Gametophyte niche differences among sympatric tree ferns.

ABSTRACT: Forest community assembly is usually framed in terms of sporophyte dynamics; however, the recruitment and maintenance of fern populations, frequently influential in forest composition and structure, are initially determined by gametophytes. Sporophytes of three Cyathea tree fern species show habitat partitioning along gradients of phosphorus and light; we asked whether gametophyte niche differences parallel this pattern. To compare niche characteristics among taxa we compared growth rates to a size threshold (≥3 mm) of gametophytes under controlled conditions using a multi-factorial, multi-level (3 × 4) experiment, varying irradiance (5.4 ± 4.4; 59.1 ± 44.3; 107 ± 74.1 µmol m^-2 s^-1) and orthophosphate concentrations (5, 10, 20, 40 mg kg^-1). Gametophytes of

SUBMITTER: Brock JMR 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6371912 | biostudies-literature | 2019 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature