The succession process of interest in this study, the succession of fens and bogs, is driven to a large extent by the lowering of the water-table level as Sphagnum moss and vascular plants invade the habitat. I used a plasticity experiment to compare the phenotypic responses of two groups of sedges (Carex; Cyperaceae) to a water-table gradient: a group of pioneer species, C. aquatilis, C. oligosperma and C. rostrata, that also persist throughout the succession sequence and a group of late-invading species, C. michauxiana, C. paupercula and C. vaginata. The genotypes in the study exhibited largely uniform, adaptive responses on seven functional response variables, but were stable for total biomass, an estimator of fitness. The percentage of significant environment main effects per species and the magnitudes of genotypic coefficients of variation suggested greater plasticity in the late-invading species while reaction norms indicated no difference in pattern of plasticity between the groups. A second experiment made an intra-specific comparison of morphological response between early and late successional populations of both C. aquatilis and C. rostrata to a continuous water-table gradient. (Abstract shortened by UMI.)
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:LACETR/oai:collectionscanada.gc.ca:QMM.30388 |
| Date | January 2000 |
| Creators | Gold, Leslie. |
| Contributors | Waterway, M. J. (advisor) |
| Publisher | McGill University |
| Source Sets | Library and Archives Canada ETDs Repository / Centre d'archives des thèses électroniques de Bibliothèque et Archives Canada |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Electronic Thesis or Dissertation |
| Format | application/pdf |
| Coverage | Master of Science (Department of Plant Science.) |
| Rights | All items in eScholarship@McGill are protected by copyright with all rights reserved unless otherwise indicated. |
| Relation | alephsysno: 001747051, proquestno: MQ64363, Theses scanned by UMI/ProQuest. |
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