Reproductive Allocation in Plants

Much effort has been devoted to developing theories to explain the wide variation we observe in reproductive allocation among environments. Reproductive Allocation in Plants describes why plants differ in the proportion of their resources that they allocate to reproduction and looks into the various theories. This book examines the ecological and evolutionary explanations for variation in plant reproductive allocation from the perspective of the underlying physiological mechanisms controlling reproduction and growth. An international team of leading experts have prepared chapters summarizing the current state of the field and offering their views on the factors determining reproductive allocation in plants. This will be a valuable resource for senior undergraduate students, graduate students and researchers in ecology, plant ecophysiology, and population biology.

8 outstanding chapters dedicated to the evolution and ecology of variation in plant reproductive allocationWritten by an international team of leading experts in the fieldProvides enough background information to make it accessible to senior undergraduate studentsIncludes over 60 figures and 29 tables

Chapter 1: The Resource Economy of Plant Reproduction

Chapter 2: Meristem Allocation as a Means of Assessing Reproductive Allocation

Chapter 3: It Never Rains but then it Pours: The Diverse Effects of Water on Flower Integrity and Function

Chapter 4: The Allometry of Reproductive Allocation

Chapter 5: Sex-specific Physiology and its Implications for the Cost of Reproduction

Chapter 6: Time of Flowering, Costs of Reproduction, and Reproductive Output in Annuals

Chapter 7: The Shape of the Trade-off Function between Reproduction and Growth

Chapter 8: On Size, Fecundity, and Fitness in Competing Plants