Integrated plant phenotypic responses to contrasting above- and below-ground resources: key roles of specific leaf area and root mass fraction.

Plants adapt phenotypically to different conditions of light and nutrient supply, supposedly in order to achieve colimitation of these resources. Their key variable of adjustment is the ratio of leaf area to root length, which relies on plant biomass allocation and organ morphology. We recorded phenotypic differences in leaf and root mass fractions (LMF, RMF), specific leaf area (SLA) and specific root length (SRL) of 12 herbaceous species grown in factorial combinations of high/low irradiance and fertilization treatments. Leaf area and root length ratios, and their components, were influenced by nonadditive effects between light and nutrient supply, and differences in the strength of plant responses were partly explained by Ellenberg's species values representing ecological optima. Changes in allocation were critical in plant responses to nutrient availability, as the RMF contribution to changes in root length was 2.5× that of the SRL. Contrastingly, morphological adjustments (SLA rather than LMF) made up the bulk of plant response to light availability. Our results suggest largely predictable differences in responses of species and groups of species to environmental change. Nevertheless, they stress the critical need to account for adjustments in below-ground mass allocation to understand the assembly and responses of communities in changing environments.

Effects of age, size, and mating history on sex role decision of a simultaneous hermaphrodite.

Contrasting with separate-sexed animals, simultaneous hermaphrodites display unique reproductive strategies as they are male and female at the same time. Simultaneous hermaphrodites that copulate unilaterally, for instance, make a decision to mate as a male or female. Previous studies have demonstrated that sex role preference in hermaphrodites is flexible and is controlled by several, often confounding, factors. We examined the relationship between sex role decisions and 3 life-history traits (age, size, and mating history) in the great pond snail, Lymnaea stagnalis. Based on our field observations, which indicate that adult individuals show overlapping generations and large variation in body size during the breeding season, we performed a sex role choice experiment in the laboratory. We found that young and small snails mate as males first. Both age and size significantly affected sex role decision, with age having a stronger effect. Furthermore, we tested whether L. stagnalis becomes reluctant to inseminate a mate after being inseminated because it is known that after insemination, male investment substantially reduces. Contrary to expectations, our results indicate that the receipt of seminal fluid does not seem to reduce male motivation. In sum, sex role decisions in L. stagnalis are largely determined by age and size but not by having received seminal fluid. This mating pattern, however, does not fully support the size-advantage model because large or old individuals did not perform better as females in our experiment. These results imply a conflicting mating interest, rather than harmonious agreement, between age- and size-different hermaphrodites.

Effect of male accessory gland products on egg laying in gastropod molluscs.

In internally fertilizing animals, seminal fluid is usually added to the spermatozoa, together forming the semen or ejaculate. Besides nourishing and activating sperm, the components in the seminal fluid can also influence female physiology to augment fertilization success of the sperm donor. While many studies have reported such effects in species with separate sexes, few studies have addressed this in simultaneously hermaphroditic animals. This video protocol presents a method to study effects of seminal fluid in gastropods, using a simultaneously hermaphroditic freshwater snail, the great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, as model organism. While the procedure is shown using complete prostate gland extracts, individual components (i.e., proteins, peptides, and other compounds) of the seminal fluid can be tested in the same way. Effects of the receipt of ejaculate components on egg laying can be quantified in terms of frequency of egg laying and more subtle estimates of female reproductive performance such as egg numbers within each egg masses. Results show that seminal fluid proteins affect female reproductive output in this simultaneous hermaphrodite, highlighting their importance for sexual selection.

Receipt of seminal fluid proteins causes reduction of male investment in a simultaneous hermaphrodite.

Mating partners often have conflicting interests when copulating. One of the major agents affecting female mating partners is seminal fluid, transferred along with sperm. The role of seminal fluid proteins (SFPs) in reproductive success is well studied in separate-sexed animals but is much less so in simultaneous hermaphrodites. The latter potentially have a unique target to exploit for the sperm donor's own benefit: the male function of their mating partners. Here we show that, in the great pond snail Lymnaea stagnalis, receipt of specific SFPs reduces both sperm transfer and paternity success in a subsequent insemination event. Lowering investment in the mating partner's male function constitutes a novel role for SFPs. This demonstrates for the first time that hermaphrodites alter their mates' male as well as female reproductive output. Although it remains to be tested whether this represents mate manipulation or an adaptive response of recipients, our findings identify male investment as a new target for postcopulatory sexual selection.