Growth Rate Projection and Life History Sensitivity for Annual Plants with a Seed Bank

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
For the typical annual with a seed bank there exists differential sensitivity of .lambda. [the finite rate of increase] to changes in the life history parameters used to project population growth, whether age structure is considered or not. In models with and without age structure .lambda. is more sensitive to fecundity and plant (juvenile) survivorship than to germination fraction. This implies that there could exist greater genetic variation in germination fraction than in fecundity or plant survivorship. To the extent that this variation is additive the parameters with the least sensitivity on .lambda. should have the highest heritability. The classic comparisons betwen annuals and perennials, which ignore the invariable seed banks known to exist for annual plants, underestimate the required fecundity differential between these 2 life cycles. The presence of a seed bank in the annual requires an even greater fecundity to outcompete a related perennial.