Dissertation Research: Games Plants Play: Intra- and inter- specific root competition as an ESS

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Proposal Number: DEB-0105098Proposal Title: Dissertation Research: Games Plants Play: Intra- and Inter-specific competition as an ESSPIs: Joel Brown & Erin O'BrienThe way a plant grows roots in response to soil nutrients and the roots of other plants has important consequences with respect to its fitness (i.e., growth, survivorship, and reproduction), competition among plants, and plant community organization. The proposed research models and tests how root allocation can provide an indicator of competitive ability in different species. A three-pot design with two split-root plants provides each plant with the choice of proliferating roots in an exclusive space versus a shared space. Differences in competitive abilities between pairs of plants should manifest in predictably different strategies for allocating roots to the exclusive and shared pots. Garden plot experiments will then verify that the plant's rooting strategies predict outcomes of competition. The entire approach aims to show that plants may be much more animal-like in their behavior than previously thought.