Accounting for variability when resurrecting dormant propagules substantiates their use in eco-evolutionary studies.

ABSTRACT: There has been a steady rise in the use of dormant propagules to study biotic responses to environmental change over time. This is particularly important for organisms that strongly mediate ecosystem processes, as changes in their traits over time can provide a unique snapshot into the structure and function of ecosystems from decades to millennia in the past. Understanding sources of bias and variation is a challenge in the field of resurrection ecology, including those that arise because often-used measurements like seed germination success are imperfect indicators of propagule viability. Using a Bayesian statistical framework, we evaluated sources of variability and tested for zero-inflation and overdispersion in data from 13 germination trials of soil-stored seeds of Schoenoplectus

SUBMITTER: Vahsen ML 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8674891 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature