Do environmental factors affect the male frequency of exotic mangrove species Laguncularia racemosa (Combretaceae) along the southeast coast of China?

Abstract

The exotic mangrove species Laguncularia racemosa (Combretaceae) is fast-growing and was used for forestation in recent years along the southeast coast of China. The breeding system of L. racemosa is variable among populations, such as hermaphroditism, gynodioecy, and androdioecy. To determine whether androdioecy is widespread in L. racemosa, 19 planted populations were surveyed along the southeast coast of China. To determine whether local environmental factors could affect the sex ratio in androdioecious populations, the observed male frequency of different populations was compared to local average annual temperature, rainfall, and salinity. The results showed that the 19 L. racemosa populations along the southeast coast of China were androdioecious. The male frequencies of these populations varied from 31.0 to 88.9%. Partial correlation analysis showed that average annual salinity explained 74.7% of the male frequency (p = 0.001). It is reasonable to note that the male frequency followed a general trend, presenting peak that coincided with the low salinity. The average annual rainfall explained only 30.4% of the male frequency (p = 0.403). And the average annual temperature explained only 20.2% of the male frequency (p = 0.206). The variable male frequency in different androdioecious L. racemosa populations may presumably be caused by ecological or genetical processes; these hypotheses will be tested in future studies.