Life span correlates with population dynamics in perennial herbaceous plants
Life span correlates with population dynamics in perennial herbaceous plants
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DOI：
10.3732/ajb.95.2.258
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发表时间：
2008-02-01
影响因子：
3
通讯作者：
Ehrlen, Johan
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Garcia, Maria B.;Pico, F. Xavier;Ehrlen, Johan
生存和繁殖力是人口学的基本组成部分，因此对人口动态有很大影响。这两个关键参数及其关系对于理解生命历史的进化至关重要。然而，寿命、繁殖力和种群动态在不同的有机体群体中是如何联系在一起的，还有待于经验上的确定。我们基于23种多年生草本植物的55个种群的人口数据集进行了比较研究，对于这些种群，可以得到结构化的人口模型和人口属性的年间自然变化。使用算法估计的寿命(从4岁到128岁)与人口增长率偏离平衡的程度以及年间人口波动呈负相关。短命物种的时间变异性比长寿物种更大，因为繁殖力比存活率更具变异性，对短命物种的种群动态相对更重要。寿命和种群稳定性之间的关系表明，长寿选择可能在植物的生活史进化中发挥了重要作用，因为它能够缓冲种群大小的时间波动。
Survival and fecundity are basic components of demography and therefore have a strong influence on population dynamics. These two key parameters and their relationship are crucial to understand the evolution of life histories. It remains, however, to be empirically established how life span, fecundity, and population dynamics are linked in different organism groups. We conducted a comparative study based on demographic data sets of 55 populations of 23 perennial herbs for which structured demographic models and among-year natural variation in demographic attributes were available. Life span (from 4 to 128 yr old), estimated by using an algorithm, was inversely correlated with the deviance of the population growth rate from equilibrium as well as with among-year population fluctuations. Temporal variability was greater for short-lived species than for the long-lived ones because fecundity was more variable than survival and relatively more important for population dynamics for the short-lived species. The relationship between life span and population stability suggests that selection for longevity may have played an important role in the life history evolution of plants because of its ability to buffer temporal fluctuations in population size.