Variation of morphological and chemical traits in sexes of the dioecious perennial grassPoa ligularisin relation to shrub cover and aridity in Patagonian ecosystems

Abstract

AbstractSexes of dioecious species may have dimorphic responses to environmental variation due to differences in resource requirements and reproductive costs. We analyzed the effect of aridity/relative shrub cover, and vicinity to shrub patches on morpho‐chemical traits of sexes of the dioecious perennial grassPoa ligularisin patchy arid ecosystems in northern‐central Patagonia. We hypothesized that sexes ofP. ligularishave dimorphic responses in morpho‐chemical traits in relation to the environmental variation induced by aridity/relative shrub cover and vicinity to shrub patches. We selected seven sites across a gradient of increasing aridity and relative shrub cover. We randomly collected 5–10P. ligularisplants per site registering the sex (female or male) and location with respect to shrub patches (shrub patch or inter‐patch). For each plant, we assessed morpho‐chemical traits (height of the vegetative tillers, length/dry weight/area of blades, specific blade area, nitrogen and soluble phenol concentration in blades). Sexes showed dimorphic responses in height of vegetative tillers, blade length, and blade area with respect to vicinity to shrub patches; and in variation of soluble phenolics in blades in relation to aridity/relative shrub cover. Responses in both sexes were opposite to those expected by aridity, highlighting the role of favorable environments induced by shrub canopies on dimorphic responses of sexes ofP. ligularis.Resource‐rich microsites associated with shrub canopies promoted increased plant performance of females with high reproductive costs while resource‐poor open areas, favorable for pollen dispersal, induced improved chemical defenses of males. These results are consistent with the resource availability hypothesis.