Factors that shape seed mass evolution

Abstract

We used correlated divergence analysis to determine which factors have been most closely associated with changes in seed mass during seed plant evolution. We found that divergences in seed mass have been more consistently associated with divergences in growth form than with divergences in any other variable. This finding is consistent with the strong relationship between seed mass and growth form across present-day species and with the available data from the paleobotanical literature. Divergences in seed mass have also been associated with divergences in latitude, net primary productivity, temperature, precipitation, and leaf area index. However, these environmental variables had much less explanatory power than did plant traits such as seed dispersal syndrome and plant growth form.