Progenesis as an Adaptive Strategy in the Annual Fern Ceratopteris thalictroides in Japan(Population Biology)

概要

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To see the regional variation of Japanese Ceratopteris thalictroides in the mode of vegetative growth of sporophytes, offspring sporophytes of 12 local populations were cultivated under long day, short day, and low temperature conditions. In contrast to sporophytes of southern populations, those of northern populations exhibited a strong tendency to form fertile leaves with a short period of vegetative growth. From morphological analyses of sterile leaves, four patterns were recognized in the shortening of the vegetative-growth period : one is shortening by a variation ofacceleration, a type of heterochrony, and the remaining three are shortening by progenesis, another type of heterochrony, linked to the long day, the short day, or low temperature. Since the period during which sporophytes of C. thalictroides can grow is shorter in higher latitudes in Japan, heterochrony, especially progenesis, in northern populations is regarded as an adaptive strategy of this species to expand its distribution towards the north.
種生物学会の論文