract

Theoretical models predict that seed size and seed-bank persistence evolve interdependently, such that strong selection for one trait corresponds with weak selection for the other. This framework has been supported and rejected by empirical data, and thus, conclusive evidence is lacking. We expanded the seed size–persistence framework to include seed-coat thickness, a defence trait previously correlated with seed survival in soil. To do this, we used Abutilon theophrasti accessions with varied evolutionary histories and we quantified associations among seed traits including morphology, size, coat thickness, dormancy (percentage of viable seeds that fail to germinate under optimum conditions) and seed-bank persistence (percentage of viable seeds remaining after 1 year of burial). Statistical models were developed to test the hypothesis that combined measurements of seed-coat thickness and seed size better explain variability in seed-bank persistence than seed-size data alone. Results indicated that measurements of seed size (length, width, mass) were negatively correlated with coat:width ratio (coat thickness relative to seed width) and coat:mass ratio (coat thickness relative to seed mass). Accessions characterized by smaller seeds with proportionally thicker seed coats were more dormant and more persistent in soil than accessions characterized by larger seeds with proportionally thinner seed coats. Seed-coat thickness data improved the explanatory power of logistic regression models for seed-size effects on both seed-bank persistence and dormancy. These results indicate that supplementing seed-size data with seed-defence data may clarify previously reported contradictory results regarding trade-offs between seed size and seed-bank persistence.

Keywords

Abutilon theophrastiarable weedseed defenceseed dormancyseed massseed morphologysoil seed bank
Type
Research Papers
Information
Seed Science Research , Volume 24 , Issue 2 , June 2014 , pp. 119 - 131
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2014 

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