Séminaire Ecobio - Keliang Zhang (Yangzhou University)

Amphicarpic plants produce aerial and subterranean fruits on an individual plant, and these heteromorphic diaspores give rise to plants that differ in growth and ecology. I use field surveys, anatomical and physiological tools determined the adaptive significance of the amphicarpic plants Amphicarpaea edgeworthii. I found that (1) aerial seeds are smaller, more dormant, and more likely to be dispersed and form a seed bank than suberrranean seeds; (2) vegetative and reproductive growth of plants produced by aerial and subterranean seeds respond differently to light/shading; (3) when immature subterranean seeds were artificially exposed to an aboveground environment, they developed into aerial seeds, and vice versa. I conclude that production of aerial and subterranean seeds represents the optimal strategy in a wide variety of contexts by ensuring that at least some offspring can function appropriately in a variety of environmental conditions.