Entries by Carlos A. Ordóñez-Parra

Burning grasses, poor seeds: Post-fire reproduction of early-flowering Neotropical savanna grasses produces low-quality seeds (Plant Ecol.) ($)

October 16, 2020 in /by

Fire is a disturbance that underpins several ecological processes in tropical savannas. For instance, some plant species from these ecosystems are traditionally known for relying on fires to reproduce. However, this dependency remains to be formally tested. Also, the impact of fire on seed quality has not been assessed, limiting our understanding of plant reproductive […]

Seed germination of mudflat species responds differently to prior exposure to hypoxic (flooded) environments (Seed Sci. Res.) ($)

October 16, 2020 in /by

Mudflats species experience rapid changes in their environment due to wetlands’ drawdown and refill throughout the year. For instance, species that inhabit these sites deal with contrasting oxygen environments: hypoxic when the water level is high, and aerobic when it recedes. Most studies have aimed to examine the effect of hypoxia on seed viability. Still, […]

Review: Dry architecture: towards the understanding of the variation of longevity in desiccation- tolerant germplasm ($) (Seed Sci. Res.)

October 2, 2020 in /by

Most seeds, pollen grains, and fern spores are desiccation-tolerant, meaning they remain viable after drying to low water contents. Given this property, they can be stored in cold and dry conditions and potentially remain alive for several years. However, there is increasing evidence that seed longevity in storage conditions might be much shorter than initially […]

Review: The pleurogram, an under-investigated functional trait in seeds (Ann. Bot.)

September 25, 2020 in /by

The pleurogram is a depression on both sides of the seeds of some Fabaceae species. Surprisingly, although it is recognized as a specialized structure, little is known about its anatomical features or biological role. In this review, Rodrigues-Junior et al. synthesize the current knowledge about the structure and function of the pleurogram. The pleurogram is […]

Review: Trade‐off between seed dispersal in space and time (Ecol. Lett.)

September 18, 2020 in /by

Seeds can be dispersed in space (i.e., away from their mother plants) or time (i.e., delayed germination via seed dormancy or persistent soil seed banks). These contrasting strategies have traditionally been considered to increase reproductive success, but our understanding of their relationship is limited to a few study cases. Here, Chen et al. provide the […]

Do regeneration traits vary according to vegetation structure? A case study for savannas ($) (J. Veg. Sci.)

September 11, 2020 in /by

Regeneration traits –such as germination strategies, seed dormancy, and seedling establishment– are presumably shaped by environmental variables that operate at different temporal and spatial scales. However, empirical evidence about the variation is lacking for most regeneration seed traits. Here, Escobar et al. tested if seed-based regeneration traits varied between two vegetation habitats with contrasting environmental […]

The process of seed maturation is influenced by mechanical constraints (New Phytol.)

September 4, 2020 in /by

Developing organs need to sense their surroundings to modulate their growth. In the case of embryos, their development is physically limited by the embryo sac; thus, they must assess the space they have available for growing and modulate their growth accordingly. In this paper, Rolletschek et al. report for the first time first that embryos […]

Review: Extending Plant Defense Theory to Seeds (Annu. Rev. Ecol. Evol. Syst.) ($)

August 28, 2020 in /by

Plants have developed multiple mechanisms to deal with the natural enemies they encounter through their life. In consequence, the Plant Defense Theory has arisen to assess how plants allocate resources to this purpose. However, much of the efforts in this matter has revolved around the defense that occurs in saplings and adult plants. In this […]

Seed predation selects for reproductive variability and synchrony in perennial plants (New Phytol.) ($)

August 28, 2020 in /by

Instead of regularly flowering and fruiting each year, some long-lived species exhibit annually variable reproduction events. This phenomenon, known as masting, is considered an adaptation to reduce the losses from seed predation: in years of high reproduction, seeds are so abundant that predators become satiated well before consuming all seeds, while in low production years, […]