Evolutionary ecology of masting: mechanisms, models, and climate change

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Abstract

Many perennial plants show mast seeding, characterized by synchronous and highly variable reproduction across years. We propose a general model of masting, integrating proximate factors (environmental variation, weather cues, and resource budgets) with ultimate drivers (predator satiation and pollination efficiency). This general model shows how the relationships between masting and weather shape the diverse responses of species to climate warming, ranging from no change to lower interannual variation or reproductive failure. The role of environmental prediction as a masting driver is being reassessed; future studies need to estimate prediction accuracy and the benefits acquired. Since reproduction is central to plant adaptation to climate change, understanding how masting adapts to shifting environmental conditions is now a central question.

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Sponsor

European Research Cuncil (ForestFuture, 101039066) Natural Environment Research Council (grant number NE/S00713X) Polish National Science Centre (grant no. 2019/33/B/NZ8/01345)

Keywords

climate change, plant demography, economies of scale, environmental prediction, plant reproduction

Citation

Trends in Ecology and Evolution

Seria

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Rights Creative Commons

Uniwersytet im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
Biblioteka Uniwersytetu im. Adama Mickiewicza w Poznaniu
Ministerstwo Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego