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AOBPreview originally published online on October 31, 2002
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Annals of Botany 91: 13-19, 2003
© 2003 Annals of Botany Company

Sexual Differences in Reproductive Phenology and their Consequences for the Demography of Baccharis dracunculifolia (Asteraceae), a Dioecious Tropical Shrub

M. M. ESPÍRITO-SANTO*,1, B. G. MADEIRA1, F. S. NEVES1, M. L. FARIA1, M. FAGUNDES1 and G. WILSON FERNANDES1

1 Ecologia Evolutiva de Herbívoros Tropicais/DBG, CP 486, ICB/Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, 30161-970, Belo Horizonte-MG, Brazil

* For correspondence. Fax 55 31 34992569, e-mail esanto{at}icb.ufmg.br

Received: 29 May 2002; Returned for revision: 19 July 2002; Accepted: 24 September 2002    Published electronically: 31 October 2002

Patterns of phenological variation and reproductive investment were studied in the dioecious shrub Baccharis dracunculifolia DC (Asteraceae), and possible consequences on survivorship were evaluated. The sex ratio was determined in a natural field population (n = 921) of B. dracunculifolia in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. Fifty-two males and 56 females were sampled at random from this population. During the reproductive season of 1999, inflorescence production, shoot growth and mortality, and xylem water potential were recorded for each individual. The population sex ratio was male-biased (1·27 : 1, P < 0·05), and was associated with a higher mortality of female shoots (38·4 vs. 23·1 %, P < 0·05), and individuals (17·8 vs. 11·5 %, P < 0·1), despite lower water stress in female plants. Flowering phenology also differed between the sexes, with males producing more inflorescences, and earlier, than females. Owing to fruit maturation, the number of inflorescences supported by females was higher than that supported by males later in the reproductive season. This occurred during the dry season, and drought stress may have been responsible for the greater female mortality. Thus, the male-biased sex ratio in this population of B. dracunculifolia is probably due to different reproductive functions of males and females. Intersexual differences in reproductive phenology had consequences for plant demography.

Key words: Baccharis dracunculifolia, Asteraceae, dioecy, plant phenology, sexual dimorphism, plant reproduction, sex ratio, demography, Brazil.


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