1990•Functional EcologyOpen access
The Cost of Sexual Reproduction in Ragwort (Senecio jacobaea L.)
Michael Gillman, Michael John Crawley
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Abstract
Probability of overwinter survival is inversely related to the allocation of resources to sexual reproduction in thepreceding summer. There is a marked similarity between the 2 study sites in the relationship between numbers of flowerheads and rootstock volume. The effect of herbivory on overwinter survival of plants varies with site and timing of feeding. Different herbivores may either exacerbate the effect of sexual reproduction on survival (eg through root feeding), reduce the effect (eg through early consumption of flowers) or have no influence on the effect of sexual reproduction on survival (eg by consumption of flowers later in the season). -from Authors