Spartina patens surveys of flowering density at marsh-forest ecotone

Climate change is driving abiotic shifts that can threaten the conservation of foundation species and the habitats they support. Range shifts are one mechanism of escape, but this requires successful colonization of habitats where interspecific interactions may differ from those to which a species has adapted. For plants with multiple reproductive strategies, these range-edge interactions may alter the investment or allocation towards a given reproductive strategy. In this study, we quantify sexual reproduction of the clonal marsh grass Spartina patens across an inland colonization front into maritime forest being driven by sea-level rise. We find that flowering is variable across S. patens meadows, but consistently reduced under low light conditions like those of the forest understory. Observational surveys of S. patens flowering at four sites in the Delmarva Peninsula agreed with the results of two experimental manipulations of light availability (shading experiment in S. patens-domin...

气候变化正驱动非生物环境变化，这可能威胁建群种的保护及其所支撑的生境。分布区转移是物种规避威胁的策略之一，但该过程要求物种成功定植于种间相互作用与自身已适应的环境存在差异的生境。对于具备多种繁殖策略的植物而言，分布区边缘的种间相互作用可能改变其对特定繁殖策略的资源投入或分配。本研究针对由海平面上升驱动的滨海森林内陆定植前沿，量化了克隆性沼生草本米草（Spartina patens）的有性繁殖情况。研究发现，米草草甸的开花表现存在异质性，但在森林林下等低光环境下开花量持续降低。针对德尔马瓦半岛（Delmarva Peninsula）4个样地的米草开花情况开展的观测调查，与两项光照可利用性操控实验（以米草为优势种的群落中的遮阴实验……）所得结果一致。