Seasonal climate drives population growth but not costs of reproduction of a perennial wildflower.

ABSTRACT: Costs of reproduction are predicted to shift under climate change, but the extent to which weaker or stronger costs influence population responses to interannual climate variation is unknown. We asked how seasonal climate, manipulated rainfall, and costs of reproduction influence vital rates and population growth in a long-lived herbaceous perennial plant, Primula hendersonii, across an ongoing rainfall manipulation experiment in oak savanna of northwestern North America. Simulated drought reduced population growth rates, and vital rates (e.g., probability of flowering, individual growth) responded individualistically to variation in winter, spring, and summer temperatures, although not to variation in seasonal precipitation. However, only warmer spring temperatures were associated with a

SUBMITTER: Loesberg JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12683621 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature